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—OF— 

Kilii^az©§,pileiiFi^laFi Bypei^ Gsunteies, 

ny: I G n I o ^ IN" , 

CONTAINING 

Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, 
Together with Biographies of all the 

loverriors of the itate, and of the Ireside" ^ 



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OF= THE UNITED STKTES. 



CHICAGO: 

CHAPMAN BROS. 

/ 1892. 



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IK greatest of Englbh historians, Macaulay, and one of the most brilliant writers of 
tlie present centur3-, has said : "The history of a country is best told in a record of tlic 
lives of its pec*jle." In conformity with this idea the PonruAiT axd Biograpiiicai. 
Record of this county has been prepared. Instead of going to musty records, and 
taiving therefrom diy statistical matter that can be appreciated by but few, our 
corps of writers have gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their 
enterprise and industry, brought the county to ninlv second to none among those 
comprising this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of their life 
struggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelli- 
gent public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the 
imitation of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by 
industry and economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited 
advantages for securing an education, have become learned men and women, with an 
fluence extending throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who 
have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have 
become famous. It tells of those in every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and 
records how that success has usually crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very 
many, wlio, not seeking the applause of the world, have pursued "the even tenor of their way," content 
to have it said of them as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy — "they have done what 
they could." It tells how that many in the pride and strength of young manhood left the plow and the 
anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's 
call went forth valiantly "to do or die," and how through their efforts the Union was restored and peace 
once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every woman is a lesson that should not 
be lost upon those who follow after. 

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from the fact 
that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, and which would otherwise be 
inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work and every opportunity possible 
given to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written, and the pulilishers flatter them- 
selves that they give to their readers a work with few errors of consequence. In addition to the biograph- 
ical sketches, portraits of a number of representative citizens are given. 

The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume. For this the 
publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the work, some refused to give the 
information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent. Occasionally some member of 
the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such opposition the support of the interested 
one would be withheld. In a few instances men could never be found, though repeated calls were made 
at their residence ftr place of business. 

May, 18J2. CHAPMAN UUOS. 



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FIRST PRESIDENT. 



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HE Father of our Country was 
©1 born in Westmorland Co., Va., 
Feb. 22, 1732. His parents 
were Augustine and Mary 
(Ball) Washington. The family 
to which he belonged has not 
been satisfactorily traced in 
England. His great-grand- 
father, John Washington, em- 
igrated to Virginia about 1657, 
and became a prosperous 
planter. He had two sons, 
Lawrence and John. The 
former married Mildred Warner 
and had three children, John, 
Augustine and Mildred. Augus- 
tine, the father of George, first 
married Jane Butler, who bore 
him four children, two of whom, 
Lawrence and Augustine, reached 
maturity. Of six children by his 
second marriage, George was the 
eldest, the others being Betty, 
Samuel, John Augustine, Charles 
and Mildred. 
Augustine Washington, the father of George, died 
in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his 
eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on 
the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, 
and to George he left the parental residence. George 
received only such education as the neighborhood 
schools afforded, save for a short time after he left 
school, when he received private instruction in 
mathematics. His spelling was rather defectiv«. 



Remarkable stories are told of his great physical 
strength and development at an early age. He was 
an acknowledged leader among his companions, and 
was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair- 
ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. 

When George was i4yearsoldhehad a desire to go to 
sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, 
but through the opposition of his mother the idea was 
abandoned. Two years later he was appointed 
surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. Li 
this business he spent three years in a rough frontier 
life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very 
essential to him. In 1751, though only 19 years of 
age, he was appointed adjutant with the rank of 
major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for 
active service against the French and Lidians. Soon 
after this he sailed to the West Lidies with his brother 
Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They 
soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence 
died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter 
who did not long survive him. On her demise tlie 
estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. 

Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as Lieuten- 
ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was 
reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- 
tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to 
Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this 
a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- 
cepted, which others had refused. This was to pro- 
ceed to the French post near Lake Erie in North- 
western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed 
was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, 
and the journey was to be made without military 
escort, through a territory occupied by Lidians. The 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



trip was a perilous one, and several limes he came near 
losing his life, yet he returned in safet)' and furnished 
a full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment 
of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- 
mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was 
commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was 
then begun against the French and Indians, in which 
Washington took a most imjxirtant part. In the 
memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad- 
dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer 
of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the 
day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock 
were disabled early in the action, and Washington 
alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter 
to his brotiier he says: "I had four bullets through 
my coat, and two horses shot under me, yetl escaped 
unhurt, though death was leveling my companions 
on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was 
not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken 
direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit 
him. 

After having been five years in the military service, 
and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he 
took advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the 
expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, 
to resign his commission. .Soon after he entered the 
Legislature, where, although not a leader, he took an 
active and important part. January 17, 1759, he 
married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy 
widow of John Parke Custis. 

When the British Parliament had closed the port 
^f Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces 
that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." 
It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- 
gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- 
delphia.Sept. 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties, 
peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- 
ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the 
Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of 
England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- 
cord and Lexington had been fought. Among the 
first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- 
mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and 
responsible office was conferred upon Washington, 
who was still a member of the Congress. He accepted 
it on June ig, but upon the express condition that he 
receive no salary. He would keep an exact account 
of expenses and expect Congress lo pay them and 
nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to 
trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the 
fortunes and liberties of the people of this country 
were so long confided. The war was conducted by 
him under ever}' possible disadvantage, and while his 
forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every 
obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion 
and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest 
nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in 
a parting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his 



commission as commander-in-chief of the army to 
to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He 
retired immediately to iMount Vernon and resumed 
his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunning all 
connection with public life. 

In February, 1789, Washington was unanimously 
elected President. In his presidential career he was 
subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a new 
government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part 
of other governments; trials from want of harmony 
between the different sections of our own country; 
trials from the impoverished condition of the country, 
owing to the war and want of credit; trials from the 
beginnings of party strife. He was no partisan. His 
clear judgment could discern the golden mean; and 
while perhaps this alone kept our government from 
sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to 
attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and 
very annoying. 

At the expiration of his first term he was unani- 
mously re-elected. At the end of this term manv 
were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely 
refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 
1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi- 
dent, he returned to his home, hojiing to pass there 
his few remaining years free from the annoyances of 
public life. Later in the year, however, his repose 
seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France- 
At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to 
take command of the armies. He chose his sub- 
ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- 
ters in the field, which he superintended from his 
home. In accepting the command he made the 
reservation that he was not to be in the field until 
it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations 
his life was suddenly cut off. December 12, he took 
a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling 
ill his throat, produced inflammation, and terminated 
fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- 
teenth his body was borne wi'h military honors to its 
final resting place, and interred in the family vault at 
Mount Vernon. 

Of the character of Washington it is impossible to 
speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- 
miration. The more we see of the operations of 
our government, and the more deeply we feel the 
difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, 
the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- 
ent and character, which have be'"n able to challenge 
the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na- 
tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits 
of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will 
be as lasting as the existence of man. 

The person of Washington was unusally tan, erect 
and well proportioned. His muscular strength was 
great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry. 
He commanded respect without any appearance of 
haughtiness, and ever serious without b^ipg dull. 




J<^^'n.Ja:mk) 



SECOND PBESJDENT. 



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OHN ADAMS, the second 
% President and the first Vice- 
' President of the United States, 
was born in Braintree { now 
Ji, Quincy ),Mass., and about ten 
miles from Boston, Oct. 19, 
'l_^ 1735- His great-grandfather, Henry- 
Adams, emigrated from England 
about 1640, with a family of eight 
> sons, and settled at Braintree. The 
parents of John were John and 
Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His 
father was a farmer of limited 
means, to which he added the bus- 
iness of shoemaking. He gave his 
eldest son, John, a classical educa- 
tion at Harvard College. John 
graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the 
school in AVorcester, Mass. This he found but a 
■'sciiool of affliction," from which he endeavored to 
gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the 
study of law. For this purpose he placed himself 
under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He 
had thought seriously of the clerical profession 
but seems to have been turned from this by what he 
termed " the frightful engines of ectlesiastical coun- 
jils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature,'' 
of the operations of which he had been a witness in 
his native town. He was well fitted for the legal 
profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being 
ready and fluent of speech, and having quick percep- 
tive powers. He gradually gained practice, and in 
1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, 
and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his 
marriage, (17(15), the attempt of Parliamentary taxa- 
tion turned him from law to politics. He took initial 
steps toward holdin^, a town meeting, and the resolu- 



tions he offered on the subject became very popular 
throughout the Province, and were adopted word for 
word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos- 
ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous 
and prominent advocates of the popular cause, and 
was chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg- 
lislature) in 1770. 

Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates 
from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, 
which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himselt 
by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- 
vocated the movement for independence against the 
majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved 
and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies 
should assume the duties of self-government. He 
was a prominent member of the committee of tive 
appointed June rt, to prepare a declaration of inde- 
pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but 
on Adams devolved the task of battling it through 
Congress in a three days debate. 

On the day after the Declaration of Independence 
was passed, while his soul was yet warm with the 
glow of excited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife 
which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated 
by the spirit of prophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the 
greatest question was decided that ever was debated 
in America; and greater, perhaps, never was or wil 
be decided among men. A resolution was passed 
without one dissenting colony, ' that these United 
States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde. 
pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of 
July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history 
of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated 
by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary 
festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of 
deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty 
God. It ought to be solemnized with jximp, showst 



24 



JOHN ADAMS. 



games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations 
from one end of the continent to the other, from this 
time forward for ever. Vou will think me transjxirted 
with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of 
the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to 
maintain this declaration, and support and defend 
these States; yet, through all the gloom, I can see the 
rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is 
worth more than all the means; and that posterity 
will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I 
hope we shall not. " 

In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a 
ddegate to France^ and to co-operate with Bemjamin 
Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in 
the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money 
from the French Government. This was a severe trial 
to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, 
comijelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- 
posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- 
ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17, 
1779. In September of the same year he was again 
chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- 
ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce 
with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet 
might be found willing to listen to such pvoposels. He 
sailed for France in November, from there he went to 
Holland, where he negotiated imiiortant loans and 
formed important commercial treaties 

Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed 
Jan. 21, 1783. The re-action from the excitement, 
toil and an.xiety through which Mr. Adams had passed 
threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- 
tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he 
was advised to go to England to drink the waters of 
Bath. While in England, still drooping anddesix)nd- 
ing, he received dispatches from his own government 
urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to 
negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was 
delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through 
storm, on sea, on horseback and foot,hemade the trip. 

February 24, 1785; Congress appointed Mr. Adams 
envoy to the Court of St. James. Here he met face 
to face the King of England, who had so long re- 
garded him as a traitor. As England did not 
condescend to appoint a minister to the United 
States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accom- 
plishing but little, he sought jjermission to return to 
his own country, where he arrived in June, 1788. 

When Washington was first chosen President, John 
Adams, rendered illustiious by his signal services at 
home and abroad, was chosen Vice President, .\gain 
at the second election of Washington as President, 
Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash- 
ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was 
elected President,though not without muchojiposition. 
Serving in this office four vears,he was succeeded by 
Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. 

"5Vhile Mr. .\dams was Vice President the great 



French Revolution shook the continent of Europe, 
and it was uiwn this point whicli he was at issue with 
the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson. 
Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people 
in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their 
power of self-government, and he utterly abhored the 
class of atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it. 
On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly 
enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or- 
iginated the alienation between these distinguished 
men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ- 
ized, .^dams at the head of the one whose sympathies 
were with England and Jefferson led the other in 
sympathy with France. 

The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more 
moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the 
old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling 
had died away, and he had begun to receive that just 
appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till 
after death. No one could look upon his venerable 
form, and think of what he had done and suffered, 
and how he had given up all the prime and strength 
of his life to the public good, without the deepest 
emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar 
good fortune to witness the complete success of the 
institution which he had been so active in creating and 
supi»rting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled 
to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest 
station in the gift of the people. 

The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half 
century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the 
signers of that immortal instrument left upon the 
earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is 
well known, on that day two of these finished their 
earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as 
to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. 
Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning 
of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from 
his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the 
customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed " In- 
dependence FOREViiR." When the day was ushered 
in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, 
he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew 
what day it was? He replied, "O yes; it is the glor- 
ious fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." 
In the course of the day he said, " It is a great and 
glorious day." The last words he uttered were. 
"Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re- 
signed his spiiit into the hands of his God. 

The personal appearance and manners of Mr. 
Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, 
as his portrait manifests,was intellectual ard expres. 
sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and h<s 
manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteous. 
He had neither the lofty dignity of Washington, nor 
the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked 
the manners and address of Jefferson. 



4 






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THIRD PRESIDENT. 



2? 




HOMAS JEFFERSON was 

born April 2, 1743, at Shad- 

i^^well, Albermarle county, Va. 

His parents were Peter and 
Jane ( Randolph) Jefferson, 
the former a native of Wales, 
and the latter born in Lon- 
don. To them were born six 
daughters and two sons, of 
whom Thomas was the elder. 
When 14 years of age his 
father died. He received a 
most liberal education, hav- 
ing been kept diligently at school 
from the time he was five years of 
age. In 1760 he entered William 
end Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat 
of the Colonial Court, and it was the obode of fashion 
a.id splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then 17 
years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine 
horses, and much caressed by gay society, yet he 
was earnestly devoted to his studies, and irreproacha- 
able in his morals. It is strange, however, under 
such influences,that he was not ruined. In the sec- 
ond year of his college course, moved by some un- 
explained inward impulse, he discarded his horses, 
society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had 
previously given much time. He often devoted fifteen 
hours a day to hard study, allowing himself for ex- 
ercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out 
of the city and back again. He thus attained very 
high intellectual culture, alike excellence in philoso- 
phy and the languages. The most difficult Latin and 
Greek authors he read wi'.h facility. A more finished 
scholar ha? seldom cone forth from coileL'.e halls; and 



there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a 
more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man. 

Immediately upon leaving college he began the 
study of law. For the short time he continued in the 
practice of his profession he rose rapidly and distin- 
guished himself by his energy and accuteness as a 
lawyer. But the times called for greater action. 
The policy of England had awakened the spirit of 
resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged 
views which Jefferson had ever entertained, soon led 
him into active political life. In 1769 he was chosen 
a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses In 
1772 he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very oeauti- 
fiil, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow 

Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shadwell, thsre 
was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which 
commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and 
beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected for his new 
home; and here he reared a mansion of modest yet 
elegant architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon 
became the most distinguished resort in our land. 

In 1775 '^s ^"is sent to the Colonial Congress, 
where, though a silent member, his abilities as a 
writer and a reasoner soon become known, and he 
was placed upon a number of important committees, 
and was chairman of the one appointed for the draw- 
ing up of a declaration of independence. This com- 
mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, 
Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. 
Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed 
to draw up the paper. Franklin and Adams suggested 
a few verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- 
gress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made 
in it by Congress, and it was passed and signed July 
4, 1776. What must have been the feelings of that 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



man — what the emotions that swelled his breast — 

who was charged with the preparation of that Dec- 
laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of 
America, was also to publish her to the world, free, 
soverign and independent. It is one of the most re- 
markable papers ever written ; and did no other effort 
of the mind of its author exist, that alone would be 
sufficient to stamp his name with immortality. 

In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to 
Patrick Henry, as Governor of Virginia. At one time 
the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to 
Moniicello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five 
minutes ekiiised after the hurried escape of Mr. Jef- 
ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- 
sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never 
very good, was much injured by this excitement, and 
in the summer of 1782 she died. 

Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. 
Two years later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- 
tentiary to France. Returning to the United States 
in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State 
in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned 
Jan. J, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- 
dent, and four years later was elected President over 
Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In 
1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, 
and George Clinton, Vice President. 

The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- 
tion was disturbed by an event which threatened the 
tranquility and peace of the Union ; this was the con- 
spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election 
to the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled 
amliition, this extrafirdinary man formed the plan of a 
military expedition intc the Spanish territories on our 
lOuthwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there 
a new republic. This has been generally supposed 
was a mere pretext ; and although it has not been 
generally known what his real plans were, there is no 
doubt that they were of a frir more dangerous 
character. 

In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for 
which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined 
to retire from political life. For a period of nearly 
forty years, he had been continually before the pub- 
lic, and all that time had been employed in offices of 
the greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus de- 
voted the best part of his life to the service of his 
country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his 
declining years required, and upon the organization of 
the new administration, in March, iSog, he bid fare- 
well forever to public life, and retired to Monticelio. 

Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole 
families came in their coaches with their horses, — 
fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and 
nurses, — and remained three and even six months. 
Life at Monticelio, for years, resembled that at a 
fashionable watering-jilace. 

Tiie fourth of July 1826, being the fiftieth anniver- 



sary of the Declaration of American Independence, 
great preparations were made in every part of the 
Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and 
the citizens of W'ashington, to add to the solemnity 
of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer, 
and one of the few surviving signers of the Declara- 
tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill- 
ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and 
had been continually increasing, compelled him to 
decline the invitation. 

On tiie second of July, the disease under which 
he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced 
state that his medical attendants, entertained no 
hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly 
sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the ne.xt 
day, which was Monday, he asked of those around 
him, the day of the month, and on being told it was 
the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish tha'; 
he might be permitted to breathe the air of the fiftieth 
anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose 
dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, 
burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- 
ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble 
life! To die on that day, — the birthday of a nation,- - 
the day which his own name and his own act had 
rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and 
festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, 
as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, 
was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life. 

Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- 
dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear 
him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. 
Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of 
freedom; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- 
ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and 
animated their desponding countrymen; for half a 
century they had labored together for the good of 
the country; and now hand in hand they depart. 
In their lives they had been united in the same great 
cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not 
divided. 

In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather 
above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes 
were light, his hair originally red, in after life became 
white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore- 
head broad, and his whole couptenance intelligent and 
thoughtful. He jxjssessed great fortitude of mind as 
well as personal courage ; and -'.:s command of tem- 
per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends 
never recollected to have seen him in a passion. 
His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- 
affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that 
all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- 
sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic ; and 
his language was remarkably pure and correct. He 
was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is 
discernable the care with which he formed his style 
upon the best models of antiquity. 



/ 




\J^ 



/(2x^^<^' ><>^ (f-^^^-^l ^"s 



FOURTH PRESIDENT. 



31 











AMES MADISON, "Father 
of the Constitution," and fourth 
* President of the United States, 
was born March i6, 1757, and 
died at his home in Virginia, 
'•^ June 28, 1836. The name of 
James Madison is inseparably con- 
nected with most of the important 
events in that heroic period of our 
country during which the founda- 
tions of this great repubUc were 
laid. He was the last of the founders 
of the Constitution of the United 
States to be called to his eternal 
reward. 

The Madison family were among 
the early emigrants to the New World, 
landing upon the shores of the Chesa- 
peake but 15 years after the settle- 
ment of Jamestown. The father of 
James Madison was an opulent 
planter, residing upon a very fine es- 
tate called "Montpelier," Orange Co., 
Va. The mansion was situated in 
the midst of scenery highly pictur- 
esque and romantic, on the west side 
of South-west Mountain, at the foot of 
Blue Ridge. It was but 25 miles from the home of 
Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and 
political attachment existed between these illustrious 
men, from their early youth until death. 

The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted 
mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of 
18 he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. 
Here he applied himself to study with the most iiTl- 



m 



prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but three 
hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so 
seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor 
of constitution. He graduated in 177 i, with a feeble 
body, witli a character of utmost purity, and with a 
mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning 
which embellished and gave proficiency to his subsf " 
quent career. 

Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of 
law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. 
This educational course, the spirit of the times in 
which he lived, and the society with which he asso- 
ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong 
love of liberty, and to train him for his life-wovk ot 
a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of 
mind, and his frail health leading him to think that 
his life was not to be long, he directed especial atten- 
tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mind 
singularly free from passion and [jrejudice, and with 
almost unequalled powers of reasoning, he weighed 
all the arguments for and against revealed religion, 
until his faith became so established as never to 
be shaken. 

In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he 
was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to 
frame the constitution of the State. The next year 
(1777), lie was a candidate for the General Assembly. 
He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, and 
consequently lost his election; but those who had 
witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the 
modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf, 
and he was appointed to the E.xecutive Council. 

Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were 
Governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison remained 
member of the Council ; and their appreciation of his 



3^ 



JAMES MADISON. 



'ntellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not 
a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year 
ij So, he was elected a member of the Continental 
Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in 
our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of 
ihe most conspicuous positions among them. 

For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- 
gress, one of its most active and influential members 
In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was 
elected a member of the Virginia Legislature. 

No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the 
utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- 
tional government, with no power to form treaties 
which would be binding, or to enforce law. There 
was not any State more prominent than Virginia in 
the declaration, that an efficient national government 
must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison 
carried a resolution through the General Assembly of 
Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis- 
sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss 
this subject. Five States only were represented The 
convention, however, issued another call, drawn up 
by Mr. Madison, urging all the .States to send their 
delegates to Philadelphia, in Mav, 1787, to draft 
a Constitution for the United States, to take the place 
of that Confederate League. The delegates met at 
the time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island 
was represented. George Washington was chosen 
president of the convention; and the present Consti- 
tution of the United States was then and there formed 
There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- 
tive in framing this immortal document than the mind 
and the pen of James Madison. 

The Constitution, adopted Ijv a vote 81 to 70 was 
to be presented to the several States for acceptance 
But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected 
we should be left but a conglomeration of independent 
btates with but little power at home and little .espect 
abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- 
tion to draw up an address to the people of the United 
States, expounding the principles of the Constitution 
and urging its adoption. There was great opposition 
to it at first, but It at length triumphed over all and 
went into effect in 1789. 

Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- 
sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the 
avowed leader of the Republican party. While in 
New York attending Congress, he met Mrs Todd a 
young widow of remarkable power of fascination 
whom he married. She was in person and character 
queen.y, and probably no lady has thus far occupied 
so prominent a position in the very peculiar society 
which has constituted our republican court as Mrs 
Madison. 

Mr. Madison served as Secretary of .State under 
Jefferson, and at the close of his administration 
was cliosen President. At this time the encroach- 
ments of England had brought us to the verge of war 



British orders in council destioyed our commerce, and 
our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison 
was a man of peace. Scholady in his taste, retiring 
in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the 
meekest spirrt can be roused. It makes one's blood 
boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought 
to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. 
A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the 
crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- 
ance he selects any number whom he may please to 
designate as British subjects ; orders them down the 
ship's side into his boat; and places them on the gun- 
deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the 
battles of England. This right of search and im- 
pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce 
the British cabinet to relinquish. 

_ On the iSth of June, 1S12, President Madison gave 
his approval to an act of Congress declaring war 
against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter 
hostility of the Federal party to tlie war, the country 
in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th 
of March, 1513, was re-elected by a large majority, 
and entered upon his second term of office. This is 
not the place to describe the various adventures of 
this war on the land and on the water. Our infan'. 
navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- 
pling with the most formidable power which ever 
swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest 
by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, 
1813, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole 
coast of the United States under blockade. 

The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me 
ditator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- 
ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks 
of thePatuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- 
peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- 
burg, upon Washington. 

The straggling little city of Washington was thrown 
into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict 
at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the 
metropolis. The wjiole population fled from the city. 
The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White 
House, with her carriage drawn up at the doer to 
await his sjjeedy return, hurried to meet the officers 
in a council of war. He met our troops utteriy routed, 
and he could not go back without danger of being 
captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential 
Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in 
Washington were in flames. 

The war closed after two years of fighting, and on 
Feb. 13, 18 15, the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent. 

On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of 
office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair 
to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- 
tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- 
mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the 
age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi- 
son died July 12, 1849. 



I 




7 ^^"^^ 



■'^ > ^-^ 



FIFTIf PRESIDENT. 



35 




AMES MONROE, the fifth 
'residentof The United States, 
was born in Westmoreland Co., 
Va., April 28, 175S. His early 
life was passed at the place of 
nativity. His ancestors had for 
La many years resided in the prov- 
ince in which he was born. When, 
«;it 17 years of age, in the process 
of completing his education at 
William and Mary College, the Co- 
lonial Congress assembled at Phila- 
delphia to deliberate upon the un- 
just and manifold oppressions of 
Great Britian, declared the separa- 
tion of thg Colonies, and promul- 
gated the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly 
probable that he would have been one of the signers 
of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left 
school and enlisted among the patriots. 

He joined the army when everything looked hope- 
less and gloomy. The number of deserters increased 
from day to day. The invading armies came pouring 
in ; and the tories not only favored the cause of the 
mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, 
who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect of con- 
tending with an enemy whom they had been taught 
to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James 
Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through 
difficulty and danger, the United States owe their 
political emancipation. The young cadet joined tlie 
ranks, and espoused the cause of his injured ccmntry, 
with a firm determination to live or die with her strife 



for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the mel- 
ancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and White 
Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled 
before its foes through New Jersey. In four months 
after the Declaration of Independence, the patriots 
had been beaten in seven battles. At the battle of 
Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of charg- 
ing upon the enemy he received a wound in the left 
shoulder. 

As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was ])ro- 
moted a captain of infantry; and, having recovered 
from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, however, 
receded from the line of promotion, by becoming an 
officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the cam- 
paigns of 1777 and 177S, in the actions of Brandy 
wine, Germantown and Monmouth, he continued 
aid-de-camp; but becoming desirous to regain his 
position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a 
regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed 
owing to the exhausted condition of the State. Upon 
this failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at 
that period Governor, and pursued, with considerable 
ardor, the study of common law. He did not, however, 
entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag; 
but on the invasions of the enemy, served as a volun- 
teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. 

In 1782, he was elected from King George county, 
a member of the Leglislature of Virginia, and by that 
body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive 
Council. He was thus honored with the confidence 
of his fellow citizens at 23 years of age ; and having 
at this early period displayed some of that ability 
and aptitude for legislation, which were afterwards 
employed with unremitting energy for the public good, 



36 



JAMES MONROE. 



he was in the succeeding year chosen a member of 
the Congress of the United States. 
DeeplyasMr. Monioefell the imperfectionsof theold 
Confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, 
ihinkiiig, with many others of the Republican parly, 
that it gave too much power to the Central Government, 
and not enough to the individual States. Still he re- 
tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm 
supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition 
secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member 
of the United States Senate; which office he held for 
four years. Every month the line of distinction be- 
tween the two great parties which divided the nation, 
the Federal and the Republican, was growing more 
distinct. The two prominent iaeas which now sep- 
arated them were, that the Republican party was in 
sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a 
strict construction of the Constitution as to give the 
Central Government as little power, and the State 
Governments as much power, as the Constitution wo\ild 
warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, 
and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- 
stitution, which would give as much power to the 
Central Government as that document could possibly 
authorize. 

The leading Federalists and Republicans were 
alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the 
good of the nation. Two more honest men or more 
pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and 
James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In 
building up this majestic nation, which is destined 
to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- 
bination of their antagonism was needed to create the 
light equilibrium. And yet each in his day was de- 
nounced as almost a demon. 

Washington was then President. England had es- 
poused the cause of the Bourbons against the princi- 
ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn 
into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. 
Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- 
tween tliese contending powers. France had helped 
us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms 
of Europe were now combined to prevent the French 
from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse 
than that which we had endured Col. Monroe, more 
magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at 
whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in 
their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous 
and noble nature. He violently opposed the Pres- 
ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in 
magnanimity. 

Washington, who could appreciate such a character, 
developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness, 
by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- 
nouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister 
of that Government to fhe Republic of France. Mr. 
Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention 
In France with the most enthusiastic demonstr/>-tions. 



Shortly after his return to this country, Mr. Mon- 
roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the 
office for three yeais. He was again sent to France to 
co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining 
the vast territory then known as the Province of 
Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- 
tained from Spain. Their united efforts were suc- 
cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen 
millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and 
district of Louisiana were added to the United States. 
This was probably the largest transfer of real estate 
which was ever made in all the history of the world. 

From France Mr. Monroe went to England to ob- ' 
tain from that country some recognition of out 
rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those 
odious impressments of our seamen. But Eng- 
land was unrelenting. He agam returned to Eng- 
land on the same mission, but could receive no 
redress. He returned to his home and was again 
chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned 
to accept the position of Secretary of State under 
Madison. While in this office war with England was 
declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during 
these trying times, the duties of the War Department 
were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- 
bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient 
business man in his cabinet. LTpon the return of 
peace he resigned the Dei>artment of War, but con- 
tinued in the office of Secretary of«State until the ex- 
piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec- 
tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had 
been chosen President with but little opposition, and 
upon March 4, 1817, was inaugurated. Four years 
later he was elected for a second tenii. 

Among the important measures of his Presidency 
were the cession of Florida to the United States; the 
Missouri Compromise, and the " Monroe doctrine.' 

This famous doctrine, since known as the " Monroe 
doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At that 
time the United States had recognized the independ- 
ence of the South American states, and did not wish 
to have European powers longer attempting to sub- 
due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine 
is as follows: "That we should consider any attempt 
on the part of European powers to extend their sys- 
tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerotis 
to our peace and safety," and "that we could not 
view any interposition for the purix)se of oppressing 
or controlling American governments or provinces in 
any other light than as a manifestation by European 
powers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United 
States." This doctrine immediately affected the course 
of foreign governments, and has become the approved 
sentiment of the United States. 

K\. the end of his second term Mr. Monroe retired 
to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830, 
when he went to New York to live with his son-in- 
law. In that city he died.on the 4th of July, 1831 








J, 5, Ai 



OAnj 



SIXTH PRESIDRNT. 



39 



71^ 







jor^i] Qnii]SY ;iD^i]QS. 



l$;K$«»$;T:^<«^;ic$'«^k^'Se;;g^&$;:g*$;;;s-'^>5;:iT^$;K«-*-5Z$**x*>ie;:^ "■' 



OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the 
sixth President of the United 
j^j* States, was born in the rural 
home of his honored father, 
John Adams, in Quincy, Mass., 
on the I ith cf July, 1767. His 
mother, a woman of exalted 
worth, watched over his childhood 
during the almost constant ab- 
sence of liis father. When but 
eight years of age, he stood with 
his mother on an eminence, listen- 
ing to the booming of the great bat- 
tle on Bunker's Hill, and gazing on 
upon the smoke and flames billow- 
ing up from the conflagration of 
Charlestown. 

When but eleven years old he 
took a tearful adieu of his mother, 
to sail with his father for Europe, 
through a fleet ot liostile British cruisers. The bright, 
animated boy spent a year and a half in Paris, where 
his father was associated with Franklin and Lee as 
minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted 
the notice of these distinguished men, and he received 
from them flattering marks of attention. 

Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this 
country, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again 
7ohn Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he 
applied liimself with great diligence, for six months, 
to jtudy; then accompained his father to Holland, 
v/nere he entered, first a scliool in Amsterdam, then 
the University at Leyden. About a year from this 
time, in 178 1, when the manly 1 oy was but fourteen 
yea-3 of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our min- 
ister to the Russian court, as his private secretar}'. 

Tn this school of incessant labor and of enobling 
culture he spent fourteen months, and then returned 
to Holland through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and 
Bremen. This long journey he took alone, in the 
winter, wlien in his sixteenth year. Again he resumed 
-T.s studies, under a pn-'^te tutor, at Hague. Thence, 




in the spring of 1782, he accompanied his father u 
Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming acquaintance 
with the most distinguished men on the Continent 
examining architectural remains, galleries of paintings 
and all renowned works of art. At Paris he agair. 
became associated with the most illustrious men ol 
all lands in the contemplations of the loftiest temporal 
themes which can engross the human mind. Afte' 
a short visit to England he returned to Paris, ana 
consecrated all Iris energies to study until May, 1785, 
when he returned to America. To a brilliant young 
man of eighteen, who had seen much of the world, 
and who was familiar with tlie etiquette of courts, a 
residence with his father in London, under such cir- 
cumstances, must have been extremely attractive 
but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre- 
ferred to return to America to complete his education 
in an American college. He wished then to study 
law, that with an honorable profession, he might be 
able to obtain an independent support. ' 

Upon leaving Harvard College, at theageof twentj- 
he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be- 
ing then but tv/enty-seven years of age, he was ap- 
pointed by Washington, resident minister at the 
Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached 
London in October, where he was immediately admit- 
ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinckney. 
assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty with 
Great Britian. After thus spending a fortnight i. 
London, he proceeded to the Hague. 

In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portugal a3 
minister plenipotentiary. On his way to Portugal, 
upon arriving in London, he met with despatches 
directing him to the court of Beilin, but requesting 
him to remain in London until he should receive his 
instructions. While waiting he was married to ar. 
American lady to whom he had been previously en- 
gaged, — Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughte' 
of Mr. Joshua Johnson, American consul in london 
a lady endownd with that beauty and those accom. 
plisliment which eminently fitted her to move in ti.e 
elevated sphere for which she w;is i^>RS''ioed. 



40 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797 ; 
where he remained until July, 1799, when, having ful- 
filled all the purjwses of his mission, he solicited his 
recall. 

Soon after his return, in 1802, he was chosen to 
Ihe Senate of Massachusetts, from Boston, and then 
was elected Senator of the United States for six years, 
from the 4th of March, 1804. His reputation, his 
ability and his experience, placed him immediately 
among the most prominent and influential members 
of that body. Especially did he sustain the Govern- 
ment in its measures of resistance to the encroach- 
ments of England, destroying our commerce and in- 
sulting our flag. There was no man in America more 
familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon 
these points, and no one more resolved to present 
a firm resistance. 

In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in tlie Pres- 
idential chair, and he immediately nominated John 
Quincy .\dams minister to St. Petersburg. Resign- 
ing his professorship in Harvard College, he embarked 
at Boston, in August, 1809. 

While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense stu- 
dent. He devoted his attention to the language and 
history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the 
European system of weights, measures, and coins; to 
the climate and astronomical observations ; while he 
Kept up a familiar acquaintance with the Greek and 
I^atin classics. In all the universities of Europe, a 
more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found. 
All through life the Bible constituted an important 
part of his studies. It was his rule to read five 
chapters every day. 

On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Monroe took the 
Presidential chair, and immediately appointed Mr. 
.\dams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num- 
erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he 
sailed in June, 1819, for the United States. On the 
i8th of August, he again crossed the threshold of his 
home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon- 
roe's administration, Mr, Adams continued Secretary 
of State. 

Some time before Lhe close of Mr. Monroe's second 
term of office, new candidates began to be presented 
for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. Adams brought 
forward his name. It »vas an e.xciting campaign. 
Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and 
sixty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson re- 
ceived ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four; 
William H. Crawford, forty-one; Henry Clay, thirty- 
seven. As there was no choice by the people, the 
question went to the House of Representatives. Mr. 
Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and 
he was elected. 

The friends of all the disappointed candidates now 
;ombined in a venomous and persistent assault upon 
Mr. Adams. There is nothing more disgraceful in 
»fee past history of our country than the abuse which 



was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upoa this 
high-minded, upright, patriotic man. There never was 
an administration more pure in principles, more con- 
scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun- 
try, than that of John Quincy Adams ; and never, per- 
haps, was there an administration more unscrupu- 
lously and outrageously assailed. 

Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab- 
stemious and temperate in his habits; always rising 
early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in 
Quincy, he has been known to walk, before breakfast, 
seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said 
that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his 
own fire and applying himself to work in his library 
often long before dawn. 

On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired 
from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew 
Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi- 
dent. The slavery question now began to assume 
jxjrtentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to 
Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un- 
abated zeal. But he was not long permitted to re- 
main in retirement. In November, 1830, he was 
elected representative to Congress. For seventeen 
years, jntil his death, he occupied the post as repre- 
sentative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to 
do brave battle' for freedom, and winning the title of 
"the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in 
the House, he announced that he should hold him- 
self bound to no party. Probably there never was a 
member more devoted to his duties. He was usually 
the first in his place in the morning, and the last to 
leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could 
be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The 
battle which Mr. .\dams fought, almost singly, against 
the proslavery party in the Government, was sublime 
in Its moral daring and heroism. For persisting in 
presenting petitions for the abolition of slavery, he 
was threatened with indictment by the grand Jury, 
with expulsion from the House, with assassination ; 
but no threats could intimidate him, and his final 
triumph was complete. 

It has been said of President Adams, that when his 
body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of 
fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little 
child, he was accustomed to repeat every night, before 
he slept, the prajer which his mother taught him in 
his infant years. 

On the 2istof February, 1848, he rose on the floor 
of Congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the 
speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by ]iaraly- 
sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. 
For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to 
the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- 
ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and 
said " This is the end of earth ;"then after a moment's 
pause he added, '\l am content" These were the 
last words of the grand "Old Man Eloquent." 





/^ 



SE VENTH PRESIDENT. 



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NDREW JACKSON, the 
seventh President of the 
1? United States, was born ni 
Waxhaw settlement, N. C, 
March 15, 1767, a few days 
after his father's death. His 
parents were poor emigrants 
from Ireland, and took up 
their abode in Waxhaw set- 
tlement, where they lived in 
deepest poverty. 
Andrew, or Andy, as he was 
universally called, grew up a very 
rough, rude, turbulent boy. His 
features were coarse, his form un- 
gainly; and there was but very 
little in his character, made visible, which was at- 
tractive. 

When only thirteen years old he joined the volun- 
teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 
178 1, he and his brother Robert were captured and 
imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer 
ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am 
a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of 
the dauntless boy. 

The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desi)erate 
Dlow at the head of the helpless young prisoner. 
Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fear- 
ful gashes, — one on the hand and the other upon the 
head. The officer then turned to his brother Robert 
with the same demand. He also refused, and re- 
ceived a blow from the keen-edged sabre, which quite 
disabled him, and which probably soon after caused 
his death. They suffered much other ill-treatment, and 
were finally stricken with the small-pox. Their 
mother was successful \r\ Qbtaining their exchange. 



and took her sick boys home. After a long illness. 
Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother soon 
left him entirely friendless. 

Andrew supported himself in various ways, such as 
working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and 
clerking in a general store, until 1784, when he 
entered a law office at Salisbury, N. C. He, however, 
gave more attention to the wild amusements of the 
times than to his studies. In 1788, he was appointed 
solicitor for the western district of North Carolina, of 
which Tennessee was then a part. This involved 
many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of 
every kind, but Andrew Jackson never knew fear, 
and the Indians had no desire to repeat a skirmish 
with the Sharp Knife. 

In 1791, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who 
supposed herself divorced from her former husband. 
Great was the surprise of both parties, two years later, 
to find that the conditionsof the divorce had just been 
definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage 
ceremony was performed a second time, but the occur- 
rence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. 
Jackson into disfavor. 

During these years he worked hard at his profes 
sion, and frequently had one or more duels on hand, 
one of which, when he killed Dickenson, was espec- 
ially disgraceful. 

In January, 1796, the Territory of Tennessee then 
containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the 
people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con- 
stitution. Five were sent from each of the eleven 
counties. Andrew Jackson was one of the delegates. 
The new State was entitled to but one member in 
the National House of Representatives. Andrew JacTc- 
son was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he 
rode to Philedelphia, where Congress then held its 



44 



ANDREW JACKSON. 



sessions, — a distance of about eight hundred miles. 

Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo- 
cratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired 
Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr. 
Jackson took his seat, Gen. Washington, whose 
second term of office was then e.xpiring, delivered his 
last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a 
complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson 
did not approve of tlie address, and was one of the 
twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to 
say that Gen. Wasiiington's adminstration had been 
" wise, firm and patriotic." 

Mr. Jackson was elected to the United States 
Senate in 1797, but soon resigned and returned home. 
Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court 
of his State, which position he held for si.x years. 

When the war of 1812 with Great Biitian com- 
menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. 
Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was 
an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who 
would do credit to a commission if one were con- 
ferred u|)on him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson 
offered his services and tiiose of twenty-five hundred 
volunteers. His offer was accepted, and the troops 
were assembled at Nashville. 

As the British were hourly expected to make an at- 
tack upon New Orleans, where Gen. Wilkinson was 
in command, he was ordered to descend the river 
with fifteen hundred troops to aid Wilkinson. The 
e.xpedition reached Natchez; and after a delay of sev- 
eral weeks there, without accomplishing anything, 
the men were ordered liack to their homes. But the 
energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire 
devotion to the comrfort of his soldiers, won him 
golden opinions; and he became the most popular 
man in the State. It was in this expedition that his 
toughness gave him the nickname of " Old Hickory." 

Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. 
Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman 
made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in 
which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged, 
he received two severe i)istol wounds. While he was 
lingering upon a bed of suffering news came that the 
Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from 
Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- 
tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- 
cisive action became necessary. Gen. Jackson, with 
his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in 
a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- 
tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an 
army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Alabama. 

The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on 
one of the bends of theTallauoosa River, near the cen- 
ter of Alabama, about fifty miles below Fort Strother. 
With an army of two thousand men, Gen. Jackson 
traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven 
days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or 
Horse-shoe, on the 27th of March. 1814. The bend 



of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres of 
tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow- 
neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breast- 
work of logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, 
with an ample suplyof arms were assembled. 

The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- 
perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When 
bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en- 
deavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morn- 
ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was 
awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the 
river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as 
they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war- 
rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam 
the river and escaped. This ended the war. The 
power of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold 
plunge into the wilderness, with its terrifific slaughter, 
so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants 
of the bands caiue to the camp, begging for peace. 

This closing of the Creek war enabled us to con- 
centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the 
allies of the Indians No man of less resolute will 
than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian 
campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he 
was appointed major-general. 

Late in August, with an army of two thousand 
men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson came to 
Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed 
a force upon the beach, anchored near the little fort, 
and from both ship and shore commeaced a furious 
assault. The liattle was long and doubtful. At length 
one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired. 

Garrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little 
army, he moved his troops to New Orleans, 
And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, 
was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won 
for Gen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his 
troops, which numbered about four thousand men, 
won a signal victory over the British army of about 
nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the 
loss of the British was two thousand six hundred. 

The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be men- 
tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1824, 
he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, 
successful in the election of 1828, and was re-elected 
for a second term in 1832. In 1829, just before he 
assumed the reins of the government, he met with 
the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of 
his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has 
perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of 
her death he never recovered. 

His administration was one of the most memorable 
in the annals of our country; applaude/f oyone party, 
condemned by the other. No man had more bitter 
enemies or warmer friends. Kx. the expiration of his 
two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where 
he died June 8, 1845. The last years of Mr. Jack- 
son's life w-ere that of a devoted Christian man. 




7' 7 ^^^^^ ^-7^/Ju^ 



EIGHTH PRESIDENT. 






m 



A^ 







ARTIN VAN BUREN, the 
eighth President of the 
United States, was born at 
Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5, 
1782. He died at the same 
place, July 24, 1862. His 
body rests in the cemetery 
at Kinderhook. Above it is 
a plain granite shaft fifteen feet 
high, bearing a simple inscription 
about half way up on one face. 
The lot is unfenced, unbordered 
or unbounded by shrub or flower. 

There is but little in the life of Martin Van Buren 
of romantic interest. He fought no battles, engaged 
in no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in 
political and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many 
signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those 
incidents which give zest to biography. His an- 
cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, 
and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland 
to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, 
residing in the old town of Kinderhook. His mother, 
also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- 
ligence and exemplary piety. 

Ae was decidedly a precocious boy, developing un- 
usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. At the 
age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies 
in his native village, and commenced the study of 
law. As he had not a collegiate education, seven 
years of study in a law-office were required of him 
<)efore he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with 
J. lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he pur- 
,sued his studies with indefatigable industry. After 
spending six years in an office in bis native village, 



he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted liis 
studies for the seventh year. 

In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years of 
age, commenced the practice of law in his native vil- 
lage. The great conflict between the Federal and 
Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van 
Buren was from the beginning a politician. He had, 
perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listening to the 
many discussions which had been carried on in his 
father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with 
Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the 
cause of State Rights ; though at that time the Fed- 
eral party held the supremacy both in his town 
and State. 

His success and increasing ruputation led him 
after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, th., 
county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years 
constantly gaining strength by contending in th(. 
courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned 
the bar of his State. 

Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mi. 
Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for 
beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short 
years she sank into the grave, the victim of consump- 
tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep over 
her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was 
an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record 
of those years is barren in items of public interest. 
In t8i2, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to 
the State Senate, and gave his strenuous support to 
Mr. Madison's adminstration. In 1815, he was ap- 
pointed Attorney-General, and the next year moved 
to Albany, the capital of the State. 

While he was ackno\\'ledged as one of the most 
p. ominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had 



48 



Martin van bvrBN. 



the moral courage to avow that true democracy did 
not require that " universal suffrage" which admits 
the vile, the degraded, the ignorant, to the right of 
governing the State. In true consistency with his 
democratic principles, he contended that, while the 
path leading to the privilege of voting sliould be open 
to every man without distinction, no one should be 
invested with that sacred prerogative, unless he were 
in some degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue 
and some property interests in the welfare of the 
State. 

In 182 1 he was elected ;, member of the United 
States Senate; and in the same year, he took a seat 
in the convention to revise the constitution of his 
native State. His course in this convention secured 
the approval of men of all parties. No one could 
doubt the singleness of his endeavors to promote the 
interests of all classes in the community. In the 
Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a 
conspicuous position as an active and useful legislator. 

In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the 
Presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to 
.he Senate. He had been from the beginning a de- 
rermined opposer of the Administration, adopting the 
■'State Rights " view in opposition to what was 
deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams. 

Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governorof 
the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his 
seat in the Senate. Probably no one in the United 
States contributed so much towards ejecting John Q. 
Adams from the Presidential chair, and placing in it 
Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whether 
entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was re- 
garded througiiout the United States as one of the 
most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians. 
It was supjxised that no one knew so well as he how 
to touch the secret springs of action; how to pull all 
the wires to put his machinery in motion ; and how to 
organize a political array which would, secretly and 
stealthily accomplish the most gigantic results. By 
these powers it is said that he outv/itted Mr. Adams, 
Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which 
lew thought then could be accomplished. 

When Andrew Jackson was elected President he 
appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This 
position he resigned in 1831, and was immediately 
appointed Minister to England, where he went the 
same autumn. The Senate, however, wlien it met, 
refused to ratify the nomination, and he returned 



home, apparently untroubled; was nominated Vice 
President in tlie place of Calhoun, at the re-election 
of President Jackson; and with smiles for all and 
frowns for none, he took his place at the head of that 
Senate which \\iA refused to confirm his nomination 
as ambassador. 

His rejection by the Senate roused all the zeal of 
President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor- 
ite; and tills, probably more than any other cause, 
secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu 
live. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr. Van Buren re- 
ceived the Democratic nomination to succeed Gen. 
Jackson as President of the United States. He was 
elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the 
retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the 
canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van 
Buren to the Presidency was as much the act of Gen. 
Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred 
upon him the power to appoint a successor." 

His administration was filled with exciting events- 
The insurrection in Canada, which threatened to in- 
volve tills country in war with England, the agitation 
of the slavery question, and finally the great commer- 
cial ])anic which spread over the country, all were 
trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at- 
tributed to the management of the Democratic party, 
and brought the President into such disfavor that he 
failed of re-election. 

With the exception of being nominated for the 
Presidency by the "Free Soil" Democrats, in 1848, 
Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upoii his estate until 
his death. 

He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal habits, 
and living within his income, had now fortunately a 
competence for his declining years. His unblemished 
character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned 
patriotism, and the distinguished positions which he 
had occupied in the government of our country, se- 
cured to him not only the homage of his party, but 
the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 
4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from 
the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald, 
he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics 
of the country. From this time until his death, on 
the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty years, he 
resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, of 
culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old 
age, probably far more happiness than he had before 
experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life- 




^. J9r )Te<yi-^.'^i 



NINTH PRESIDENT. 



5« 





V^'^K' 



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'4 



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ILLIAM HENRY HARRI- 
SON, the ninth President of 
the United States, was born 
at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. 
His father, Benjamin Harri- 
son, was in comparatively op- 
ulent circumstances, and was 
one of the most distinguished 
men of his day. He was an 
intimate friend of George 
Washington, was early elected 
a member of the Continental 
Congress, and was conspicuous 
among the patriots of Virginia in 
resisting the encroachments of the 
British crown. In the celebrated 
Congress of 1775, Benjamin Har- 
rison and John Hancock were 
both candidates for the office of 
speaker. 

Mr Harrison was subsequently 
chosen Governor of Virginia, and 
was twice re-elected. His son, 
i William Henry, of course enjoyed 

in childhood all the advantages which wealth and 
intellectual and cultivated society could give. Hav- 
ing received a thorough common-school education, he 
entered Hampden Sidney College, where he graduated 
with honor soon after the death of his father. He 
then repaired to Philadelphia to study medicine under 
the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of 
Robert Morris, both of whom were, with his father, 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

iJpon the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and not- 
withstanding the '■eraonstrances of his friends, he 
abandoned his medical studies and entered the army, 
saving obtained a commission of Ensign from Presi- 



dent Washington. He was then but 19 years old. 
From that time he passed gradually upward in rank 
until he became aid to General Wa^ne, after whose 
death he resigned his commission. He was then ap- 
pointed Secretary of the North-western Territory. This 
Territory was then entitled to but one member in 
Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill that 
position. 

In the spring of 1800 the North-western Territory 
was divided by Congress into two portions. The 
eastern portion, comprising the region now embraced 
in the State of Ohio, was called '' The Territory 
north-west of the Ohio." The western portion, which 
included what is now called Indiana, Illinois and 
Wisconsin, was called the "Indiana Territory." Wil- 
liam Henry Harrison, then 27 years of age, wasap 
pointed by John Adams, Governor of the Indiana 
Territory, and immediately after, also Governor of 
Upper Louisiana. He was thus ruler over almost as 
extensive a realm as any sovereign upon the globe. He 
was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was in- 
vested with powers nearly dictatorial over the now 
rapidly increasing white population. The ability and 
fidelity with which he discharged these responsible 
duties may be inferred from the fact that he was four 
times appointed to this office — first by John Adams, 
twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterwards by Presi- 
dent Madison. 

When he began his adminstration there were but 
three white settlements in that almost boundless region, 
now crowded with cities and resounding with all the 
tumult of wealth and traffic-. One of these settlements 
was on the Ohio, nearly opposite Louisville; one at 
Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the third a French 
settlement. 

The vast wilderness over which Gov. Harrisou 
reigned was filled with many tribes of Indians. Abou* 



52 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



the year 1806, two extraordinary men, twin brothers, 
of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of 
these was called Tecumseh, or " The Crouching 
Panther;" the other, OUivvacheca, or "The Prophet." 
Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man 
of great sagacity, far-reaching foresight and indomit- 
able perseverance in any enterprise ni which he might 
engage. He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm, 
and had long regarded with dread and with hatred 
tlie encroachment of the whiles upon the hunting- 
grounds of his fathers. His brother, tlie Prophet, was 
an orator, who could sway the feelings of the untutored 
Indian as the gale tossed the tree-tops beneath which 
they dwelt. 

But the Prophet was not merely an orator : he was, 
in the superstitious minds of the Indians, invested 
with the superhuman dignity of a medicine-man or a 
magician. With an enthusiasm unsurpassed by Peter 
the Hermit rousing Europe to the crusades, he went 
from tribe to tribe, assuming that he was specially sent 
by the Great Spirit. 

Gov. Harrison made many attempts to conciliate 
the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Tippe- 
canoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. 
October 28, 1812, liis army began its march. When 
near the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made 
their appearance and inquired why Gov. Harri.iO)i was 
approaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a 
short conference, arrangements vvere made for a meet- 
ing the next day, to agree upon terms of peace. 

But Gov. Harrison was too well acquainted . with 
the Indian character to be deceived by such protes- 
tations. Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en- 
campment, he took every precaution against surprise. 
His troops were posted in a hollow square, and slept 
upon their arms. 

The troops threw themselves upon the ground for 
rest; but every man had his accourtrements on, his 
loaded musket by his side, and his bayonet fixed. The 
wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock in 
the morning, had risen, and was sitting in conversa- 
tion with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It 
was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In 
the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possi- 
ble, and j'ist then, with a savage yell, rushed, with all 
the desperation which superstition and passion most 
highly inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the 
little army. The savages had been amply provided 
with guns and ammunition by the English. Their 
war-whoop was accompained by a shower of bullets. 

The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as the 
light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide- 
^us yells, the Indian bands rushed on, not doubting a 
speedy and an entire victor}-. But Gen. Harrison's 
troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them 
until day dawned : they then made a simultaneous 
charge with the bayonet, and swept every thing be- 
fore them, and completely routing the foe. 



Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked 
to the utmost. The British descending from the Can- 
adas, were of themselves a very formidable force ; but 
with their savage allies, rushing like wolves from the 
forest, sear.hing out every remote farm-house, burn- 
ing, plundering, scalping, torturing, the wide frontier 
was plunged into a state of consternation which even 
the most vivid imagination can but faintly conceive. 
The war-whoop was resounding everywhere in the 
forest. The horizon was illuminated witli the conflagra- 
tion of the cabins of the settlers. Gen Hull had made 
the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. 
Under these despairing circumstances. Gov. Harrison 
was appointed by President Madison commander-in- 
chief of the North-western army, with orders to retake 
Detroit, and to protect the frontiers. 

It would be difficult to place a man in a situation 
demanding more energy, sagacity and courage; but 
General Harrison was found equal to the position, 
and nobly and triumphantly did he meet .all the re 
sponsibilities. 

He won the love of his soldiers by always sharinji 
with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, while 
pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a 
valise; and his bedding consisted of a single blanket 
lashed over his saddle. Thirty-five British officers, 
his prisoners of war, supped with him after the battle. 
The only fare he could give them was beef roasted 
before the fire, without bread or salt. 

In 1816, Gen. Harrison was chosen a member of 
the National House of Representatives, to represent 
the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved an 
active member; and whenever he spoke, it was with 
force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested 
the attention of all the members. 

In 1819, Harrison was elected to the Senate of 
Ohio; and in 1824, as one of the presidential electors 
of that State, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. The 
same year he was chosen to the United States Senate. 

In 1836, the friends of Gen. Harrison brought him 
forward as a candidate for the Presidency against 
Van Buren, but he was defeated. At the close of 
Mr. Van Buren's term, he was re-nomirated by his 
party, and Mr. Harrison was unanimously nominated 
by the Whigs, with John Tyler for the Vice Presidency. 
The contest was very animated. Gen Jackson gave 
all his influence to prevent Harrison's election ; but 
his triumph was signal. 

The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel Webster 
at its head as Secretary of State, was one of the most 
brilliant with which any President had ever been 
surrounded. Never were the prospects of an admin- 
istration more flattering, or the hopes of the country 
more sanguine. In the midst of these bright and 
joyous prospects. Gen. Harrison was seized by a 
pleurisy-fever and after a few days of violent sick- 
ness, died on the 4th of April; just one month after 
his inauguration as President of the Ur.ited States. 






^r^'' 





'-?/?^ 




TENTH PRESIDENT. 



55 





OHN TYLER, the tenth 
Presidentof the United States. 
He was born in Charles-city 
Co., Va., March 29, 1790. He 
was the favored child of af- 
fluence and high social po- 
sition. At the early age of 
twelve, John entered William 
and Mary College and grad- 
uated with much honor when 
but seventeen years old. After 
graduating, he devoted him- 
self with great assiduity to the 
study of law, partly with his 
father and partly with Edmund 
Randolph, one of the most distin- 
guished lawyers of Virginia. 

At nineteen years of age, ne 
commenced the practice of law. 
His success was rapid and aston- 
ishing. It is said that three 
months had not elapsed ere there 
was scarcely a case on the dock- 
et of the court in which he was 
i»Dt retained. When but twenty-one years of age, he 
was almost unanimously e'ected to a seat in the State 
Legislature. He connected himself with the Demo- 
cratic party, and warmly advocated the measures of 
Jefferson and Madison. For five successive years he 
was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the 
unanimous vote or his county. 

When but twenty-six years of age, he was elected 
a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and 
ably with the Democratic party, opposing a national 
bank, internal improvements by the General 'Govern- 



ment, a protective tariff, and advocatmg a strict con- 
struction of the Constitution, and the most careful 
vigilance over State rights. His labors in Congress 
were so arduous that before the close of his second 
term he found it necessary to resign and retire to his 
estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He, 
however, soon after consented to take his seat in the 
State Legislature, where his influence was powerful 
in promoting public works of great utility. With a 
reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was chosen 
by a very large majority of votes, Governor of his 
native State. His administration was signally a suc- 
cessful one. His popularity secured his re-election. 

John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed 
man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the 
United States. A portion of the Democratic party 
was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course, 
and brought forward John Tyler as his opponent, 
considering him the only man in Virginia of sufficient 
popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of 
Roanoke. Mr. Tyler was the victor. 

Li accordance with his professions, upon taking his 
seat in the Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposi- 
tion. He opposed the tariff; he spoke against and 
voted against the bank as unconstitutional ; he stren- 
uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resist- 
ing all projects of internal improvements by the Gen- 
eral Government, and avowed his sympathy with Mr. 
Calhoun's view of nullification; hedeclared that Gen. 
Jackson, by his opposition to the nullifiers, had 
abandoned the principles of the Democratic party. 
Such was Mr. Tyler's record in Congress, — a record 
in perfect accordance with the principles which he 
had always avowed. 

Returning to Virginia, he resumed the practice of 
his profession. There was a rplit in the Democratic 



56 



JOHN TYLER. 



jtarty. His friends still regarded him as a true Jef- 
fersonian, gave him a dinner, and showered compli- 
ments upon him. He had now attained the age of 
forty-six. His career had been very brilliant. In con- 
sequence of his devotion to public business, his pri- 
vate affairs had fallen into some disorder; audit was 
not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice 
of law, and devoted himself to the culture of his plan- 
tation. Soon after this he remosed to Williamsburg, 
for the betier education of his children ; and he again 
took his seat in the Legislature of Virginia. 

By the Southern Whigs, he was sent to the national 
convention at Harrisburg to nominate a President in 
J839. The majority of votes were given to Gen. Har- 
rison, a genuine Whig, much to the disappointment of 
the South, who wished for Henry Clay. To concili- 
ate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the 
convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice Pres- 
ident. It was well known that he was not in sympa- 
thy with the Whig party in the Noith: but the Vice 
President has but very little power in the Govern- 
ment, his main and almost only duty being to pre- 
side over the meetings of the Senate. Thus it hap- 
pened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a 
Democratic Vice President were chosen. 

In 1 84 1, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice Presi- 
dent of the United States. In one short month from 
that time. President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler 
thus -cund himself, to his own surprise and that of 
the whole Nation, an occupant of the Presidential 
chair. This was a new test of the stability of our 
institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our 
country that such an event had occured. Mr. Tyler 
was at home in Williamsburg when he received the 
unexpected tidings of the death of President Harri- 
son. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of 
April -.vas inaugurated to the high and responsible 
office. He was placed in a position of exceeding 
delicacy and difficulty. All his long life he had been 
opposed tc the main principles of the party which had 
brought him into power. He had ever been a con- 
sistent, honL:t man, with an unblemished record. 
Gen. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should 
he retain them, and thus surround himself with coun- 
sellors whose views were antagonistic to his own ? or, 
on the other hand, should he turn against the party 
which had elected him and select a cabinet in har- 
mony with himself, and which would oppose all those 
views which the Whigs deemed essential to the pub- 
lic welfare? This was his fearful dilemma. He in- 
vited the cabinet which President Harrison had 
selected to retain their seats. He reccommended a 
day of fasting and prayer, that God would guide and 
bless us. 

The Whigs carried through Congress a bill for the 
incor]wration of a fiscal bank of the United States. 
The President, after ten days' delay, returned it with 
his veto. He suceested, however, that he -.vould 



approve oi" a bill drawn up upon such a plan as he 
proposed. Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and 
privately submitted to him. He gave it his approval. 
It was passed without alteration, and he sent it back 
with his veto. Here commenced the open rupture. 
It is said that Mr. Tyler was provoked to this meas- 
ure by a published letter from the Hon. John M. 
Botts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who severely 
touched the pride of the President. 

The opposition now exultingly received the Presi- 
dent into their arms. The party which elected him 
denounced him bitterly. AH the members of his 
cabinet, excepting Mr. Webster, resigned. The Whigs 
of Congress, both the Senate and the House, held a 
meeting and issued an address to the people of the 
United States, proclaiming that all political alliance 
between the Whigs and President Tyler were at 
an end. 

Still the President attempted to conciliate. He 
appointed a new cabinet of distinguished Whigs and 
Conservatives, carefully leaving out all strong party 
men. Mr. Webster soon found it necessary' to resign, 
forced out by the pressure of his Whig friends. Thus 
the four years of Mr. Tyler's unfortunate administra- 
tion jjassed sadly away. No one was satisfied. The 
land was filled with murmurs and vituperation, ^\■higs 
and Democrats alike assailed him. More and more, 
however, he brought himself into sympathy with his 
old friends, the Democrats, until atthe close of his term, 
he gave his whole influence to the support of Mr. 
Polk, the Democratie candidate for his successor. 

On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from the 
harassments of office, to the regret of neither party, and 
probably to his own unspeakable relief. His first wife. 
Miss Letitia Christian, died in Washington, in 1842; 
and in June, 1844, President Tylei was again married, 
at New York, to Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady of 
many personal and intellectuaraccomplishments. 

The remainder of his days Mr. Tyler passed mainly 
in retirement at his beautiful home, — Sherwood For- 
est, Charles city Co., Va. A polished gentleman in 
his manners, richly furnished with information from 
books and experience in the world, and possessing 
brilliant powers of conversation, his family circle was 
the scene of unasual attractions. With sufficient 
means for the exercise of a generous hospitality, he 
might have enjoyed a serene old age with the few 
friends who gathered around him, were it not for the 
storms of civil war which his own principles and 
policy had helped to introduce. 

When the great Rebellion rose, which the State- 
rights and nullifying doctrines of Mr. John C. Cal- 
houn had inaugurated. President Tyler renounced his 
allegiance to the United States, and joined the Confed- 
erates. He was chosen a member of their Congress; 
and while engaged in active measures to destroy, by 
force of arms, the Government over which he had 
once presided, he was taken sick and soon died. 



#■ 



s^mM 




^^ 



"^ 



OCL^ 



ELEVENTH PRESIDENT. 



59 





AMES K. POLK, the eleventh 
?|aPresident of the United States, 
was born in Mecklenburg Co., 
N. C.,Nov. 2, 1795. His par- 
ents were Samuel and Jane 
(Knox) Polk, the former a son 
of Col. Thomas Polk, who located 
at the above place, as one of the 
first pioneers, in 1735. 

In the year 1S06, with his wife 
and children, and soon after fol- 
lowed by most of the members of 
the Polk famly, Samuel Polk emi- 
grated some two or three hundred 
miles farther west, to the rich valley 
of the Duck River. Here in the 
midst of the wilderness, in a region 
which was subsequently called Mau- 
ry Co., they reared their log huts, 
and established their homes. In the 
hard toil of a new farm in the wil- 
derness, James K. Polk spent the 
early years of his childhood and 
youth. His father, adding the pur- 
suit of a surveyor to that of a farmer, 
' gradually increased in wealth until 

he became one of the leading men of the region. His 
mother was a superior woman, of strong common 
sense and earnest piety. 

Very early in life, James developed a taste for 
reading and expressed the strongest desire to obtain 
a liberal education. His mother's training had made 
liim methodical in his habits, had taught him punct- 
uality and industry, and had inspired him with lofty 
principles of morality. His health was frail ; and his 
father fearing that he might '?ot W. able to endure a 



sedentary life, got a situation for him behind the 
counter, hoping to fit him for commercial pursuits. 

This was to James a bitter disappointment. He 
had no taste for these duties, and his daily tasks 
were irksome in the extreme. He remained in this 
uncongenial occupation but a few weeks, when at his 
earnest solicitation his father removed him, and made 
arrangements for him to prosecute his studies. Soon 
after he sent him to Murfreesboro Academy. With 
ardor which could scarcely be surpassed, he pressed 
forward in his studies, and in less than two and a half 
years, in the autumn of 1815, entered the sophomore 
class in the University of North Carolina, at Chapel 
Hill. Here he was one of the most exemplary of 
scholars, punctual in every exercise, never allowing 
himself to be absent from a recitation or a religious 
service. 

He graduated in 1818, with the highest honors, be* 
ing deemed the best scholar of his class, both in 
mathematics and the classics. He was then twenty- 
three years of age. Mr. Polk's health was at this 
time much impaired by the assiduity with which he 
had prosecuted his studies. After a short season of 
relaxation he went to Nashville, and entered the 
office of FeHx Grundy, to study law. Here Mr. Polk 
renewed his acquaintance with Andrew Jackson, who 
resided on his plantation, the Hermitage, but a few 
miles from Nashville. They had probably been 
slightly acquainted before. 

Mr. Polk's father was a Jeffersonian Republican, 
and James K. Polk ever adhered to the same politi- 
cal faith. He was a popular public speaker, and was 
constantly called upon to address the meetings of his 
party friends. His skill as a speaker was such that 
he was popularly called the Napoleon of the stump. 
He was a man of unblemished morals, genial and 



6o 



/AMES K. POLK. 



Murterus in his bearing, and with that sympathetic 
natu'-e in the jo) s and griefs of others which ever gave 
him troops of friends. In 1823, Mr. Polk was elected 
to the Legislature of Tennessee. Here he gave his 
strong influence towards the election of his friend, 
Mr. Jackson, to the Presidency of the United States. 

In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah 
Childress, of Rutherford Co., Tenn. His bride was 
altogether worthy of him, — a lady of beauty and cul- 
ture. In tlie fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a 
member of Congress. The satisfaction which he gave 
to liis constituents may be inferred from the fact, that 
for fourteen successive years, until 1839, he was con- 
tinuec* in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew, 
only that he might accept the Gubernatorial chair 
of Tennessee. In Congress he was a laborious 
member, a frequent and a popular speaker. He was 
always in his seat, always courteous ; and whenever 
he spoke it was always to the point, and without any 
ambitious rhetorical display. 

During five sessions of Congress, Mr. Polk was 
Speaker of the House, Strong passions were roused, 
and stormy scenes were witnessed ; but Mr. Polk per- 
formed his arduous duties to a very general satisfac- 
tion, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was 
passed by the House as he withdrew on the 4th of 
March, 1839. 

In accordance with Southern usage, Mr. Polk, as a 
candidate for Governor, canvassed the State. He was 
elected by a large majority, and on the 14th of Octo- 
ber, 1839, took the oath of office at Nashville. In 1841, 
his term of office expired, and he was again the can- 
didate of the Democratic party, but was defeated. 

On the 4th of March, 1845, Mr. Polk was inaugur- 
ated President of the United States. The verdict of 
the country in favor of the annexation of Texas, exerted 
its influence upon Congress ; and the last act of the 
administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig- 
nature to a joint resolution of Congress, passed on the 
•jd of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to 
the American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas 
as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister, 
Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and 
left the country, declaring the act of the annexation 
to be an act hostile to Mexico. 

l\\ his first message, President Polk urged that 
Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be re- 
ceived into the Union on the same footing with the 
Other States. In the meantime. Gen. Taylor was sent 



with an army into Texas to hold the country. He was 
sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the 
western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly 
two hundred miles further west, to the Rio Grande, 
where he erected batteries which commanded the 
Mexican city of Matamoras, which was situated on 
the western banks. 

The anticipated collision soon took place, and wai 
was declared against Mexico by President Polk. The 
war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration 
with great vigor.' Gen. Taylor, whose army was first 
called one of "observation,"' then of "occupation," 
then of " invasion," was sent forward to Monterey. The 
feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly 
and awfully slaughtered. The day of judgement 
alone can reveal the misery which this war caused. 
It v.'as by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administration 
that the war was brought on. 

'To the victors belong the spoils." Mexico was 
prostrate before us. Her capital was in our hands. 
We now consented to peace upon the condition that 
Mexico should surrender to us, in addition to Texas, 
all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Cal- 
ifornia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of 
Texas, eight hundred thousand square miles. This 
was an extent of territory equal to nine States of the 
size of New York. Thus slavery was securing eighteen 
majestic States to be added to the Union. There were 
some Americans who thought it all right : there were 
others who thought it all wrong. In the prosecution 
of this war, we expended twenty thousand lives and 
more than a hundred million of dollars. Of this 
money fifteen millions were paid to Mexico. 

On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired from 
office, having served one term. The next day was 
Sunday. On the 5th, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated 
as his successor. Mr. Polk rode to the Capitol in tlie 
same carriage vifith Gen. Taylor; and the same even- 
ing, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to 
Tennessee. He was then but fifty-four years of age. 
He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits, 
and his health was good. With an ample fortune, 
a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domestic ties 
of the dearest nature, it seemed as though long years 
of tranquility and happiness were before him. But the 
cholera — that fearful scourge — was then sweeping up 
the Valley of the Mississippi. This he contracted, 
and died on the istli of June, 1849, in the fifty-fourth 
year of his age, greatly mourned by his countrymen. 




yC:^^<^:>^4^(^^i„^^/ 




TWELFTH PRESIDENT. 



63 







-aa\,. 



;«4^<lj|t.4JX¥ f4¥*«?«- i 




ACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth 
/■resident of the United States, 
''was born on the 24th of Nov., 
1784, in Orange Co., Va. His 
father, Colonel Taylor, was 
a Virginian of note, and a dis- 
■^ tinguished patriot and soldier of 
the Revolution. When Zachary 
was an infant, his father with his 
wife and two children, emigrated 
to Kentucky, where he settled in 
the pathless wilderness, a few 
miles from Louisville. \\\ this front- 
ier home, away from civilization and 
all its refinements, young Zachary 
could enjoy but few social and educational advan- 
tages. When six years of age he attended a common 
school, and was then regarded as a bright, active boy, 
i-ather remarkable for bluntness and decision of char- 
acter He was strong, feailess and self-reliant, and 
oianifested a strong desire to enter the army to fight 
the Lidians who were ravaging the frontiers. There 
is little to be recorded of the uneventful years of his 
childhood on his father's large but lonely plantation. 
In 1S08, his father succeeded in obtaining for him 
the commission of lieutenant in the United States 
army ; and he joined the troops which were stationed 
at New Orleans under Gen. Wilkinson. Soon after 
this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady 
from one of the first families of Maryland. 

Liimediately after the declaration of war with Eng- 
land, in 18 12, Capt. Taylor (for he had then been 
promoted to that rank) was put in command of Fort 
Harrison, on the Wabash, about fifty miles above 
Vincennes. This fort had been built in the wilder- 
ness by Gen. Harrison, on his march to Tippecanoe. 
Tt was one of the first points of attack by the Lidians, 
";ed by Tecuniseh. Its garrison consisted of a broken 



company of infantry numbering fifty men, many of 
whom were sick. 

Early in the autumn of 1812, the Indians, stealthily, 
and in large numbers, moved upon the fort. Their 
approach was first indicated by the murder of two 
soldiers just outside of the stockade. Capt. Taylor 
made every possible preparation to meet the antici- 
pated assault. On the 4th of September, a band of 
forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort, 
waving a white flag, and informed Capt. Taylor that 
in the morning their chief would come to have a talk 
with him. It was evident that their object was merely 
to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt. 
Taylor, well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept 
them at a distance. 

The sun went down; the savages disappeared, the 
garrison slept upon their arms. One hour before 
midnight the war whoop burst from a thousand lips 
in the forest around, followed by the discharge of 
musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every man, sick 
and well, sprang to his post. Every man knew that 
defeat was not merely death, but in the case of cap- 
ture, death by the most agonizing and prolonged tor- 
ture. No pen can describe, no immagination can 
conceive the scenes which ensued. The savages suc- 
ceeded in setting fire to one of the block-houses- 
Until si.\ o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict 
continued. The savages then, baffled at every point, 
and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired. Capt. 
Taylor, for this gallant defence, was promoted to the 
rank of major by brevet. 

Until the close of the war. Major Taylor was placed 
in such situations that he saw but little more of active 
service. He was sent far away into the depths of the 
wilderness, to Fort Crawford, on Fox River, which 
empties into Green Bay. Here there was but little 
to be done but to wear away the tedious hours as one 
best could. There were no books, no society, no in- 



64 



ZACHARY TAYLOR. 



tellectual stimulus. Thus with him the uneventful 
years rolled on Gradually he rose to the rank of 
colonel. In the Black-Hawk war, which resulted in 
the capture of that renowned chieftain, Col Taylor 
took a subordinate but a brave and efficient part. 

For twenty -four years Col. Taylor was engaged in 
the defence of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and in 
employments so obscure, that his name was unknown 
beyond the limits of his own immediate acquaintance. 
In the year 1836, he was sent to Florida to compel 
the Semi\iole Indians to vacate that region and re- 
tire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty, 
iiac' promised they should do. The services rendered 
heie secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of 
the Government; and as a reward, he was elevated 
to ;he rank of brigadier-general by brevet ; and soon 
after, in May, 1838, was appointed to the chief com- 
mand of the United States troops in Florida. 

After two years of such wearisome employment 
amidst the everglades of the peninsula. Gen. Taylor 
obtained, at his owr^request, a change of command, 
and was stationed over the Department of the South- 
west. This field embraced Lx)uisiana, Mississippi, 
Alabama and Georgia. Establishing his headquarters 
at Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, he removed his family 
to a plantation which he purchased, near Baton Rogue. 
Here he remained for five years, buried, as it were, 
from tiie world, but faithfully discharging every duty 
imposed upon him. 

In 1846, Gen. Taylor was sent to guard the land 
between the Nueces and Rio Grande, the latter river 
being the boundary of Texas, which was then claimed 
by the United States. Soon the war vvitli Me.\ico 
was brought on, and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
Palma, Gen. Taylor won brilliant victories over the 
Mexicans. The rank of major-general by brevet 
was then conferred upon Gen. Taylor, and his name 
was received with enthusiasm almost everywhere in 
the Nation. Then came the battles of Monterey and 
Buena Vista in which he won signal victories over 
forces much larger than he commanded. 

His careless habits of dress and his unaffected 
simplicity, secured for Gen. Taylor among his troops, 
\\\^ sobriquet of "Old Rough and Ready.' 

Tlie tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena Vista 
spread the wildest enthusiasm over the country. The 
name of Gen. Taylor was on every one's lips. The 
''Vhig party decided to take advantage of this wonder- 
ful popularity in bringing forward the unpolished, un- 

■ "|-ed, honest soldier as their candidate for the 
I'residency. Gen. Taylor was astonished at the an- 
nouncement, and for a time would not listen to it; de- 
claring that he was not at all (jualified for such an 
office. So little interest had he taken in politics that, 
for forty years, he had not cast a vote. It was not 
without chagrin that several distinguished statesmen 
who hadbeen long years in the public service found 
•l.iir claims set aside in behalf of one whose name 



had never been heard of, save in connection with Palo 
Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena 
Vista. It is said that Daniel Webster, in his haste re- 
marked, " It is a nomination not fit to be made." 

Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker nor a fine 
writer His friends took possession of him, and pre- 
pared such few communications as it was needful 
should be presented to the public. The popularity of 
the successful warrior swept the land. He was tri- 
umphantly elected over two opposing candidates, — 
Gen. Cass and Ex-President Martin Van Buren. 
Though he selected an excellent cabinet, the good 
old man found himself in a veiy uncongenial jxjsition, 
and was, at times, sorely perplexed and harassed. 
His mental sufferings were very severe, and probably 
tended to hasten his death. The pro-slavery party 
was pushing its claims with tireless energy , expedi- 
tions were fitting out to capture Cuba ; California was 
pleading for admission to the Union, while slavery 
stood at the door to bar her out. Gen. Taylor found 
the political conflicts in Washington to be far more 
trying to the nerves than battles with Mexicans or 
Indians 

In the midst of all these troubles, Gen. Taylor, 
after he had occupied the Presidential chair but little 
over a year, took cold, and after a brief sickness of 
but little over five days, died on the 9th of July, 1850. 
His last woids were, "I am not afraid to die. I am 
ready. I have endeavored to do my duty." He died 
universally respected and beloved. An honest, un- 
pretending man, he had been steadily growing in the 
affections of the people ; and the Nation bitterly la- 
mented his death. 

Gen. Scott, who was thoroughly acquainted with 
Gen. Taylor, gave the following graphic and truthful 
description of his character: — " With a good store of 
common sense, Gen. Taylor's mind had not been en- 
larged and refreshed by reading, or much converse 
with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the conse- 
quence. The frontiers and small military posts had 
been his home. Hence he was quite ignorant for his 
rank, and quite bigoted in his ignorance. His sim- 
plicity was child-like, and with innumerable preju- 
dices, amusing and incorrigible, well suited to the 
tender age. Thus, if a man, however respectable, 
chanced to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hat 
a little on one side of his head; or an officer to leave 
a corner of his handkerchief dangling from an out- 
side pocket, — in any such case, this critic held the 
offender to be a co.Kcomb (perhaps something worse), 
whom he would not, to use his oft repeated phrase, 
' touch with a pair of tongs.' 

"Any allusion to literature beyond good old Dil- 
worth's spelling-book, on the part of one wearing a 
sword, was evidence, with the same judge, of utter 
unfitness for heavy marchings and combats. Inshore 
few men have ever had a more comforrab'l'^, '"^iot. 
saving contempt for learning of every kind.' 





^^i-t^</^: 



^c 



■{^^I-^'OO-IM 



THIRTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



6r 





^'MILLflRn FILLfflnHE.'^ 







ILLARD FILLMORE, thir- 
teenth President of the United 
States, was born at Summer 
Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y ., on 
the 7th of Januar)-, 1800. His 
'' "^ father was a farmer, and ow- 
9 ing to misfortune, in humble cir- 
cumstances. Of his mother, the 
daughter of Dr. Abiathar Millard, 
of Pittsfield, Mass., it has been 
said that she possessed an intellect 
ofveryliigh order, united with much 
personal loveliness, sweetness of dis- 
position, graceful manners and ex- 
quisite sensibilities. She died in 
1831 ; having lived to see her son a 
young man of distinguished prom- 
ise, though she was not permitted to witness the high 
dignity which he finally attained. 

In consequence of the secluded home and limited 
means of his father, Millard enjoyed but slender ad- 
vantages for education in his early years. The com- 
mon schools, which he occasionally attended were 
very imperfect institutions; and books were scarce 
and expensive. There was nothing then in his char- 
acter to indicate the brilliant career upon which he 
was about to enter. He was a plain farmer's boy ; 
intelligent, good-looking, kind-hearted. The sacred 
influences of home had taught him to revere the Bible, 
and had laid the foundations of an upright character. 
When fourteen years of age, his father sent him 
some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds of 
Livingston County, to learn the trade of a clothier. 
Neai the mi'! there was a small villiage, wherp some 



enterprising man had commenced the collection of a 
village library. This proved an inestimable blessing 
to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent in read- 
ing. Soon every leisure moment was occupied VNith 
books. His thirst fur knowledge became insatiate 
and the selections which he made were continually 
more elevating and instructive. He read history, 
biography, oratory, and thus gradually there was en- 
kindled in his heart a desire to be something more 
than a mere worker with his hands; and he was be- 
coming, almost unknown to himself, a well-informed, 
educated man. 

The young clothier had now attained the age of 
nineteen years, and was of fine personal appearance 
and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so happened tha', 
there was a gentleman in the neighborhood of ample 
pecuniary means and of benevolence, — Judge Walter 
Wood, — who was struck with the jirepossessing ap- 
pearance of young Fillmore. He made his acquaint- 
ance, and was so much impressed with his ability and 
attainments that he advised him to abandon his 
trade and devote himself to the study of the law. The 
young man replied, that he had no means of his own, 
r.o friends to help him and that his previous educa- 
tion had been very imperfect. But Judge Wood had 
so much confidence in him that he kindly offered to 
take him into his own office, and to loan him such 
money as he needed. Most gratefully the generous 
offer was accepted. 

There is in many minds a strange delusion about 
a collegiate education. A young man is supposed to 
be liberally educated if he has graduated at some col- 
lege. But many a boy loiters through university hal' ; 
Hnd then enters a law office, who is by no means as 



ai 



MILLARD FILLMORE. 



well prepared to prosecute his legal studies as was 
Millard Fillmore when he graduated at the clothing- 
mill at the end of four years of manual labor, during 
which every leisure moment had been devoted to in- 
tense mental culture. 

In 1823, when twenty-three years of age, he v/as 
admitted to the Court of Common Pleas. He then 
went to the village of Aurora, and commenced the 
practice of law. In this secluded, peaceful region, 
his practice of course was limited, and there was no 
opportunity for a sudden rise in fortune or hi fame. 
Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of great 
moral worth, and one capable of adorning any station 
she might be called to fill, — Miss Abigail Powers. 

His elevation of character, his untiring industr)', 
his legal acquirements, and his skill as an advocate, 
gradually attracted attention ; and he was invited to 
enter into partnership under highly advantageous 
circumstances, with an elder member of the bar in 
Buffalo. Just before removing to Buffalo, in 1829, 
he took his seat in the House of Assembly, of the 
State of New York, as a representative from Erie 
County. Though he had never taken a very active 
part in politics, his vote and his sympathies were with 
the Whig party. The State was then Democratic, 
and he found himself in a helpless minority in the 
Legislature , still the testimony comes from all parties, 
that his courtesy, ability and integrity, won, to a very 
unusual degn e tiie respect of his associates. 

In the autumn of 1832, he was elected to a seat in 
Ihe United States Congress He entered that troubled 
arena in some of the most tumultuous hours of our 
national history. The great conflict respecting the 
national bank and the removal of the deposits, was 
then raging. 

His term of two years closed ; and he returned to 
his profession, which he pursued with increasing rep- 
utation and success. After a lapse of two years 
he again became a candidate for Congress ; was re- 
elected, and took his seat in 1837. His past expe- 
rience as a representative gave hmi stiength and 
confidence. The first term of service in Congress to 
any man can be but little more than an introduction. 
He was now prepared for active duty. All his ener- 
gies were brought to bear uixjn the public good. E\ery 
measure received his impress. 

Mr. Fillmore was,now a man of wide repute, and 
his popularity filled the State, and in the year 1847, 
he was elected Comptroller of the State. 



Mr. Fillmore had attained the age of forty-seven 
years. His labors at the bar, in the Legislature, in 
Congress and as Comptroller, had given him very con- 
siderable fame. The Whigs were casting about to 
find suitable candidates for President and Vice-Presi- 
dent at the approaching election. Far away, on the 
waters of the Rio Grande, there was a rough old 
soldier, who had fought one or two successful battles 
with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be 
proclaimed in tiumpet-tones all over the land. But 
it was necessary to associate with him on the same 
ticket some man of reputation as a statesman. 

Under the influence of these considerations, the 
namesof Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became 
the rallying-cry of the Whigs, as their candidates for 
President and Vice-Peesident. The Whig ticket was 
signally triumphant. On the 4th of March, 1849, 
Gen. Taylor was inaugurated President, and Millard 
Fillmore Vice-President, of the United States. 

On the 9th of July, 1850, President Taylor, but 
about one year and four months after his inaugura 
tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the Con- 
stitution, Vice-President Fillmore thus became Presi- 
dent. He appointed a very able cabinet, of which 
the illustrious Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. 

Mr. Fillniore had very serious difficulties to contend 
with, since the opposition had a majority in both 
Houses. He did everything in his power to conciliate 
the South; but the pro-slavery party in the South felt 
the inadequacy of all measuresof transient conciliation. 
The population of the free States was so rapidly in- 
creasing over that of the slave States that it was in- 
evitable that the power of the Government should 
soon pass into the hands of the free States. The 
famous compromise measures were adopted under Mr. 
Fillmcre's adininstration, and the Japan Exiiedition 
was sent out. On the 4th of March, 1853, Mr. Fill- 
more, having served one term, retired. 

In 1856, Mr. Fillmore was nominated for the Pres- 
idency by the " Know Nothing " party, but was Ijeaten 
by Mr. Buchanan. After that Mr. Fillmore lived in 
retirement. During the terrible conflict of civil war, 
he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed that 
his sympathies were rather with those who were en- 
deavoring to overthrow our institutions. President 
Fillmore kept aloof from the conflict, without any 
cordial words of cheer to the one party or the other. 
He was thus forgotten by both. He lived to a ripe 
old age, and died in Buffalo. N. Y., March 8, 1874. 




(L- 



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FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



71 







^^ : -0 ;^: ^'FHflNKLIN PIERCE.^ 






1: ^'FliftNKLlN PIERCE. '4 .^*[ . . c^ ; .^^^ 






RANKLIN PIERCE, the 
lourteenth President of the 
' United States, was born in 
Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 
23, 1804. His father was a 
Revolutionary soldier, who, 
with his own strong arm, 
hewed out a home in the 
wilderness. He was a man 
of inflexible integrity; of 
strong, though uncultivated 
mind, and an uncompromis- 
ing Democrat. The mother of 
Franklin Pierce was all that a son 
could desire, — an intelligent, pru- 
dent, affectionate, Christian wom- 
an. Franklin was the sixth of eight children. 

Franklin was a very bright and handsome boy, gen- 
erous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the 
love of old and young. The boys on the play ground 
loved him. His teachers loved him. The neighbors 
looked upon him with pride and affection. He was 
by instinct a gentleman; always speaking kind words, 
doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact 
which taught him what was agreeable. Without de- 
veloping any precocity of genius, or any unnatural 
devotion to books, he was a good scholar; in body, 
in mind, in affections, a finely-developed boy. 

When sixteen years of age, in the year 1820, he 
entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Me. He was 
one of the most ]5opular young men in the college. 
The purity cf his moral character, the unvarying 
courtesy of his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and 



genial nature, rendered him a universal favorite. 
There was something very peculiarly winning in his 
address, and it was evidently not in the slightest de- 
gree studied : it was the simple outgushing of his 
own magnanimous and loving nature. 

Upon graduating, in the year 1824, Franklin Pierce 
commenced the study of law in the office of Judge 
Woodbury, one of the most distinguished lawyers of 
the State, and a man of great private worth. The 
eminent social qualities of the young lawyer, his 
father's prominence as a public man, and the brilliant 
political career into which Judge Woodbury was en- 
tering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the faci- 
nating yet perilous path of political life. With all 
the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of Gen. 
Jackson for the Presidency. He commenced the 
practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected 
to represent the town in the State Legislature. Here 
he served for four yeais. The last two years he was 
chosen speaker of the house by a very large vote. 

In 1833, at the age of twenty-nine, he was elected 
a member of Congress. Without taking an active 
part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty 
and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom 
he was associatad. 

In 1837, being then but thirty-three years of age, 
he was elected to the Senate of the United States; 
taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced 
his administration. He was the youngest member in 
the Senate. In the year 1834, he married Miss Jane 
Means Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom- 
plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn every 
station with which her husband was honored, Of the 



72 



l^RANKLIN PIERCE. 



three sons who were born to them, all now sleep with 
their parents in the grave. 

In the year 1838, Mr. Pierce, with growing fame 
and increasing business as a lawyer, took up his 
residence in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. 
President Polk, upon his accession to office, appointed 
Mr. Pierce attorney-general of the United States ; but 
the offer was declined, in consequence of numerous 
professional engagements at home, and the precariuos 
state of Mrs. Pierce's health. He also, about the 
same time declined the nomination for governor by the 
Democratic party. The war with Mexico called j\Ir. 
Pierce in the army. Receiving the appointment of 
brigadier-general, he embarked, with a portion of his 
troops, at Newport, R. I., on the 27th of May, 1847. 
He took an important part in this war, proving him- 
self a brave and true soldier. 

When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native 
State, he was received enthusiastically by the advo- 
cates of the Mexican war, and coldly by his oppo- 
nents. He resumed the practice of his profession, 
very frequently taking an active part in political ques- 
tions, giving his cordial support to the pro-slavery 
wing of the Democratic party. The compromise 
measures met cordially with his approval ; and he 
strenuously advocated the enforcement of the infa- 
mous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked the religious 
sensibilities of the North. He thus became distin- 
guished as a " Northern man with Southern principles.'' 
The strong partisans of slavery in the South conse- 
quently regarded him as a man whom they could 
•afely trust in office to carry out their plans. 

On the 1 2th of June, 1852, the Democratic conven- 
tion met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the 
Presidency. For four days they continued in session, 
and in thirty-five ballotings no one had obtained a 
two-thirds vote. Not a vote thus far had been thrown 
for Gen. Pierce. Then the Virginia delegation 
brought forward his name. There were fourteen 
more ballotings, during which Gen. Pierce constantly 
gained strength, until, at the forty-ninth ballot, he 
received two hundred and eighty-two votes, and all 
other candidates eleven. Gen. Winfield Scott was 
the Whig candidate. Gen. Pierce was chosen with 
great unanimity. Only four States — Vermont, Mas- 
sachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee — cast their 
electoral votes against him Gen. Franklin Pieice 
was therefore inaugurated President of the United 
States on the 4th of March, 1853. 



His administration proved one of the most stormy our 
country had ever experienced. The controversy be 
tween slavery and freedom was then approaching its 
culininating point. It became evident that there was 
an "irrepressible conflict " between them, and that 
this Nation could not long exist half slave and half 
free." President Pierce, during the whole of his ad- 
ministration, did every thing he could to conciliate 
the South ; but it was all in vain. The conflict every 
year grew more violent, and threats of the dissolution 
of the Union were borne to the North on every South- 
ern breeze. 

Such was the condition of affairs when President 
Pierce approached the close of his four-years' term 
of office. The North had become thoroughly alien- 
ated from him. The anti-slavery sentiment, goaded 
by great outrages, had been rapidly increasing; all 
the intellectual ability and social worth of President 
Pierce were forgotten in deep reprehension of his ad- 
ministrative acts. The slaveholders of the South, also, 
unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advo- 
cated those measures of Government which they ap- 
proved, and perhaps, also, feeling that he had 
rendered himself so unpopular as no longer to be 
able acceptably to serve them, ungratefully dropped 
him, and nominated James Buchanan to succeed him. 

On the 4th of March, 1857, President Pierce re- 
tired to his home in Concord. Of three children, two 
had died, and his only surviving child had been 
killed before his eyes by a railroad accident ; and his 
wife, one of the most estimable and accomplished of 
ladies, was rapidly sinking in consumption. The 
hour of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left 
alone in the world, without wife or child. 

When the terrible Rebellion burst forth, which di- 
vided our country into two parties, and two only, Mr. 
Pierce remained steadfast in the principles which he 
had always cherished, and gave his sympathies to 
that pro-slavery party with which he had ever been 
allied. He declined to do anything, either by voice 
or pen, to strengthen the hand of the National Gov- 
ernment. He continued to reside in Concord until 
the time of his death, which occurred in October, 
1869. He was one of the most genial and social of 
men, an honored communicant of the Episcopal 
Church, and one of the kindest of neighbors. Gen- 
erous to a fault, he contributed liberally for the al- 
leviation of suffering and want, and many of his towns- 
people were often gladened by his material bounty. 




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I'IFTEENTH PRESIDENT, 



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AMES BUCHANAN, the fif- 
teenth President of the United 
States, was born in a small 
frontier town, at the foot of the 
eastern ridge of the Allegha- 
nies, in Franklin Co., Penn.,on 
the 23d of April, 1791. The ;>lace 
where the inunble cabin of his 
father stood was called Stony 
Batter. It was a wild and ro- 
mantic spot in a gorge of the moun- 
tains, with towering summits rising 
grandly all around. His father 
was a native of the north of Ireland ; 
a poor man, who had emigrated in 
1783, with little property save his 
own strong arms. Five years afterwards he married 
Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a respectable farmer, 
and, with his young bride, plunged into the wilder- 
ness, staked his claim, reared his log-hut, opened a 
clearing with his axe, and settled down there to per- 
form his obscure part in the drama of life. In this se- 
cluded home, where James was born, he remained 
for eight years, enjoying but few social or intellectual 
advantages. Wiien James was eight years of age, his 
father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where 
his son was placed at school, and commenced a 
course of study in English, Latin and Greek. His 
progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen, he 
entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle. Here he de- 
veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand among 
the first scholars in the institution. His application 
'to study was intense, and yet his native powers en- 



abled him to master the most abstruse subjects wi '- 
facility. 

In the year 1809, he graduated with the highest 
honors of his clas^. He was then eighteen years of 
age; tall and graceful, vigorous in health, fond of 
athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened with 
an exuberant flow of animal spirits. He immediately 
commenced the study of law in tlie city of Lancaster, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1812, when he was 
but twenty-one years of age. Very rapidly lie rose 
in his profession, and at once took undisputed stand 
with the ablest lawyers of the State. When but 
twenty-six years of age, unaided by counsel, he suc- 
cessfully defended before the State Senate ov^e of the 
judges of the State, who was tried upon articles of 
impeachment. At the age of thirty it was generally 
admitted that he stood at the head of the bar; and 
there was no lawyer in the State who had a more lu- 
crative practice. 

In 1820, he reluctantly consented to run as a 
candidate for Congress. He was elected, and for 
ten years he remained a member of the Lower House. 
During the vacations of Congress, he occasionally 
tried some important case. In 1831, he retired 
altogether from the toils of his VJrofession, having ac- 
quired an ample fortune. 

Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the Presidency, 
appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Russia. 1 he 
duties of his mission he performed with ability, which 
gave'satisfaction to all parties. Upon his return, in 
1833, he was elected to a seat in the United States 
Senate. He there met, as his associates, V/ebster, 
Clay, Wright and Calhoun. He advocated the meas- 
ures proposed by President Jackson, cf miking repn- 



76 



JAMES BUCHANAN. 



sals against France, to enforce the payment of our 
claims against that country ; and defended the course 
of the President in his unprecedented and wholesale 
removal from office of those who were not the sup- 
porters of his administration. Upon this question he 
was brought into direct collision with Henry Clay. 
Ho-also, with voice and vote, advocated expunging 
from the journal of the Senate the vote of censure 
against Gen. Jackson for removing the deposits. 
Earnestly he opposed the abolition of slavery in the 
District of Columbia, and urged the prohibition of the 
circulation of anti-slavery documents by the United 
States mails. 

As to petitions on the subject of slavery, he advo- 
cated that they should be respectfully received; and 
that the reply should be returned, that Congress had 
no power to legislate upon the subject. " Congress," 
said he, " might as well undertake to interfere with 
slavery under a foreign government as in any of the 
States where it now exists." 

Upon Mr, Polk's accession to the Presidency, Mr. 
Buchanan became Secretary of State, and as such, 
took his share of the responsibility in the conduct of 
the Mexican War. Mr. Polk assumed that crossjng 
the Nueces by the American troops into the disputed 
territory was not wrong, but for the Mexicans to cross 
the Rio Grande into that territory was a declaration 
of war. No candid man can read with pleasure the 
account of the course our Government pursued in that 
movement 

Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with 
the party devoted to the pi-r|)etuation and extension 
of slavery, and brought all the energies of his mind 
to bear against the Wilmot Proviso. He gave his 
cordial approval to the compromise measures of 1S50, 
which included the fugitive-slave law. Mr. Pierce, 
upon his election to the Presidency, honored Mr. 
Buchanan with the mission to England. 

In the year 1856, a national Democratic conven- 
tion nominated Mr. Buchanan for the Presidency. The 
political conflict was one of tlie most severe in which 
our country has ever engaged. All the friends of 
slavery were on one side; all the advocates of its re- 
striction and final abolition, on the other. Mr. Fre- 
mont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery, re- 
ceived 114 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received 
174, and was elected. The popular vote stood 
1,340,618, for Fremont, 1,224,750 for Buchanan. On 
March 4th. 1857, Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated. 

Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only four 
vears were wanting to fill up his threescore years and 
ten. His own friends, those with whom he had been 
allied in political principles and action for years, were 
seeking the destruction of the Government, that they 
might rear upon the ruins of our free institutions a 
nation whose corner-stone should be human slavery. 
In this emergency, Mr. Buchanan was hopelessly be- 
wildered He could not, with his long-avowed prin- 



ciples, consistently oppose the State-rights party in 
their assumptions. As President of the United States, 
bound by his oath faithfully to administer the laws, 
he could not, without perjury of the grossest kind, 
unite with those endeavoring to overthrow the repub- 
lic. He therefore did nothing. 

The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administration 
nominated Abraham Luicoln as their standard bearer 
in the next Presidential canvass. The pro-slavery 
party declared, that if he were elected, and the con- 
trol of the Government were thus taken from their 
hands, they would secede from the Union, taking 
with them, as they retired, the National Capitol at 
Washington, and the lion's share of the territory of 
the United States. 

Mr. Buchanan's sympathy with the pro-slaverj' 
party was such, that he had been willing to offer them 
far more than they had ventured to claim. All the 
South had professed to ask of the North was non- 
intervention upon the subject of slavery. Mr. Bu- 
chanan had been ready to offer them the active co- 
operation of the Government to defend and extend 
the institution. 

As the storm increased in violence, the slaveholders 
claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Buchanan avow- 
ing that Congress had no power to prevent it, one of 
the most pitiable exhibitions of governmental im- 
becility was exhibited the world has ever seen. He 
declared that Congress had no power to enforce its 
laws in any State which had withdrawn, or which 
was attempting to withdraw from the Union. This 
was not the doctrine of Aiidrew Jackson, when, with 
his hand upon his sword-hilt, he exclaimed, " The 
Union must and shall be preserved!" 

South Carolina seceded in December, i860; nearly 
three months before the inauguration of President 
Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in listless despair. 
The rebel flag was raised in Charleston; Fort Sumpter 
was besieged; our forts, navy-yards and arsenals 
were seized ; our depots of military stores were plun- 
dered ; and our custom-houses and post-offices were 
appropriated by the rebels. 

The energy of the rebels, and the imbecility of our 
Executive, were alike marvelous. The Nation looked 
on in agony, waiting for the slow weeks to glide away, 
and close the administration, so terrible in its weak- 
ness At length the long-looked-for hour of deliver- 
ance came, when Abraham Lincoln was to receive the 
scepter. 

The administration of President Buchanan was 
certainly the most calamitous our country has ex- 
perienced. His best friends cannot recall it with 
pleasure. And still more deplorable it is for his fame, 
that in that dreadful conflict which rolled its billows 
of flame and blood over our whole land, no word came 
from his lips to indicate his wish that our country's 
banner should triumph over the flag of the rebellioi\ 
He died at his Wheatland retreat, Jime i, 1868. 




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SIXTEENTH F R ES /DET\rT. 



79 






I i ABRAHAM > ^:i?)i-<li? J LINCOLN. > i 




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BRAHAM LINCOLN, the 
sixteenth President of the 
I-^United States, was born in 
Hardin Co., Ky., Feb. 12, 
1809. About the yean 7 80, a 
man by the name of Abraham 
Lincobi left Virginia with his 
family and moved into the then 
wilds of Kentucky. Only two years 
after this emigration, still a young 
man, while working one day in a 
field, was stealthily approached by 
an Lidian and shot dead. His widow 
was left in extreme poverty with five 
little children, three boys and two 
girls. Thomas, the youngest of the 
boys, was four years of age at his 
father's death. Tliis Thomas was 
the father of Abraham Lincoln, the 
President of the United States 
whose name must henceforth fo'-ever be enrolled 
with the most prominent in the annals of our world. 
Of course no record has been kept of the life 
of one so lowly as Thomas Lincoln. He was among 
the poorest of the poor. His home was a wretched 
log-cabin; his food the coarsest and the meanest. 
Education he had none ; he could never either read 
or write. As soon as he was able to do anything for 
himself, he was compelled to leave the cabin of his 
starving mother, and push out into the world, a friend- 
less, wandering boy, seeking work. He hired him- 
self out, and thus spent the whole of his youth as a 
laborer in the fields of others. 

When twenty-eight years of age he built a log- 
cabin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the 
daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emi- 
grants, who had also come from Virginia. Their 
second child was Abraham Lincoln, the subject of 
this sketch. The mother of Abraham was a noble 
woman, gentle, loving, pensive, created to adorn 
a palace, doomed to toil and pine, and die in a hovel. 
"All that I am, or hope to be," e.xclaims the grate- 
ful son " I owe to my angel-mother. 

When he was eight years of age, his father sold his 



cabin and small farm, and moved to Indiana Whei- 
two years later his mother died. 

Abraham soon became the scribe of the uneducated 
community around him. He could not have had a 
better school than this to teach him to put thoughts 
into words. He also became an eager reader. ' The 
books he could obtain were few ; but these he i.'ead 
and re-read until they were almost committp'^ tc 
memory. 

As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly fair.ilj 
was the usual lot of humanity. There were joys and 
griefs, weddings and funerals. Abraham's sisto 
.Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was mai 
ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, and 
soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr 
Thomas Lincoln sold out his squatter's claim in 1830 
and emigrated to Macon Co., 111. 

Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age. 
With vigorous hands he aided his father in rearing 
another log-cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this 
until he saw the family comfortably settled, and theii 
small lot of enclosed prairie planted with corn, when 
he announced to liis father his intention to leave 
home, and to go out into the world and seek his for- 
tune. Little did he or his friends imagine how bril- 
liant that fortune was to be. He saw the value o! 
education and was intensely earnest to improve his 
mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the ruin 
which ardent spirits were causing, and became 
strictly temperate ; refusing to allow a drop of intoxi- 
cating liquor to pass his lips. And he had read in 
God's word, "Thou shalt not take the name of tha 
Lord thy God in vain ;" and a profane expression ha 
was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. His 
morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated by a 
single vice. 

Young Abraham worked for a time as a hired laborei 
among the farmers. Then he went to Springfield, 
where he was employed in building a large flat-boat. 
In this he took a herd of swine, floated them down 
the Sangamon to the Illinois, and thence by the Mis- 
sissippi to New Orleans. Whatever Abraham Lin- 
coln undertook, he performed so faithfully as to give 
great satisfaction to his employers. In this adven 



8o 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



ture his employers were so well pleased, that upon 
his return tney placed a store and mill under his care. 

In 1832, at the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, he 
enlisted and was chosen captain of a company. He 
returned to Sangamon County, and although only 23 
years of age, was a candidate for the Legislature, but 
was defeated. He soon after received from Andrew 
Jackson the appointmentof Postmaster of New Salem, 
His only post-ofifice was his hat. All the letters he 
received he carried there ready to deliver to those 
he chanced to meet. He studied surveying, and soon 
made this his business. In 1834 he again became a 
candidate for the Legislature, and was elected Mr. 
Stuart, of Sjiringfield, advised him to study law. He 
walked from New Salem to Springfield, borrowed of 
Mr. Stuart a load of books, carried them back and 
began his legal studies. When the Legislature as- 
sembled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back 
one hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In 
1836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it 
was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he re- 
moved to Springfield and began the practice of law. 
His success with the jury was so great that he was 
soon engaged in almost every noted case in the circuit. 

In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr. 
Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery question. 
In the organization of the Republican party in Illinois, 
in 1856, he took an active part, and at once became 
one of tb.e leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's 
speeches in opposition to Senator Douglas in the con- 
test in 1858 for a seat in the Senate, form a most 
notable part of his history. The issue was on the 
slavery question, and he took the broad ground of 
:he Declaration of Independence, that all men are 
created equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this con- 
test, but won a far higher prize. 

The great Republican Convention met at Chicago 
on the i6th of June, i860. The delegates and 
strangers who crowded the city amounted to twenty- 
five thousand. .\n immense building called "The 
Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Conven- 
tion. There were eleven candidates for whom votes 
were thrown. William H Seward, a man whose fame 
as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most 
prominent. It was generally supposed he would be 
the nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received 
the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then 
dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the 
bloody death, to which that nomination doomed him: 
and aslittledid he dream that he was to render services 
to his country', which would fix upon him the eyes of 
the whole civilized world, and which would give him 
a place in the affections of his countrymen, second 
only, if second, to that of Washington. 

Election day came and Mr. Lincoln received 180 
electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, 
constitutionally elected President of the United States. 
The tirade of abuse that vas poured upon this good 



and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was 
greater than upon any other man ever elected to this 
high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started 
for Washington, stopping in all the large cities on his 
way making speeches. The whole journey was frought 
with much danger. Many of the Southern States had 
already seceded, and several attempts at assassination 
were afterwards brought to light. A gang in Balti- 
more had arranged, uix)n his arrival to" get ujj a row," 
and in the confusion to make sure of his death with 
revolvers and hand-grenades. A detective unravelled 
the plot. A secret and special train was provided to 
take him from Harrisburg, through Baltimore, at an 
unexpected hour of the night. The train started at 
half-past ten ; and to prevent any possible communi- 
cation on the part ot the Secessionists with their Con- 
federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train hau 
started the telegraph-wres were cut. Mr. Lincoln 
reached Washington in safety and was inaugurated, 
although great anxiety was felt by all loyal people 
In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave 
to Mr Seward the Department of State, and to other 
prominent opponents before the convention he gave 
important positions. 

During no other administration have the duties 
devolving upon the President been so manifold, and 
the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to 
the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and 
feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in 
his own strength to cope with, the difficulties, he 
learned early to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in 
determining his plan's, and Divine comfort in all his 
trials, bo^h personal and national. Contrary to his 
own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln was one of the 
most courageous of men. He went directly into the 
rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving, 
with no guard but a few sailors. From the time he 
had left Springfield, in 1861, however, plans had been 
made for his assassination, and he at last fell a victim 
to one of them. April 14, 1865, he, with Gen. Grant, 
was urgently invited to attend Fords' Theater. It 
was announced that they would Le present. Gen. 
Grant, however, left the city. President Lincoln, feel- 
ing, witn his characteristic kindliness of heart, that 
it would be a disappointment if he shoidd fail them, 
very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to 
the play an actor by the name of John W'ilkes Booth 
entered the box where the President and family were 
seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the 
next morning at seven o'clock. 

Never before, in the history of the world was a nation 
plunged into such deep grief by the death of its ruler. 
Strong men met in the streets and wept in speechless 
anguish. It is not too much to say that a nation was 
in tears. His was a life which will fitly become a 
model. His name as the savior of his country ■»':11 
live with that of Washington's, its father; his country- 
men being unable to decide which is the greater. 




<^ ^^^'^-^-^-^ „;:^;^''^^^^ 



'^^:^^^^-:2^o^^)^ 



SEVENTEENTH PRESIDE AT. 



83 




NDREW JOHNSON, seven- 
teenth President of the United 
"^''■^ States. The early life of 



Andrew Johnson contains but 
the record of poverty, destitu- 
tion and friendlessness. He 
was born December 29, 180S, 
in Raleigh, N. C. His parents, 
belonging to the class of the 
"poor whites " of the South, were 
in such circumstances, that they 
could not c';nfrr . .'ei\ the slight- 
est advantages of education upon 
their child. When Andrew was five 
years of age, his father accidentally 
lost his life while herorically endeavoring to save a 
friend from drowning, ^'nuil teri years of age, Andrew 
was a ragged boy abour the streets, supported by the 
labor of his mother, who obtained her living with 
her own hands. 

He then, having never attended a school one day, 
and being unable either to read or write, was ap- 
prenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman 
was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasion- 
ally, and reading to the boys at work there. He often 
read from the speeches of distinguished British states- 
men. .\ndrew, who was endowed with a mind of more 
than ordinary native ability, became much interested 
in these speeches ; his ambition was roused, and he 
was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. 

He accordingly applied himself to tlie alphabet, and 
with the assistance of some of his fellow- workmen, 
iearned his letters. He then called upon the gentle- 
man to borrow the book of speeches. The owner. 



pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the book 
but assisted him in learning to combine the letters 
into words. Under such difficulties he pressed oi- 
ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours 
at work-in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest 
and recreatior to devote such time as he could to 
reading. 

He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located at 
Greenville, where he married a young lady who pos 
sessed some education. Under her instructions he 
learned to write and cipher. He became prominent 
in the village debating society, and a favorite with 
the students of Greenville College. In 1828, he or- 
ganized a working man's party, which elected him 
alderman, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which 
position he held three years. 

He now began to take a lively interest in political 
affairs ; identifying himself with the working-classes, 
to which he belonged. In 1835, he was elected a 
member of the House of Representatives of Tennes- 
see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. 
He became a very active member of the legislature 
gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in 
1840 "stumped the State," advocating Martin Tan 
"Buren's claims to the Presidency, in opposition to thos^ 
of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired much 
readiness as a speaker, and extended and increased 
his reputation. 

In 1841, he was elected State Senator; in 1843, he 
was elected a member of Congress, and by successive 
elections, held that important post for ten years. In 
1853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and 
was re-elected in 1855. In all these resi»nsible posi- 
tions, he discharged his duties with distinguished abi'. 



84 



ANDRE IV JOHNSON. 



ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the work- 
ing classes. In 1857, fvlr. Johnson was elected 
United States Senator. 

Years before, in 1S45, he had warmly advocated 
the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his 
reason, that he thought this annexation would prob- 
ably prove " to be the gateway out of which the sable 
sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom, 
(ind become merged in a population congenial to 
themselves." In 1850, he also supported the com- 
promise measures, the two essential features of which 
were, that the white people of the Territories should 
be permitted to decide for themselves whether they 
would enslave the colored people or not, and that 
the *'ree States of the North should return to the 
.Souih persons who attempted to escape from slavery. 

Mr. Johnson was never ashamed ofhis lowly origin: 
on the contrary, he often took pride in avowing that 
he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir," 
said he on the floor of the Senate, " I do not forget 
that I am a mechanic ; neither do I forget that Adam 
was a tailor and sewed fig-leaves, and that our Sav- 
ior was the son of a carpenter." 

In the Charleston-Baltimore convention of iSbo, ne 
wras the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for the 
Presidency. In 1861, when the purpose of the South- 
irn Democracy became apparent, he took a decided 
stand in favor of the Union, and held that " slavery 
must be held subordinate to the Union at whatever 
cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly 
imperiled his own life to protect the Unionists of 
Tennesee. Tennessee having seceded from the 
Union, President Lincoln, on March 4th, 1862, ap- 
pointed him Military Governor of the State, and he 
established the most stringent military rule. His 
numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 

1864, he was elected Vice-President of the United 
States, and upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 

1865, became President. In a speech two days later 
he said, " The American people must be taught, if 
they do not already feel, that treason is a crime and 
must be punished ; that the Government will not 
always bear with its enemies ; that it is strong not 
only to protect, but to punish. * * The people 
must understand that it (treason) is the blackest of 
crimes, and will surely be punished." Yet his whole 
administration, the history of which is so well known, 
was in utter iatjonsistency with, and the most violent 



opposition to. the principles laid down in that speech. 

In his loose policy of reconstruction and general 
amnesty, he was opposed by Congress ; and he char- 
acterized Congress as a new rebellion, and lawlessly 
defied it, in everythmg possible, to the utmost. In 
the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes il 
and misdemeanors," the principal of which was the '" 
removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- 
ure of Office Act, articles of impeachment were pre- 
ferred against him, and the trial began March 23. 

It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three 
months. A test article of the impeachment was at 
length submitted to the court for its action. It was 
certain that as the court voted upon that article so 
would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced 
the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- 
sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced ac- 
quitted, notwithstanding the great majority against 
him. The change of one vote from the 7iot guilty 
side would have sustained the impeachment. 

The President, for the remainder of his term, was 
but little regarded. He continued, though impotently, 
his conflict with Congress. His own party did not 
think it expedient to renominate him for the Presi- 
dency. The Nation rallied, with enthusiasm unpar- 
alleled since the days of Washington, around the name 
of Gen. Grant. Andrew Johnson was forgotten. 
The bullet of the assassin introduced him to the 
President's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was 
there presented to a man a better opportunity to im- 
mortalize his name, and to win the gratitude of a 
nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home 
in Greenville, Tenn., taking no very active part in 
politics until 1875. On Jan. 26, after an exciting 
struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Ten- 
nessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Con- 
gress, and took his seat in that body, at the special 
session convened by President Grant, on the 5 th of 
March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-President 
made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter 
Station, Tenn. AVhen he started on his journey, he was 
apparently in his usual vigorous health, but on reach- 
ing the residence of his child the following day, was 
stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. 
He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 
2 .4. M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. His fun- 
eral was attended at Geenville, on the 3d of August, 
with every demonstration of respect. 





'/- w 



EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



87 




# 



'^s€»^>/^®)@^V<2X9^^"(i) 




LYSSES S. GRANT, the 
ifi) eighteenth President of the 
;3?S United States, was born on 
the 29th of April, 1822, of 
Christian parents, in a humble 
' home, at Point Pleasant, on the 
banks of the Ohio. Shortly after 
his father moved to George- 
town, Brown Co., O. In this re- 
mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses 
received a common-school edu- 
cation. At the age of seven- 
teen, in the year 1839, he entered 
the Military Academy at West 
Point. Here he was regarded as a 
solid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of 
sturdy, honest character. He took respectable rank 
as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the 
middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of in- 
fantry to one of the distant military posts in the Mis- 
souri Territory. Two years he past in these dreary 
solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasperating 
Indians. 

The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was 
sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first 
battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here 
for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at 
Resaca de la Palma, his second battle. At the battle 
of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that 
ne performed a signal service of daring and skillful 
horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its am- 
munition. A messenger must be sent for more, along 
a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. 
Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Indians, 
grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging upon one 
side of the aniroal, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. 



From Monterey he was sent, with the fourth infantry, 
10 aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In 
preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he 
was appointed quartermaster of his regiment. At the 
battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a 
first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Cha- 
pultepec. 

At the close of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant re- 
turned with his regiment to New York, and was again 
sent to one of the military posts on the frontier. The 
discovery of gold in California causing an immense 
tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. 
Grant was sent with a battalion to Fort Dallas, in 
Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the im- 
migrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt. 
Grant resigned his commission and returned to the 
Statues; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- 
tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but 
little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not re- 
munerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into 
the leather business, with a younger brother, at Ga- 
lena, 111. This was in the year i860. As the ridings 
of the rebels firing on Fort Sumpter reached the ears 
of Capt. Grant in his counting-room, he said, — 
"Uncle Sam has educated me for the army; though 
I have served him through one war, I do not feel that 
I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready to discharge 
my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my tword 
and see Uncle Sam through this war too." 

He went into the streets, raised a company of vol- 
unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield, 
the capital of the Stale, where their services were 
offered to Gov. Yates. The Governor, impressed by 
the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt. 
Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the 
volunteer organization that was being formed in the 
State in behalf of the Government. On the 15th o( 



88 



ULYSSES S. GRANT. 



June, 1 86 1, Capt. Grant received a commission as 
Colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Vol- 
unteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who 
had served for 15 years in the regular army, were such 
that he was soon promoted to the rank of Brigadier- 
General and was placed in command at Cairo. The 
rebels raised their banner at Paducah, near the mouth 
of. the Tennessee River. Scarcely had its folds ap- 
peared in the breeze ere Gen. Grant was there. The 
rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the star and 
stripes were unfurled in its stead. 

He entered the service with great determination 
and immediately began active duty. This was the be- 
ginning, and until the surrender of Lee at Richmond 
he was ever pushing the enemy with great vigor and 
effectiveness. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- 
prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry 
won another victory. Then came tlie brilliant fight 
at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the 
victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was 
immediately made a Major-General, and the military 
district of Tennessee was assigned to him. 

Like all great captains. Gen. Grant knew well how 
to secure the results of victory. He immediately 
mished on to the enemies' lines. Then came the 
terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the 
siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an 
unconditional surrender of the city with over thirty 
thousand men and one-hundred and seventy-two can- 
non. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most 
severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered, 
and opened up the Mississippi from Cairo to the Gulf. 

Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with 
Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and pro- 
ceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from 
his horse, and received severe injuries, from which he 
was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid 
of Gens. Rosecrans and Tliomas at Chattanooga, and 
by a wonderful series of strategic and technical meas- 
ures put the Union Army infighting condiiion. Then 
followed the bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lockout 
Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels 
were routed with great loss. This won far liim un- 
bounded praise in the North. On the 4tli of Febru- 
ary, 1864, Congress revived the' grade of lieutenant- 
general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. 
He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials 
,iiid enter upon O-'f duties of his new office 



Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge of 
the army to concentrate the widely-dispersed National 
troops for an attack upon Richmond, the nominal 
capital of the Rebellion, and endeavor there to de- 
stroy the rebel armies which would be promptly as- 
sembled from all quarters for its defence. The whole 
continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these 
majestic armies, rushing to the decisive battle field. 
.Steamers were crowded with troops. Railway trains 
were burdened with closely packed thousands. His 
plans were comprehensive and involved a series of 
campaigns, which were executed with remarkable en- 
ergy and ability, and were consummated at the sur- 
render of Lee, April 9, 1865. 

The war was ended. The Union was saved. The 
almost unanimous voice of the Nation declared Gen. 
Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its sal- 
vation. The eminent Services he had thus rendered 
the country brought him conspicuously forward as the 
Republican candidate for the Presidential chair. 

At the Republican Convention held at Chicago. 
May 21, 1S68, he was unanimously nominated for the 
Presidency, and at the autumn election received a 
majority of the popular vote, and 214 out of 294 
electoral votes. 

The National Convention of the Republican party 
which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June, 1S72, 
placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second term 
by a unanimous vote. The selection was emphati- 
cally indorsed by the people five months later, 292 
electoral votes being cast for him. 

Soon after the close of his second term. Gen. Grant 
started upon his famous trip around the world. He 
visited almost every country of the civilized world, 
and was everywhere received with such ovations 
and demonstrations of respect and honor, private 
as well as public and official, as were never before 
bestowed upon any citizen of the United States. 

He was the most prominent candidate before the 
ReiKiblican National Convention in 18S0 for a re- 
nomination for President. He went to New York and 
embarked in the brokerage business under the firm 
nameof Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain, 
wrecked (jrant's fortune, and for larceny was sent to 
the penitentiary. The General was attacked with 
cancer in the throat, but suffered in his stoic-like 
manner, never complaining. He was re-instated as 
General of the Army and retired by Congress. The 
cancer soon finished its deadly work, and July 23, 
1885, the nation v\'enf in mourning over the death of 
the illustrious General. 



NINETEENTH PRESIDENT. 



91 





'Vscv^vii.- 



RITTHERirORB m HiLYES. K 



7'i'i^»^«gai«;v-i',;'i'wi'.f 1' ; 1' ; 1' ; .' : ^'~:i\yA<ii>i^^,^cii^i?i\^.\■.■'r.\•^i^^?^>^^i^<^ 



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^ 5| ^W^ UTHERFORD B. HAYES, 
^Swfel k(@)1K65> the nineteenth President of 
' the United States, was born in 
Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, al- 
most three months after the 
^ death of his father, Rutherford 
Hayes. His ancestry on both 
the paternal and maternal sides, 
was of the most honorable char- 
acter. It can be traced, it is said, 
as far back as 1280, when Hayes and 
Rutherford were two Scottish chief- 
tains, fighting side by side with 
Baliol, William Wallace and Robert 
Bruce. Both families belonged to the 
nobility, owned extensive estates, 
and had a large following. Misfor- 
;ane ov»rr<aking the family, George Hayes left Scot- 
.and in 1600, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son 
George waiL born in Windsor, and remained there 
during his liJe. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, mar- 
ried Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his mar- 
riage until his death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel, 
son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was a manufac- 
turer of scythe-j at Bradford, Conn. Rutherford Hayes, 
son of Ezekiel awd grandfather of President Hayes, was 
born in New Haven, in August, 1756. He was a farmer, 
blacksmith and tavern-keeper. He emigrated to 
Vermont at an unknown date, settling in Brr.ttleboro, 
where he established a hotel. Here his son Ruth- 
erford Hayes the father of President Hayes, was 



born. He was married, in September, 1813, to Sophia 
Birchard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emi- 
grated thither from Connecticut, they having been 
among the wealthiest and best famlies of Norwich. 
Her ancestry on the male side are traced back to 
1635, to John Birchard, one of the principal founders 
of Norwich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers 
in the Revolutionary War. 

The father of President Hayes was an industrious 
frugal and opened-hearted man. He was of a me- 
chanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a stock- 
ing, or do almost anything else that he choose to 
undertake. He was a member of the Church, active 
in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and con- 
ducted his business on Christian principles. After 
the close of the war of 181 2, for reasons inexplicable 
to his neighbors, he resolved to emigrate to Ohio. 

The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that day 
when there were no canals, steamers, not railways, 
was a very serious affair. A tour of inspection was 
first made, occupying four months. Mr. Hayes deter 
mined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived 
in 1817. He died Jidy 22, 1822, a victim of malarial 
fever, less than three months before the birth of the 
son,ofwhom we now write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore be- 
reavement, found the support she so much needed in 
her brother Sardis, who had been a member of the 
household from the day of its departure from" Ver~ 
mont, and in an orphan girl whom she had adopted 
some time before as an act of charity. 

Mrs. Hayes at this period was ven,' weak, and the 



92 



RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 



subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he 
was not expected to live beyond a month or two at 
most. As the months went by he grew weaker and 
weaker, so that the neighbors were in the habit of in- 
quiring from time to time " if Mrs. Hayes' baby died 
iast night." On one occasion a neighbor, who was on 
familiar terms with the family, after alluding to the 
boy's big head, and the mother's assiduous care of 
nira, said in a bantering way, " That's right ! Stick to 
him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't 
wonder if he would really come to something yet." 

" You r.eed not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. "You 
vait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him 
President of the United States yet." The boy lived, 
in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy 
death; and when, in 1825, his older brother was 
drowned, he became, if possible, still dearer to his 
mother. 

The boy was seven years old before he went to 
school. His education, however, was not neglected. 
He probably learned as much from his mother and 
sister as he would have done at school. His sports 
were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being 
his sister and her associates. These circumstances 
tended, no doubt, to foster that gentleness of dispo- 
sition, and that delicate consideration for the feelings 
of others, which are marked traits of his character. 

His uncle Sardis Birchard took the deepest interest 
in his education ; and as the boy's health had im- 
proved, and he was making good progress in his 
studies, he proposed to send him to college. His pre- 
paration commenced with a tutor at home; bit he 
was afterwards sent for one year to a professor in the 
Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Conn. He en- 
tered Kenyon College in 1838, at the age of sixteen, 
and was graduated at the head of his class in 1842. 

Immediately after his graduation he began the 
study of law in tlie office of Thomas Sparrow, Esq., 
in Columbus. Finding his opportunities for study in 
Columbus somewhat limited, he determined to enter 
the Law School at Cambridge, Mass., where he re- 
mained two years. 

In 1845, after graduatmg at the Law School, he was 
admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly 
afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law 
with Ralph P. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he re- 
mained three years, acquiring but a limited practice, 
and apparently unambitious of distinction in his pro- 
Cession. 

\c\ 1849 he moved to Cincinnati, where his ambi- 
tion found a new stimulus. For several years, how- 
ever, his progress was slow. Two events, occurring at 
this period, had a powerful influence upon his subse- 
quent 'ife. One of these was his marrage with Miss 
Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of 
Chilicothe; the other was his introduction to the Cin- 
cinnati Literary Club, a body embracing among its 
members such men as'^hief Justice Salmon P.Chase, 



Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, and many 
others hardly less distinguished in after life. The 
marriage was a fortunate one in every respect, as 
everybody knows. Not one of all the wives of our 
Presidents was more universally admired, reverenced 
and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and no one did 
more than she to reflect honor upon American woman 
hood. The Literary Cluu brought Mr. Hayes into 
constant association with young men of high char- 
acter and noble aims, and lured him to display t'.ie 
qualities so long hidden by his bashfulness and 
modesty. 

In 1S56 he was nominated to the office of Judge of 
the Court of Common Pleas ; but he declined to ac. 
cept the nomination. Two years later, the office o( 
city solicitor becoming vacant, the City Council 
elected him for the unexpired term. 

In 1S61, when the Rebellion broke out, he was at 
tlie zenith of his professional 'if,. His rank at the 
bar was among the the first. But the news of the 
attack on Fort Sumpter found him eager to take -id 
arms for the defense of his country. 

His military record was bright and illustrious. In 
October, 186 1, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
in August, 1862, promoted Colonel of the 79th Ohio 
regiment, but he refused to leave his old comrades 
and go among strangers. Subsequently, however, \\t 
was made Colonel of his old regiment. At the battle 
of South Mountain he received a wound, and while 
faint and bleeding displayed courage and fortitude 
that won admiration from all. 

Col. Hayes was detached from his regiment, after 
his recovery, to act as Brigadier-General, and placed 
in command of the celebrated Kanawha division, 
and for gallant and meritorious services in the battles 
of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, he was 
promoted Brigadier-General. He was also brevetted 
Major-General, "forgallant and distinguished services 
during the campaigns of 1864, in West Virginia." In 
the course of his arduous services, four horses were 
shot from under him, and he was wounded four times 

In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to Congress, from 
the Second Ohio District, which had long been Dem- 
ocratic. He w-as not present during the campaign, 
and after his election was importuned to resign his 
commission in the army ; but he finally declared, " I 
shall never come to Washington until I can come by 
the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in 1866. 

Ir. 1867, Gen Hayes was elected Governor of Ohio, 
over Hon. Allen G. Thunnan, a populai Democrat. 
In 1869 was re-eiected over George H. Pendleton. 
He was elected Governor for the third term in 1875, 

3n 1S76 he was the standard be.aerof the Repub- 
lican Party in tne Presidential contest, and after a 
hard long contest was cliosen President, and was in 
augurated Monday, March 5, 1875. He served his 
full term, not, however, with satisfaction to his party, 
but his admir'stration was an average or-.« 




: 



TWENTIETH PRESIDENT. 



95 




^^r/>sr^7^ 



^v» JB^ wr'^ 



}U ^;. Ir- V . _ .^. sis' ^^^ « >^Bt„^,- i---^ ^^rf'^J'^!'^ W, 







AMES A. GARHELD, twen- 
tieth President of tlie United 
States, was born Nov. 19, 
1831, in the woods of Orange, 
Cuyahoga Co., O His par- 
ents were Abram and EUza 
(Ballou) Garfield, both of New 
England ancestry and from fami- 
lies well known in the early his- 
% tory of that section of our coun- 
try, but had moved to the Western 
Reserve, in Ohio, early in its settle- 
ment. 

The house in which James A. was 
born was not unlike the houses of 
poor Ohio farmers of that day. It 
<is about 20x30 feet, built of logs, with the spaces be- 
'.«en the logs filled with clay. His father was a 
jard working farmer, and he soon had his fields 
.;leared, an orchard planted, and a log barn built, 
f he household comprised the father and mother and 
:heir four children — Mehetabel, Thomas, Mary and 
"ames. In May, 1823^ the father, from a cold con- 
.racted in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At 
this time James was about eighteen months old, and 
Thomas about ten years old. No one, perhaps, can 
rell how much James was indebted to his brother's 
toil and self sacrifice during the twenty years suc- 
ceeding his father's death, but undoubtedly very 
much. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sis- 
lers live in Solon, O., near their birthplace. 

The early educational advantages young Garfield 
enjoyed were very limited, yet he made the most of 
them. He labored at farm work for others, did car- 
penter work, chopped wood, or did anytliing that 
would bring in a few dollars to aid his widowed 
motlier in he' 'Struggles to keep the little family to- 



gether. Nor was Gen. Garfield ever ashamed of his 
origin, and he never forgot the friends of his strug- 
gling childhood, youth and manhood, neither did they 
ever forget him. When in the highest seats of honor 
the humblest fjiend of his boyhood was as kindly 
greeted as ever. The poorest laborer was 3ureof the 
sympathy of one who had known all the bitterness 
of want and the sweetness of bread earned by the 
sweat of the brow. He was ever the simple, plain, 
modest gentleman. 

The highest ambition of young Garfield until hi 
was about sixteen years old was to be a captain of 
a vessel on Lake Erie. He was anxious to go aboard 
a vessel, vvhich his mother strongly opposed. She 
finally consented to his going to Cleveland, with the 
understanding, however, that he should try to obtair 
some other kind of employment. He walked all the 
way to Cleveland. This was his first visit to the city 
After making many applications for work, and trying 
to get aboard a lake vessel, and not meeting with 
success, he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos 
Letcher, on the Ohio & Pennsylvania Canal. He re- 
mained at this work but a short time when he wen'; 
home, and attended the seminary at Chester for 
about three years, when he entered Hiram and the 
Eclectic Institute, teaching a few terms of school in 
the meantime, and doing other work. This school 
was started by the Disciples of Christ in 1850, of 
which church he was then a member. He became 
janitor and bell-ringer in order to help pay his wa)' 
He then became both teacher and pupil. He soon 
" exhausted Hiram " and needed more ; hence, in the 
fall of 1854, he entered Williams College, from which 
he graduated in 1856, taking one of the highest h*.- 
ors of his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram 
College as its President. As above stated, he early 
united with the Christian or Diciples Church at 
Hiram, and was ever after a devoted, zealous mem- 
ber, often preaching in its pulpit and places where 
he happened to be. Dr. Noah Porter, President of 
Yale College, says of him in reference to his religion ; 



9« 



JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



" President Garfield was more than a man of 
strong moral and religious convictions. His whole 
history, from boyhood to the last, shows that duty to 
man and to God, and devotion to Christ and life and 
faith and spiritual commission were controlling springs 
of his being, and to a more tlian usual degree. In 
ny judgment there is no more interesting feature of 
nis character than his loyal allegiance to the body of 
Christians in which he was trained, and the fervent 
sympathy which he ever showed in their Christian 
communion. Not many of the few 'wise and mighty 
and noble who are called' show a similar loyalty to 
the less stately and cultured Christian comnmnions 
in which they have been reared. Too often it is true 
that as they step upward in social and political sig- 
nificance they step upward from one degree to 
another in some of the many types of fashionable 
Christianity. President Garfield adhered to the 
:;hurch of his mother, the church in which he was 
trained, and in which he served as a pillar and an 
evangelist, and yet with the largest and most unsec- 
*arian charity for all 'who loveour Lord in sincerity.'" 

Mr. Garfield was united in marriage with Miss 
Lucretia Rudolph, Nov. ii, 1S5S, who proved herself 
worthy as the wife of one whom all the world loved and 
mourned. To them were born seven children, five of 
v/hom are still living, four boys and one girl. 

Mr.Garfieldmade his first political speeches in 1S56, 
m Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three 
years later he began to speak at county inass-meet- 
ings, and became the favorite speaker wherever he 
was. During this year he was elected to the Ohio 
Senate. He also began to study law at Cleveland, 
and in 1861 was admitted to the bar. The great 
Rebellion broke out in the early part of this year, 
and Mr. Garfield at once resolved to fight as he had 
talked, and enlisted to defend the old flag. He re- 
ceived his commission as Lieut.-Colonel of the Forty- 
second Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Aug. 
14,1861. He was immediately put into active ser- 
vice, and before he had ever seen a gun fired in action, 
was placed in command of four regiments of infantry 
and eight companies of cavalry, charged with the 
work of driving out of his native State the officer 
'Humphrey Marshall) reputed to be the ablest of 
those, not educated to war whom Kentucky had given 
to the Rebellion. This work was bravely and speed- 
ily accomplished, although against great odds. Pres- 
ident Lincoln, on his success commissioned him 
Brigadier-General, Jan. 10, 1862; and as "he had 
been the youngest man in the Ohio Senate two years 
before, so now he was the youngest General in the 
arniy." He was with Gen. Buell's army at Shiloh, 
in its operations around Corinth and its march through 
Alabama. He was then detailed as a member of the 
General Court-^Lirtial for the trial of Gen. Fitz-John 
Porter. He was then ordered to report to Gen. Rose- 
crans, and was assigned to the "Chief of Staff." 

The military history of Gen. Garfield closed with I 



his brilliant services at Chickamauga, where he wor 
the stars of the Major-General. 

Without an effort on his part Ges Garfield was 
elected to Congress in the fall of 1862 from the 
Nineteenth District of Ohio. This section of Ohio 
had been represented in Congress for sixty year« 
mainly by two men — Elisha Whittlesey and Joshui. 
R. Giddings. It was not without a struggle that he 
resigned his place in the army. At the time he en- 
tered Congress he was the youngest member in that 
body. Therms he remained by successive re- 
elections until he was elected President in 1880. 
Of his labors in Congress Senator Hoar says : " Since 
the year 1864 you cannot think of a question whici. 
has been debated in Congress, or discussed before u. 
tribunel of the American people, in regard to whict 
you will not find, if you wish mstruction, the argu- 
ment on one side stated, in almost every instance 
better than by anybody else, in some speech made in 
the House of Representatives or on the hustings by 
Mr. Garfield." 

Uixjn Jan. 14, 1880, Gen. Garfield was elected to 
the U. S. Senate, and on the eighth of June, of the 
same year, was nominated as the candidate of his 
party for President at the great Chicago Convention. 
He was elected in the following November, and on 
March 4, 1S81, was inaugurated. Probably no ad- 
ministration ever opened its existence under brighter 
auspices than that of President Garfield, and every 
day it grew in favor with the people, and by the first 
of July he had completed all the initiatory and pre- 
liminary work of his administration and was prepar- 
ing to leave the city to meet his friends at Williams 
College. While on his way and at the depot, in com- 
pany with Secretary Blaine, a man stepped behind 
him, drew a revolver, and fired directly at his back. 
The President tottered and fell, and as he did so the 
assassin fired a second shot, the bullet cutting the 
left coat sleeve of his victim, but in.licting nofurthei 
injury. It has been very truthfully said that this was 
" the shot that was heard round the world " Never 
before in the history of the Nation had anything oc- 
curred which so nearly froze the blood of the peop"^ 
for the moment, as this awful deed. He was smit- 
ten on the brightest, gladdest day of all his life, and 
was at the summit of his power and hope. For eighty 
days, all during the hot months of Juiy and August, 
he litigered and suffered. He, however, remained 
master of himself till the last, and by his magnificent 
bearing was teaching the country and the world the 
noblest of human lessons — how to live grandly in the 
very clutch of death. Great in life, he was surpass- 
ingly great in death. He passed serenely away Sept. 
19, 1883, at Elberon, N. J , on the ver)' bank of the 
ocean, where he had been taken shortly previous. The 
world wept at his death, as it never had done on the 
death of any other man w ho had ever lived upon it. 
The murderer was duly tried, found guilty and exe- 
cuted, in one year after he committ'^d the fou: deed. 



I 



TWENTY-FIRST PRESIDENT. 



99 










HESTER A. ARTHUR, 

twenty-first Presi'i^iiL of the 

if'United Stales, was born in 

f ranklin Coui ty, Vermont, on 

thefifthof Oc'ober, 1830, andis 

f?if/ the oldest of a family of two 

sons and five daughters. His 

father was the Rev. Dr. William ' 

Arthur, aBaptistd',fgyman,wln^ 

emigrated to tb.s country from 

the county Antdm, Ireland, in 

his 18th year, and died in 1875, in 

Newtonville, neai Albany, after a 

long and successful ministry. 

Young Arthur" was educated at 
Union College, S( henectady, where 
he excelled in all his studies. Af- 
ter his graduation he taught scliool 
ft in Vermont for two years, and at 
the expiration cf that time came to 
New York, with $500 in his pocket, 
and e.itered the office of ex-Judge 
E. D. Culver as student. After 
being admitted to the bar he formed 
a partnership with his intimate friend and room-mate, 
Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing 
in the West, and for three months they roamed about 
in the Western States in search of an eligible site, 
E)ut in the end returned to New York, where they 
hung out their shingle, and entered upon a success- 
ful career almost from the start. General Arthur 
soon afterward in^irrrd the daughter of Lieutenant 



Herndon, of the United States Navy, who was lost at 
sea. Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in 
recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occa- 
sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's 
nomination to the Vice Presidency, leaving two 
children. 

Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity 
in his first great case, the famous Lemmon suit, 
brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had 
been declared free by Judge Paine, of the Superior 
Court of New York City. It was in 1852 that Jon. 
athan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with 
his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when 
they were discovered and freed. The Judge decided 
that they could not be held by the owner under the 
Fugitive Slave Law. A howl of rage went up from 
the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the 
Attorney General of that State to assist in an appeal. 
Wm. M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed 
to represent the People, and they won their case, 
which then went to the Supreme Court of the United 
States. Charles G'Conor here espoused the cause 
of the slave-holders, but he too was beaten by Messrs 
Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward 
the emancipation of the black race. 

Another great service was rendered by General 
Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jennings, 
a respectable colored woman, was put off a Fourth 
Avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare. 
General Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured a 
verdict of $500 damages. The next day the compa- 
ny issued an order to admit colored persons to ride 
on their cars, and the other car companies quickly 



lOO 



CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



followed their example. Before that the Sixth Ave- 
nue Company ran a few special cars for colored per- 
sons and the other lines Vefused to let them ride at all. 

General Arthur was a delegate to the Convention 
at Saratoga that founded the Republican party. 
Previous to the war he was Judge-Advocate of the 
Second Brigade of the State of New York, and Gov- 
ernor Morgan, of that State, appointed hun Engineer- 
in-Chief of his staff. In 1861, he was made Inspec- 
tor General, and soon afterward became Quartermas- 
ter-General. In each of these offices he rendered 
great service to the Government during the war. At 
the end of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the 
practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr. 
Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney 
of New Yotk, was added to the firm. The legal prac- 
tice of this well-known firm was very large and lucra- 
tive, each of the gentlemen composing it were able 
lawyers, and possessed a splendid local reputation, if 
not indeed one of national extent. 

He always took a leading part in State and city 
politics. He was appointed Collector of the Port of 
New York by President Grant, Nov. 21 1872, to suc- 
ceed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July, 
20, 1 87 8, when he was succeeded by Collector Merritt. 

Mr. Arthur was nominated on the Presidential 
ticket, with Gen. James A. Garfield, at the famous 
National Republican Convention held at Chicago in 
June, 18S0. This was perhaps the greatest political 
convention that ever assembled on thecontinent. It 
was composed of the leading politicians of the Re- 
publican party, all able men, and each stood firm and 
fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their 
respective candidates that were before the conven- 
tion for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield re- 
ceived the nomination for President and Gen. Arthur 
for Vice-President. The campaign which followed 
was one of the most animated known in the history of 
our country. Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of 
the Democratic party, was a popular man, and his 
party made a valiant fight for his election. 

Finally the election came and the country's choice 
.vas Garfield and Arthur. They were inaugurated 
March 4, 1881, as President and Vice-President. 
A. few months only had passed ere the newly chosen 
President was the victim of the assassin's bullet. Then 
came terrible weeks of suffering, — those moments of 
anxious suspense, when the hearts of all civili^ed na- 



tions were throbbing in unison, longing for the re 
covery of the noble, the good President. The remark- 
able patience that he manifested during those hours 
and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suf- 
fering man has often been called upon to endure, was 
seemingly more than human. It was certainly God- 
like. During all this period of deepest an.xiety Mr. 
Arthur's every move was watched, and be it said to his 
credit that his every action displayed only an earnest 
desire that the suffering Garfield might recover, to 
serve the remainder of the term he had so auspi- 
ciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested 
in deed or look of this man, even though the most 
honored position in the world was at any moment 
likely to fall to him. 

At last God in his mercy relieved President Gar- 
field from further suffering, and the world, as never 
before in its history over the death of any other 
man, wept at his bier. Then it became the duty of 
the Vice President to £>ssume the responsibilities of 
the high office, and he took the oath in New York. 
Sept. 20, 1881. The position was an embarrassing 
one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all 
eyes were, on him, anxious to know what he would do, 
what policy he would pursue, and who he would se- 
lect as advisers. The duties of the office had been 
greatly neglected during the President's long illness, 
and many important measures were to be immediately 
decided by him ; and still farther to embarrass him he 
did not fail to realize under what circumstances he 
became President, and knew the feelings of many on 
this point. Under these trying circumstances President 
Arthur took the reins of the Government in his own 
hands; and, as embarrassing as were the condition of 
affairs, he happily surprised the nation, acting so 
wisely that but few criticised his administration. 
He served the nation well and faitl^fully, until the 
close of his administration, March 4, 1885, and was 
a popular candidate before his party for a second 
term. His name was ably presented before the con- 
vention at Chicago, and was received with great 
favor, and doubtless but for the personal popularity 
of one of the opposing candidates, he would have 
been selected as the standard-bearer of his party 
for another campaign. He retired to. private life car- 
tying with him the best wishes of the American peo- 
ple, whom he had served in a manner satisfactory 

to them and witli credit to himself. 
\ 







XJ.I^rt^/r' 



C/^,^c^t^/c 



<lA.y\M 



TWENTY-SECOND PRESIDENT. 



103 








, 'Sta?;rK^-S.\$'#-S;SiS'-s;'S*f^"s-#-S!s^^;!s#$;;s ^ 



''SI k 



^(§)Vomv Wyltvitluui. 








'XTK' , 



""* o25o~ 



TEPHEN GROVER CLEVE- 
LAND, the twenty- second Pres- 
ident of the United States, was 
born in 1837, in the obscure 
town of Caldwell, Essex Co., 
N. J., and in a little two-and-a- 
f-story white house which is still 
standing, characteristically to mark 
the humble birth-place of one of 
America's great men in striking con- 
trast with the Old World, where all 
men high in office must be high in 
origin and born in the cradle of 
wealth. When the subject of this 
sketch was three years of age, his 
father, who was a Presbyterian min- 
ister, with a large family and a small salary, moved, 
by way of the Hudson River and Erie Canal, to 
Fayetteville, in search of an increased income and a 
Urger field of work. Fayetteville was then the most 
straggling of country villages, about five miles from 
Pompey Hill, where Governor Seymour was born. 

At the last mentioned place young Grover com- 
menced going to school in the "good, old-fashioned 
way," and presumably distinguished himself after the 
manner of all village boys, in doing the things he 
ought not to do. Such is the distinguishing trait of 
all geniuses and independent thinkers. When he 
arrived at the age of 14 years, he had outgrown the 
capacity of the village school and expressed a most 



emphatic desire to be sent to an academy. To this 
his father decidedly objected. Academies in those 
days cost money; besides, his father wanted him to 
become self-supporting by the quickest possible 
means, and this at that time in Fayette/ille seemed 
to be a position in a country store, where his father 
and the large family on his hands had considerable 
influence. Grover was to be paid $50 for his services 
the first year, and if he proved trustworthy he was to 
receive $roo the second year. Here the lad com- 
menced his career as salesman, and in two years he 
had earned so good a reputation for trustworthiness 
that his employers desired to retain him for an in- 
definite length of time. Otherwise he did not ex- 
hibit as yet any particular " flashes of genius " or 
eccentricities of talent. He was simply a good boy. 
But instead of remaining with this firm in Fayette- 
ville, he went with the family in their removal to 
Clinton, where he had an opportunity of attending a 
high school. Here he industriously pursued his 
studies until the family removed with him to a point 
on Black River known as the " Holland Patent," a 
village of 500 or 600 people, 15 miles north of Utica, 
N. Y. At this place his father died, after preaching 
but three Sundays. This event broke up the family, 
and Grover set out for New York City to accept, at a 
small salary, the position of " under-teacher " in an 
asylum for the blind. He taught faithfully for two 
years, and although he obtained a good reputation in 
this capacity, he concluded that teaching was not his 



tOd 



S. GROVE R CLEVB.LAND. 



calling for life, and, reversing the traditional order, 
he left the city to seek his fortune, inst?-'-^ o' croin? 
to a city. He Hrsc tnoagnt or Cleveland, Ohio, as 
there was some charm in that name for him; but 
before proceeding to that place he went to Buffalo to 
■jsk the advice of his uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted 
stock breeder of that place. The latter did not 
£p.?ak entiuisiastically. " What is it you want to do, 
my boy ? " he asked. " Well, sir, I want to study 
lav," was the reply, ''Good gracious!" remarked 
Ji«old gentleman; "do you, indeed.' What ever put 
that into your head? How much money have you 
got?" "Well, sir, to tell the truth, I haven't got 
any. 

After a long consultation, his uncle offered him a 
place temporarily as assistant herd-keeper, at $50 a 
year, wai'e he could " look around." One day soon 
afterward he boldly walked into the office of Rogers, 
Bowen & Rogers, of Buffalo, and told them what he 
wanted. A number of young men were already en- 
gaged in the office, but Grover's persistency won, and 
ne was finally permitted to come as an office boy and 
fiave the use of the law library, for the nominal sum 
of $3 or $4 a week. Out of this he had to pay for 
his board and washing. The walk to and from his 
uncle's was a long and rugged one; and, although 
the first winter was a memorably severe one, his 
shoes were out of repair and his overcoat — he had 
none — yet he was nevertheless prompt and regular. 
On the first day of his service here, his senior em- 
ployer threw down a copy of Blackstone before him 
with a bang that made the dust fly, saying "That's 
where they all begin." A titter ran around the little 
circle of clerks and students, as they thought that 
was enough to scare young Grover out of his plans ; 
out in due time he mastered that cumbersome volume. 
Then, as ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleveland 
exhibited a talent for executiveness rather than for 
chasing principles through all their metaphysical 
possibil'ties. " Let us quit talking and go and do 
it," was practically his motto. 

The first public office to which Mr. Cleveland was 
elected was tliat of Sheriff of Erie Co., N. Y., in 
which Buffalo is situated; and in such capacity it fell 
to his duty to inflict capital pi'.Ishment upon two 
csiniinals. In 1881 he was elected Maj'or of the 
City of Buffalo, on the Democratic ticket, with es- 
pecial reference to the bringing about certain reforms 



in the administration of the municipal affairs of that 
r:f:>^ Tr. tVic- •office, a? -wp'! as that of Sheriff, his 
periormaiice ox duty has generally been considered 
fair, with possibly a few exceptions which were fer- 
reted out and magnified during the last Presidential 
campaign. As a specimen of his plain language in 
a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an iniqui 
tous street-cleaning contract: "This is a time fov 
plain speech, and my objection to your action shall 
be plainly stated. I regard it as the culmination of 
a mos bare-faced, impudent and shameless scheme 
to betray the interests of the people and to worse 
than squander the people's money." The New York 
Sun afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleve- 
land's administration as Mayor of Buffalo, and there- 
upon recommended him for Governor of the Empire 
State. To the latter office he was elected in 1882, 
and his administration of the affairs of State was 
generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if 
any, were made very public throughout the nation 
after he was nominated for President of the United 
States. For this high office he was nominated July 
II, 1884, by the National Democratic Convention at 
Chicago, when other competitors were Thomas F. 
Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks, 
Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc.; and he 
was elected by the people, by a majority of about a 
thousand, over the brilliant and long-tried Repub- 
lican statesman, James G. Blaine. President Cleve- 
land resigned his office as Governor of New York in 
January, 1885, in order to prepare for his duties as 
the Chief Executive of the United States, in which 
capacity his term commenced at lioon on the 4th of 
March, 1885. For his Cabinet officers lie selected 
the following gentlemen: For Secretary of State, 
Thomas Y. Bayard, of Delaware ; Secretary of the 
Treasury, Daniel Manning, of New York ; Secretary 
of War, William C. Endicott, of Massachusetts ; 
Secretary of the Navy, William C. Whitney, of New 
York ; Secretary of the Interior, L. Q. C. Lamar, of 
Mississippi ; Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas, 
of Wisconsin ; Attorney-General, A. H. Garland, of 
Arkansas. 

The silver question precipitated a controversy be- 
tween those who were in favor of the continuance of 
silver coinage and those who were opposed, Mr. 
Cleveland answering for the latter, even before his 
inauguration. 





^jV-^ 



£Z^'^^^-7\^^U<^^(^--7^C 



TWENTY-THIRD PRESIDENT. 



507 







QQn^a^m.in 







IS"-. .g;Jl 



^<l*> 



.iO*0-^J^<^^-.0*Ci. 




;ENJAMIN HARRISON, the 

'.,wenty-tliircl President, is 
the ilescendant of one of the 
iiistorical families of this 
country. The head of tlie 
family was a Wajor General 
Harrison, one of Oliver 
Tl f'ik^ ^ Cromwell's trusted follow, 

ers and fighters. In the zenitn of Crom- 
well's power it became the duty of this 
Harrison to participate ui tne trial of 
Charles I, and afterward tc sign the 
death warrant of the king. He subse- 
qvtentiy paid for this with his life, being 
hung Oct. 13, 1660. His descendants 
came to America, and the next of the 
family that appears in history is Benja- 
min Harrison, of Virginia, great-grand- 
father of the subject of this sketch, and 
after whom he was named. Benjamin Harrison 
vi^as a member of the Continental Congress during 
the years 1 774— 5-6, and was one of the original 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. He 
wa three times elected Governor of Virginia, 
Gen William Henry Harrison, the son of the 



distinguished patriot of the Revolution, after a suo. 
cessful career as a soldier during the War of 1812, 
and with -a clean record as Governor of the North- 
western Territory, was elected President of the 
United States in 1840. His oarser was cut short 
by death within one month .fter liis inr.uguration. 
President Harrison wir bcrn at Nort': Bend, 
Hamilton Co., Oliio, Aug. "C, 1833, His life up to 
the time of his graduation by the Miami University 
at Oxford, Ohio, was the uneventful one of a coun- 
try lad of a family of small means. His father was 
able to give him a good education, and nothing 
more. He became engaged while at college to tha 
daughter of Dr. Scott, Principal of a female schoo 
at Oxford. After graduating he determined to en> 
ter upon the stud}' of the law. He went to Cin 
cinnati and then read law for two years. At tht 
expiration of that time young Harrison receivt-d tt:. 
only inheritance of his life; his aunt dying left Lin; 
a lot valued at $800. He regarded this legacy as a 
fortune, and decided to get married at once, 'aks 
this money and go to some Eastern town an ' oe- 
gin the practice of law. He sold his lot, and with 
the money in his pocket, he started out witii his 
young wife to fight for a place in the world. Me 



108 



BENJAMIN HARRISOl* 



decided to go to Indianapolis, which was even at 

that time a town of promise. He met with slight 
encouragement at first, mailing scarcely anj'thing 
the first year. He worked diligently, applying him- 
self closely to his calling, built up an extensive 
practice and took a loading rank in the legal pro- 
i'ession. He is the father of two children. 

In 1860 Mr. Harrison was nominated for the 
position of Supreme Court Reporter, and then be- 
gan his experience as a stump speaker He can- 
vassed the State thoroughly, and was elected by a 
handsome majority. In 1862 he raised the 17th 
Indiana Infantry, and was chosen its Colonel. His 
regiment was composed of the rawest of material, 
out Col. Harrison emploj-ed all his time at first 
mastering military tactics and drilling his men, 
when he therefore came to move toward the East 
with Sherman his regiment was one of the best 
tlrilled and organized in the army. At Resaca he 
especiallj' distinguished himself, and for his bravery 
at Peachtree Creek he was made a Brigadier Gen- 
eral, Gen. Hooker speaking of him in the most 
eoraplimentarj'' terms. 

During the absence of Gen. Harrison in the field 
lie Supreme Court declared the office of the Su- 
preme Court Reporter vacant, and another person 
was elected to the position. From the time of leav- 
irg Indiana with his regiment until the fall oi 1864 
he had taken no leave of absence, but having been 
nominated that year for the same office, he got a 
thirty-day leave of absence, and during that time 
made a brilliant canvass of the State, and was elected 
for another term. He then started to rejoin Sher- 
man, but on the way was stricken down with scarlet 
iTever, and after a most trjing siege made his way 
to the front in time to participate in the closing 
incidents of the war. 

In 1868 Gen. Hari-ison declined . re-election as 
reporter, and resumed the practice of law. In 1876 
he was a candidate for Governor. Although de- 
eated, the brilliant campaign he irade won ior him 
1 National reputation, and he was much sought, es- 
pecia^.y in the East, to make speeches. In 1880, 
as usual, he took an active part in the campaign, 
and wii'. elected to the United States Senate. Here 
u5 sei-ved six years, and "^as known as one ci the 
*biest men, best iawyer'; «,ud strongest debaters in 



that body. With the expiration of his Senatorial 
term he returned to the practice of his profession, 
becoming the head of one of the strongest firms in 
the State. 

The political campaign of 1888 was one of the 
most memorable in the history of our country. The 
convention which assembled in Chicago in June and 
named Mr. Harrison as the chief standard bearer 
of the Republican party, was great in every partic- 
ular, and on this account, and the attitude it as- 
sumed ujion the vital questions of the day, chief 
among which was the tariff, awoke a deep interest 
in the campaign throughout the Nation. Shortly 
after the nomination delegations began to visit Mr. 
Harrison at Indianapolis, his home. This move- 
ment became popular, and from all sections of the 
country societies, clubs and delegations journej'ed 
thither to i)ay their respects to the distinguished 
statesman. The popularity of these was greatly 
increased on account of the remarkable speeches 
made by Mr. Harrison. He spoke daily all through 
the summer and autumn to these visiting delega- 
tions, and so varied, masterly and eloquent were 
his speeches that they at once placed him in the 
foremost rank of American orators and statesmen. 

On account of his eloquence as a speaker and lii.^ 
power as a debater, he was called upon at an un- 
commonly- early age to take part in the discussion 
of the great questions that then began to agitate 
the countr3^ He was an uncompromising anti 
slavery man, and was matched against some of t'„e 
most eminent Democratic speakers of his State. 
No man who felt the touch of his blade desired tt 
he pitted with him again. With all his e!oq"ence 
as an orator he never spoke for oratorical effect, 
but his words always went like bullets to the mark 
He is purely American in his ideas and is a splec 
did type of the American statesman. Gifted witl. 
quick perception, a logical mind and a ready tongue, 
he is one of the most distinguished impromptu 
speakers in the Nation. Many of these speeches 
sparkled with the rarest of eloquence and contained 
arguments of greatest weight. JIany of his terse 
statements have ah-eady become ajihorisms. Origi 
nal in thought^ pi-eeise in logic, terse m statement, 
jet withal faultless in eloquence, he is recognized as 
the sound statesman and brilliant orator c tn^ day 



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GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



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TEPHEN T. MASON, the 
*' first Governor of Michigan, was 
'""a son of Gen. John T. Mason, 
of Kentucky, but was born in 
Virginia, in i8 12. At the age 
^^*=^ of 19 he was appointed Secre- 
s) tary of Michigan Territory, and 
served in that capacity duri;ig the 
administration of Gov. George B. 
Porter. Upon the death of Gov. 
Porter, which occurred on the 6tii of 
July, 1834, Mr. Mason became Act- 
ing Governor. In October, 1835, he 
was elected Governor under the State 
organization, and immediately en- 
tered upon the performance of the 
duties of the office, although the 
State was not yet admitted into the Union. After 
the State was admitted into the Union, Governor 
Mason was re-elected to the position, and served with 
credit to himself and to the advantage of the State. 
He died Jan. 4, 1843. The principal event during 
Governor Mason's official career, was that arising from 
the disputed southern boundary of the State. 

Michigan claimed for her southern boundary aline 
running east across the peninsula from the e.xtreme 
southern point of Lake Michigan, extending through 
Lake Erie, to the Pennsylvania line. This she 
claimed as a vested right — a right accruing to her by 
compact. This compact was the ordinance of 1787, 
die parties to which were the original 13 States, and 
the territory northwest of the Ohio ; and, by the suc- 
cession of parties under statutory amendments to the 
ordinance and laws of Congress — the United States on 
the one part, and each Territory northwest of the 
Ohio, as far as affected by their provisions, on the 



other. Michigan, therefore, claimed it under the i)rioi 
grant, or assignation of boundary. 

Ohio, on the other hand, claimed that the ordinance 
had been superseded by the Constitution of the 
United States, and that Congress had a right to regu- 
late the boundary. It was also claimed that the 
Constitution of the State of Ohio having described a 
different line, and Congress having admitted the State 
under that Constitution, without mentioning the sub- 
ject of the line in dispute. Congress had thereby given 
its consent to the line as laid down by the Constitu- 
tion of Ohio. This claim was urged by Ohio at 
some periods of the controversy, but atothersshe ap- 
peared to regard the question unsettled, by the fact 
that she insisted upon Congress taking action in re- 
gard to the boundary. Accordingly, we find that, in 
18 1 2, Congress authorized the Surveyor-General to 
survey a line, agreeably to the act, to enable the i)eople 
of Ohio to form a Constitution and State government. 
Owing to Indian hostilities, however, the line was not 
run till 1818. In 1820, the question in dispute 
underwent a rigid examination by the Committee on 
Public Lands. The claim of Ohio was strenuously 
urged by her delegation, and as ably opposed by Mr. 
Woodbridge, the then delegate from Michigan. The 
result was that the committee decided unanimously 
in favor of Michigan; but, in the hurry of business, 
no action was taken by Congress, and the questio'- 
remained open till Michigan organized her State gov- 
ernment. 

The Territory in dispute is about five miles in 
width at the west end, and about eight miles in width 
at the east end, and extends along the whole north- 
ern line of Ohio, west of Lake Erie. The line claimed 
by Michigan was known as the " Fulton line," and 
that claimed by Ohio was known as the " Harris line, " 



io6 



STEPHEN T. MASON. 



f roil" the names of the surveyors. The territor)' was 
valuable for its rich agricultural lands; but the chief 
value consisted in the fact that the harbor on the 
Maumee River, where now stands the flourishing city 
of Toledo, was included within its limits The town 
originally bore the name of Swan Creek, afterwards 
Port Lawrence, then Vestula, and then Toledo. 

In February, 1835, the Legislature of Ohio passed 
an act extending the jurisdiction of the State over 
the territory in question; erected townships and 
directed them to hold elections in April following. It 
also directed Governor Lucus to appoint three com- 
missioners to survey and re-mark the Harris line ; and 
named the first 6f April as tlie day to commence the 
survey. Acting Governor Mason, however, anticipated 
this action on the part of the Ohio Legislature, sent 
a special message to the Legislative Council, appris- 
ing it of Governor Lucas' message, and advised imme- 
diate action by that body to anticipate and counteract 
the proceedings of Ohio. Accordingly, on the 12th 
of February, the council passed an act making it a 
criminal offence, punishable by a heavy fine, or im- 
prisonment, for any one to attempt to exercise any 
official functions, or accept any office within the juris- 
diction of Michigan, under or by virture of any au- 
thority not derived from the Territory, or the United 
States. On the 9th of March, Governor Mason wrote 
General Brown, then in command of the Michigan 
militia, directing him to hold himself in readiness to 
meet the enemy in the field in case any attempt was 
made on the part of Ohio to carrj' out the provisions 
of that act of the Legislature. On the 31st of March, 
(Governor Lucus, with his commissioners, arrived at 
Perrysburgh, on their way to commence re-surveying 
the Harris line. He was accomjjanied by General 
Bell and staff, of the Ohio Militia, who proceeded to 
muster a volunteer force of about 600 men. This 
was soon accomplished, and the force fully armed and 
equipped. The force then went into camp at Fort 
Miami, to await the Governor's orders. 

In the meantime. Governor Mason, with General 
Brown and staff, had raised a force 800 to 1200 
strong, and were in possession of Toledo. General 
Brown's Staff consisted of Captain Henry Smith, of 
Monroe, Inspector; Major J. J. Ullman, of Con- 
stantine, Quartermaster ; William E. Broadman, of 
Detroit, and Alpheus Felch, of Monroe, Aids-de- 
camn. When Governor Lucas observed the deter- 
mined bearing of the Michigan braves, and tock note 



of their number, he found it convenient to content 
himself for a time with " watching over the border." 
Several days were passed in this exhilarating employ- 
ment, and just as Governor Lucas had made up his 
mind to do something rash, two commissioners ar- 
rived from Washington on a mission of peace. They 
remonstrated with Gov. Lucus, and reminded him of 
the consequences to himself and his State if he per- 
sisted in his attempt to gain possession of the disputed 
territory by force. After several conferences with 
both governors, the commissioners submitted proposi- 
tions for their consideration. 

Governor Lucas at once accepted the propositions, 
and disbanded his forces. Governor Mason, on the 
other hand, refused to accede to the arrangement, and 
declined to compromise the rights of his people by a 
surrender of jMssession and jurisdiction. When Gov- 
ernor Lucus disbanded his forces, however, Governor , 
Mason partially followed suit, but still held himself 
in readiness to meet any emergency that might arise. 

Governor Lucus now supposed that his way was 
clear, and that he could re-mark the Harris line with- 
out being molested, and ordered the commissioners 
to proceed with their work. 

In the meantime. Governor Mason kept a watch- jj 
ful eye upon the proceedings. General Brown sent ' ' 
scouts through the woods to watch their movements, 
and report when operations were commenced. When 
the surveying party got within the county of Lena- 
wee, the under-sheriff of that county, armed with a 
warrant, and accompanied by a posse, suddenly made 
his appearance, and succeeded in arresting a portion 
of the party. The rest, including the commissioners, 
took to their heels, and were soon beyond the dis- 
puted territory. They reached Perrysburgh the fol- 
lowing day in a highly demoralized condition, and 
reported they had been attacked by an overwhelm- 11 
ing force of Michigan malitia, under command of f| 
General Brown, 

This summarj' breaking up of the surveying party 
produced the most tremendous excitement throughout 
Ohio. Governor Lucas called an extra session of the jj 
Legislature, But little remains to be said in reference ' 
to the " war." The question continued for sometime 
to agitate the minds of the opposing parties ; and the 
action of Congress was impatiently awaited. Michigan 
was admitted into the Union on the condition that 
she give to Ohio the disputed territory, and accept 
in return the Northern Peninsula, which she did- 



SECOND GO VERNOR OF MICHIGAN. 



109 







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ILLIAM WOODBRIDGE, 

second Governor of Michigan, 
was born at Norwich, Conn., 
Aug. 20, 1780, and died at 
Oct. 20, 1861. He 



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was of a family of three brothers 
and two sisters. His father, 
Dudley Woodbridge, removed to 
Marietta, Ohio, about 1790. The 
life of Wm. Woodbridge, by Chas. 
Is Lauman, from which this sketch 
is largely com piled, mentions noth- 
ing concerning his early education 
beyond the fact that it was such as 
was afforded by the average school 
of the time, except a year with the 
French colonists at Gallipolis, 
where he acquired a knowledge of 
the French language. It should 
be borne in mind, however, that 
home education at that time was 
an indispensable feature in the 
training of the young. To this and 
and to a few studies well mastered, 
is due that strong mental discipline which has served 
as a basis for many of the grand intellects that have 
adorned and helped to make our National history. 
Mr. Woodbridge studied law at Marietta, having 
as a fellow student an intimate personal friend, a 
young man subsequently distinguished, but known 
at that time simply as Lewis Cass. He graduated at 
the law school in Connecticut, after a course there of 
nearly three years, and began to practice at Marietta 
in 1806. In June, 1806, he married, at Hartford, Con- 
necticut; juleanna, daughter of John Trumbell, a 
distingUis'r eri author and judg*? ; and author of the 



peom McFingal, which, during a dark period of the 
Revolution, wrought such a magic change upon the 
spirits of the colonists. He was happy in his domes • 
tic relations until the death of Mrs. W., Feb. 2,19, i860. 

Our written biographies necessarily speak more 
fully of men, because of their active participation in 
public affairs, but human actions are stamped upon 
the page of time and when the scroll shall be unrolled 
the influence of good women upon the history of the 
world will be read side by side with the deeds of men. 
How much success and renown in life many men owe 
to their wives is probably little known. Mrs. W. en- 
joyed the best means of early education that the 
country afforded, and her intellectual genius enabled 
her to improve her advantages. During her life, side 
by side with the highest type of domestic and social 
graces, she manifested a keen intellectuality that 
formed the crown of a faultless character. She was 
a natural poet, and wrote quite a large number of fine 
verses, some of which are preserved in a printed 
memorial essay written upon the occasion of her 
death. In this essay, it is said of her "to contribute 
even in matters of minor importance, to elevate the 
reputation and add to the well being of her husband 
in the various staUons he was called upon to fill, gave 
her the highest satisfaction " She was an invalid 
during the latter portion of her life, but was patient 
and cheerful to the end. 

In 1807, Mr. W. was chosen a representative to the 
General Assembly of Ohio, and in 1809 was elected to 
the Senate, continuing a member by re-election until 
his removal from the State. He also held, by ap- 
pointment, during the time the office of Prosecuting 
Attorney for his county. He took a leading part in 
the Legislature, and in 181 2 drew up a declaration and 
rewl'Uions, which passed the two houses unaminously 



WILLIAM IVOODBRIDGE. 



aud attracted great attention, endorsing, in strongest 
and most emphatic terms, the war measures of Presi- 
dent Madison. During the period from 1804 to 18 14 
the two law students, Woodbridge and Cass, had he- 
come widely separated. The latter was Governor of 
the Territory of Micliigan under the historic "Governor 
and Judges" plan, with the indispensable requisite of a 
Secretary of the Territorry. This latter position was, 
ill 18 14, without solicitation on his part, tendered to 
Mr. W. Ke accepted the position with some hesita- 
tion, and entered upon its duties as soon as he could 
make the necessary arrangements for leaving Ohio. 
The office of Secretary involved also the duties of 
collectorof customsat the port of Detroit, and during 
the frequent absences of the Governor, the dischargeof 
of his duties, also including those of Superintendent 
of Indian Affairs. Mr. W. officiated as Governor for 
about two years out of the eight years that he held the 
office of Secretary Tinder the administration of "Gov- 
ernor and Judges," which the people of the Territory 
preferred for economical reasons, to continue some time 
after their numbers entitled them to a more popular 
representative system, they were allowed no delegate 
in Congress. Mr. W., as a sort of informal agent of 
the people, by correspondence and also by a visit to 
the National capital, so clearly set forth the demand 
for representation by a delegate, that an act was 
passedin Congressin iSigauthorizingone tobechosen. 
Under this act Mr. W. was elected by the concurrence 
of all parties. His first action inCongress was to secure 
'.he passage of a bill recognizing and confirming the 
old French land titles in the Territory according to 
the terms of the treaty of peace with Great Britain 
at the close of the Revolution ; and another for the 
construction of a Government road through the "black 
swamps" from the Miami River to Detroit, thus 0|:)en- 
ing a means of land transit between Ohio and Mich- 
igan. He was influential in securing the passage of 
bills for the construction of Government roads from 
Detroit to Chicago, and Detroit to Fort Gratiot, and 
for the improvement of La Plaisance Bay. The ex- 
pedition for the exploration of the country around 
Lake Superior and in the valley of the Upper Mis- 
sissippi, projected by Governor Cass, was set on foot 
by means of representations made to the liead of the 
department by Mr. W. While in Congress he stren- 
uously maintained the right of Michigan to the strip 
of territory now forming the northern boundary of 
Ohio, which formed the subject of such grave dispute 
between Ohio and Michigan at the time of the ad- 
mission of the latter into the Union. He served 
but one term as delegate to Congress, de- 
clining further service on account of personal and 
family considerations. Mr. W. continued to discharge 
the duties of Secretarj' of the Territon,' up to the time 
its Government passed into the "second grade." 

In 1824, ne was appointed one of a board of 
commissioners for adjusting private land claims in 



the Territory, and was engaged also in the practice of 
his profession, having the best law library in the Ter- 
ritory. In 1828, upon the recommendation of the 
Governor, Judges and others, he was appointed by the 
President, J. Q. Adams, to succeed Hon. James Wiih- 
erell, who had resigned as a Judge of what is conven- 
tionally called the "Supreme Court" of the Territory. 
This court was apparently a continuation of the Terri- 
torial Court, under the "first grade" or "Governor and 
Judges" system. Although it was supreme in its ju- 
dicial functions within the Territor)', its powers and 
duties were of a very general character. 

In 1832, the term of his apixjintment as Judge ex- 
piring, President Jackson appointed a successor, it is 
sup[X)sed on political grounds,much to the disappoint- 
ment of the public and the bar of the Territory. The 
partisan feeluigof the time extended into the Terri- 
tory, and its people began to think of assuming the 
dignity of a State government. Party lines becom- 
ing very sharply drawn, he identified himself with 
the Whigs and was elected a member of the Conven- 
tion of 1835, which formed the first State Constitution. 
In 1837 he was elected a member of the State Senate. 

This sketch has purposely dealt somewhat in detail 
with what may be called Judge W's. earlier career, 
because it is closely identified with the early his- 
tory of the State, and the development of its politi- 
cal system. Since the organization of the State Gov- 
ernment the histor)' of Michigan is more familiar, and 
hence no review of Judge W's career as Governor 
and Senator will be attempted. He was elected Gov- 
ernor in 1839, under a popular impression that the 
affairs of the State had not been prudently adminis- 
tered by the Democrats. He served as Governor but 
little more than a year, when he was elected to the 
Senate of the United States. 

Hi^, term in the Senate practically closed his polit- 
ical life, although he was strongly urged by many 
prominent men for the ^\'hig nomination for Vice 
President in 1848. 

Soon after his appointment as Judge in 1828, 
ernor W. took up his residence on a tract of lau-i 1 
which he owned in the township of Spring Wells, n i 
short distance below what was then the corporate linl- | 
its of Detroit, where he resided during the remaindti 
of his life. Both in his public papers and privatt\ 
communications, Governor W. shows himself a mas- 
ter of language; he is fruitful in simile and illustra- 
tion, logical in arrangement, hap|)y in the choice and 
treatment of topics, and terse and vigorous in expres- 
sion. Judge W. was a Congregationalist. His opinions 
on all subjects were decided ; he was earnest and 
energetic, courteous and dignified, and at times ex- 
hibited a vein of fine humor that was the more at- 
tractive because not too often allowed to come to the 
surface. His letters and addresses show a deep and 
earnest affection not only for his ancestral home, but 
the home of his adoption and for friends and family, 



B, G0V./I 
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GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



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xJOtiN B. BARRY 








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OHN STEWARD BARRY, 
Governor of Michigan from 
Jan. 3, 1842, to Jan. 5, 1846, 
and from Jan. 7, 1850, to Jan. 
I, 1852, was born at Amherst, 
N. H., Jan. 29, 1802. His par- 
ents, John and Ellen (Steward) 
Barry, early removed to Rocking- 
hanij Vt., where he remained until 
he became of age, working on his 
father's farm, and pursuing his 
studies at the same time. He mar- 
ried Mary Kidder, of Grafton, Vt., 
and in 1824 went to Georgia, Vt., 
where he had charge of an academy 
for iwo years, meanwhile studying 
law. He afterward practiced law in 
that State. While he was in Georgia he was for some 
lime a member of the Governor's staff, with the title 
of Governor's Aid, and at a somewhat earlier period 
was Captain of a company of State militia. In 1831 
he removed to Michigan, and settled at White Pigeon, 
where he engaged in mercantile business with I. W. 
Willard. 

Four years after, 1834, Mr. Barry removed to Con- 



stantine and continued his mercantile pursuits. He 
became Justice of the Peace at White Pigeon, Mich, 
in 1831, and held the office until the year 1835 
Mr. Barry's first public office was that of a member 
of the first constitutional convention, which assembled 
and framed the constitution uix)n which Michigan 
was admitted into the Union. He took an important 
and prominent part in the proceedings of that body, 
and showed himself to be a man of far more than 
ordinary ability. 

Upon Michigan being admitted into the Union, 
Mr. Barry was chosen State Senator, and so favorably 
were his associates impressed with his abilities at the 
first session of the Legislature that they looked to him 
as a party leader, and that he should head the State 
ticket at the following election. Accordingly he re- 
ceived the nomination for Governor at the hands 
of his party assembled in convention. He was 
elected, and so popular was his administration that, in 
1842, he was again elected. During these years 
Michigan was embarrassed by great financial diffi- 
culties, and it was through his wisdom and sound judg- 
ment that the State was finally placed upon a solid 
financial basis. 

During the first year of Gov. Barry's first term, the 
University at Ann Arbor was opened for the reception 



114 



JOHN STEWARD BARRY. 



of students. The Michigan Central and Michigan 
Southern railroads were being rapidly constructed, and 
general progress was eveiywhere noticeable. In 1842, 
the number of pupils reported as attending the public 
schools was nearly fifty-eight thousand. In 1843, '•• 
State land office was established at Marshall, which 
was invested with the charge and disposition of all 
the lands belonging to the State In 1844, the tax- 
able property of the State was found to be over 
twenty-eight millions of dollars, the tax being at the 
rate of two mills on the dollar. The expenses of the 
State were only seventy thousand dollars, while the 
income from the railroads was nearly three hundred 
thousand dollars. At this time the University of 
Michigan had become so prosperous that its income 
was ample to pay the interest on the University debt ; 
and the amount of money which the State was able 
to loan the several progressing railroads was one 
hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Efforts were 
made to increase the efficiency of the common schools 
with good results In 1845, when Gov. Barry's sec- 
ond term ex|)ired, the population of the State was 
more than three hundred thousand. 

The constitution of the State forbade more than two 
consecutive terms, but he was called upon to fill the 
position again in 1850 — the only instance of the kind 
in the history of the State. He was a member of the 
Territorial Legislature, of the Constitutional Conven- 
tion, and afterward of the State House of Represent- 
atives. 

During Mr. Barry s third term as Governor the Nor- 
mal School was established at Ypsilanti, which was 
endowed with kinds and placed in charge of a board 
of education consisting of six persons. A new con- 
stitution for the government of the State was also 
adopted and the ''Great Railway Conspiracy Case" 
was tried. This grew out of a series of lawless acts 
which had been committed upon the property of the 
Michigan Central Railroad Company, along the line 
of their road, and finally the burning of the deix)t 
at Detroit, in 1850. 

At a setting of the grand jury of Wayne County, 
April 24, 1S51, 37 men of the 50 under arrest for this 
crime were indicted. ' May 20, following, the accused 
parties appeared at the Circuit Court of Wayne, of 
which Warner Wing was resident judge. The Rail- 
road Company employed ten eminent lawyers, in- 
cluding David Stuart, John Van Arnian, James A. 
Van Dyke, Jacob M. Howard, .\lex. D. Fraser, Dan- 
iel Goodwin and William Gray. The defendants were 
represented by six members of the State bar, led by 
William H. Seward, of New York. The trial occupied 
four months, daring which time the plaintiffs exam- 
ined 246 witnesses in 27 days, and the defendants 
249 in 40 days. Mr. Van Dyke addressed the jury 
for the prosecution ; William H. Seward for the 
defense. 

The great lawyer was convinced of the innocence 



of his clients, nor did the verdict of that jury and the 
sentence of that judge remove his firm belief that his 
clients were the victims of purchased treachery, 
rather than so many sacrifices to justice. 

The verdict of " guilty " was rendered at 9 o'clock 
p. -M., Sept. 25, 185 I. On the 26th the prisoners were 
put forward to receive sentence, when many of them 
protested their entire innocence, after which the pre- 
siding judge condemned 12 of the number to the fol- 
lowing terms of imprisonment, with hard labor, within 
the State's prison, situate in their county : Ammi 
Filley, ten years; Orlando L. Williams, ten years; 
Aaron Mount, eight years; Andrew J. Freeland, eight 
years; Eben Farnham, eight years; William Corvin, 
eight years; Richard Price, eight years; Evan Price, 
eight years; Lyman Champlin, five years; Willard 
W. ChampUn, five years; Erastus Champlin, five 
years; Erastus Smith, five years. 

In 1840, Gov. Barry became deeply interested in 
the cultivation of the sugar beet, and visited Europe 
to obtain information in reference to its culture. 

He was twice Presidential Elector, and his last 
public service was that of a delegate to the National 
Democratic Convention held in Chicago in 1864. 

He was a man who, throughout life, maintained a 
high character for integrity and fidelity to the trusts 
bestowed upon him, whether of a public or a private 
nature, and he is acknowledged by all to have been 
one of the most efficient and popular Governors the 
Slate has ever had. 

Gov. Barry was a man of incorruptible integrity. 
His opinions, which he reached by the most thorough 
investigation, he held tenaciously. His strong con- 
victions and outspoken honesty made it impossible for 
him to take an undefined position when a principle 
was involved. His attachments and prejudices were 
strong, yet he was never accused of favoritism in his 
administration of public affairs. As a speaker he was 
not remarkable. Solidity, rather than brilliancy, char- 
acterized his oratory, which is described as argument- 
ative and instructive, but cold, hard, and entirely 
wanting in rhetorical ornament. He was never elo- 
([uent, seldom humorous or sarcastic, and in manner 
rather awkward. 

•Although Mr. Barry's educational advant.ages were 
so limited, he was a life-long student. He mastered 
both ancient and modern languages, and acquired a 
thorough knowledge of history. No man owed less 
to political intrigue as a means of gaining posi- 
tion. He was a true statesman, and gained public es- 
teem by his solid worth. His political connections 
were always with the Democratic party, and his opin- 
ions were usually extreme. 

Mr. Barry retired to private life after the beginning 
of the ascendency of the Republican party, and car- 
ried on his mercantile business at Constanline. He 
died Jan. 14, 1870, his wife's death having occurred a 
year previous, March 30, 1869. They left no children. 







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GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



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LPHEUS FELCH, the third 

Governor of Michigan, was 
a ... . 

born in Lniierick, Mame, .Sep- 
tember 28, 1806. His grand- 
father, Abijah Felch, was a sol- 
*-^ dier in the Revolution ; and 
when a young man, having with 
others obtained a grant of land be- 
tween the Great and Little Ossipee 
Rivers, in Maine, moved to that re- 
gion when it was yet a wilderness. 
The father of Mr. Felch embarked in 
mercantile life at Limerick. He was 
the first to engage in that business in 
that section, and continued it until 
his death. The death of the father, 
followed within a year by the death of 
the mother, left the subject of this sketch, then three 
years old, to the care of relatives, and he found a 
home with his paternal grandfather, where he re- 
mained until his death. Mr Felch received his early 
education in the district school and a neighboring 
academy. In 1821 he became a student at Phillips 
Exter Academy, and, subsequently, entered Bowdoin 
College, graduated with the class of 1827. He at 
once began the study of law and was admitted to 
practice at Bangor, Me., in 1830. 

He began the practice of his profession at Houlton, 
Me., where he remained until [833. The severity 
of the climate impaired his health, never very good, 
and he found it necessary to seek a change of climate. 
He disposed of his library and started to seek 
a new home. His intention was to join his friend, 



Sargent S. Prentiss, at Vicksburg, Miss., but on his 
arrival at Cincinnati, Mr. Felch was attacked by 
cholera, and when he had recovered sufficiently to 
permit of his traveling, found that the danger of the 
disease was too great to permit a journey down the 
river. He therefore determined to come to Michi- 
gan. He first began to practice in this State at Mon- 
roe, where he continued until 1843, when he removed 
to Ann Arbor. He was elected to the State Legisla- 
ture in 1835, and continued a member of that body 
during the years 1836 and 1837. While he held this 
office, the general banking law of the State was enact- 
ed, and went into operation. After mature delibera- 
tion, he became convinced that the proposed system 
of banking could not prove beneficial to the public 
interests ; and that, instead of relieving the people 
from the pecuniary difficulties under which they were 
laboring, it would result in still further embarrass- 
ment. He, therefore, opposed the bill, and pointed 
out to the House the disasters which, in his opinion, 
were sure to follow its passage. The public mind, 
however, was so favorably impressed by the measure 
that no other member, in either branch of the Legisla- 
ture, raised a dissenting voice, and but two voted with 
him in opposition to the bill. Early in 1838, he was 
appointed one of the Bank Commissioners of the 
State, and held that office for mote than a year. Dur- 
ing this time, the new banking law had given birth to 
that numerous progeny known as "wild-cat" banks. 
Almost every village had its bank. The country was 
flooded with depressed "wild-cat" money. The ex- 
aminations of the Bank Commissioners brought to 
light frauds at every point, which were fearlessly re- 



ii8 



ALPHEUS FELCH. 



ported to the Legislature, and were followed by crim- 
inal prosecutions of the guilty parties, and the closing 
of many of their institutions. The duties of the of- 
fice were most laborious, and in 1839 Mr. Felch re- 
signed. The chartered right of almost every bank 
had, in the meantime, been declared forfeited and 
the law repealed. It was subsequently decided to 
be constitutional by the Supreme Court of the State. 
In the year 1842 Governor Felch was appointed 
to the office of Auditor General of the State; but 
after holding the office only a few weeks, was com- 
missioned by the Governor as one of the Judges of the 
Supreme Court, to fill a vacancy caused by the resig- 
nation of Judge Fletcher. In January, 1843, he was 
elected to the United States Senate for an unexpired 
term. In 1845 he was elected Governor of Michigan, 
and entered upon his duties at the commencement of 
the next year. In 1847 he was elected a Senator 
in Congress for six years ; and at once retired from 
the office of Governor, by resignation, which took 
effect March 4, 1847, when his Senatorial term com- 
menced. While a member of the Senate he acted on 
the Committee on Public Lands, and for four years 
was its Chairman. He filled the honorable position 
of Senator with becoming dignity, and with great 
credit to the State of Michigan. 

During Governor Felch's administration the two 
railroads belonging to the State were sold to private 
corporations, — the Central for $2,000,000, and the 
Southern for $500,000. The exports of the State 
amounted in 1846 to $4,647,608. The total capacity 
of vessels enrolled in the collection district at Detroit 
was 26,928 tons, the steam vessels having 8,400 and 
the sailing vessels 18,528 tons, the whole giving em- 
ployment to 18,000 seamen. In 1847, there were 39 
counties in the State, containing 435 townships ; and 
275 of these townships were supplied with good libra- 
ries, containing an aggregate of 37,000 volumes. 

At the close of his Senatorial term, in March, 1853, 
Mr. Felch was appointed, by President Pierce, one of 
the Commissioners to adjust and settle the Spanish 



and Mexican land claims in California, under the 
treaty of Gaudalupe Hidalgo, and an act of Congress 
passed for that purpose. He went to California in 
May, 1853, and was made President of the Commis- 
sion. The duties of this office were of the most im- 
portant and delicate character. The interest of the 
new State, and the fortunes of many of its citizens, 
both the native Mexican population and the recent 
American immigration ; the right of the Pueblos to 
their common lands, and of the Catholic Church to 
tlie lands of the Missions, — the most valuable of the 
State, — wereinvolved in the adjudicationsof this Com- 
mission. In March, 1856, their labors were brought 
to a close by the final disposition of all the claims 
which were presented. The record of their proceed- 
ings, — the testimony whicli was given in each case, 
and the decision of the Commissioners thereon, — 
consisting of some forty large volumes, was deposited 
in the Department of the Interior at Wasliington. 

In June of that year. Governor Felch returned to 
.\nn Arl)or, where he has since been engaged princi- 
pally in legal l)usiness. Since his return he has 
been nominated for Governor and also for U. S. Sen- 
ator, and twice for Judge of the Supreme Court. But 
the Democratic parly, to which he has always been 
attached, being in the minority, he failed of an elec- 
tion. In r873 he withdrew from the active practice 
of law, and, with the exception of a tour in Europe, 
in 1875 has since led a life of retirement at his home 
in Ann Arbor. In 1877 the University of Michigan 
conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. For 
many years he was one of the Regents of Michigan 
University, and in the spring of 1S79 was appointed 
Tappan Professor of Law in the same. Mr. Felch is 
the oldest surviving member of the Legislature from 
Monroe Co., the oldest and only surviving Bank Com- 
missioner of the State, the oldest surviving Auditor 
General of tiie State, the oldest surviving Governor of 
the State, the oldest surviving Judge of the Supreme 
Court of Michigan, and the oldest surviving United 
States Senator from the State of Micliigan. 



GO VERNORS. 








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I ILLIAM L. GREENLY 
5g Governor of Michigan for the 
f year 1847, was born at Hamil- 
ton, Madison Co., N. Y., Sept. 
18,1813. He graduated at Un- 
,-- ^ ' ion College, Schenectady, in 
1 83 1, studied law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1S34. In 
1836, having removed to Michi- 
gan, he settled in Adrian, where 
he has since resided. The year 
following his arrival in Michigan 
he was elected State Senator and 
& served in that capacity until 1839. 
In 1845 he was elected Lieut. Gov- 
ernor and became acting Governor 
by the resignation of Gov. Felch, 
who was elected to the United 
States Senate. 
i The war with Mexico was brought 

to a successful termination during Gov. Greenly 's 
administration. We regret to say that there are only 
few records extant of the action of Michigan troops 
in the Mexican war. That many went there and 
fought well are points conceded ; but their names and 
nativity are hidden away in United States archives 



and where it is almost impossible to find them. 

The soldiers of this State deserve much of the 
credit of the memorable achievements of Co. K; 3d 
Dragoons, and Cos. A, E, and G of the U. S. Inf 
The two former of these companies, recruited in this 
State, were reduced to one-third their original num- 
ber. 

In May, 1846, the Governor of Michigan was noti- 
fied by the War Department of the United States to 
enroll a regiment of volunteers, to be held in readi- 
ness for service whenever demanded. At his sum- 
mons 13 independent volunteer companies, 1 1 of 
infantry and two of cavalry, at once fell into line. Of 
the infantry four companies were from Detroit, bear- 
ing the honored names of Montgomery, Lafayette, 
Scott and Brady upon their banners. Of the re- 
mainder Monroe tendered two, Lenawee County three, 
St. Clair, Berrien and Hillsdale each one, and Wayne 
County an additional company. Of these alone the 
veteran Bradys were accepted and ordered into ser- 
vice. In addition to them ten companies, making the 
First Regiment of Michigan Volunteers, springing 
from various parts of the State, but embodying 10 a 
great degree the material of which the first volunteer? 
was formed, were not called for until October follow- 
ing. This regiment was soon in readiness and pro- 
ceeded by orders from Government to the seat of war. 




^^^.^-^-'^y'Z^-C^Ccy^c^ J^Ckylyv<J^ 



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GO VERJS/ORS. 



I2li 







SI, 



51? 
« 



EP^PI?RODITnS PI]S0I1Q. 1 






HE HON. EPAPHRODI- 
TUS RANSOM, the Seventh 
Governor of Michigan, was a 
native of Massachusetts. In 
that State he received a col- 
legiate education, studied law, 
and was admitted to the bar. 
Removing to Michigan about 
the time of its admission to the 
\^ Union, he took up his residence 
at Kalamazoo. 

Mr. Ransom served with marked 
ability for a number of years in the 
State Legislature, and in 1837 he was appointed As- 
sociate Justice of the Supreme Court. In 1843 he 
was promoted to Chief Justice, which office he re- 
tained until 1845, when he resigned. 

Shortly afterwards he became deeply interested in 
the building of plank roads in the western portion of 
the State, and in this business lost, the greater portion 
of the property which he had accumulated by years 
of toil and industry. 

Mr. Ransom became Governor of the State of 
Michigan in the fall of 1847, and served during one 
term, performing the duties of the office in a truly 
statesmanlike manner. He subsequently became 
President of the Michigan Agricultural Society, in 
which position he displayed the same abi'i'-'i that 



shone forth so prominently in his acts as Governor. 
He held the office of Regent of the Michigan Univer- 
sity several times, and ever advocated a liberal policy 
in its management. 

Subsequently he was appointed receiver of the 
land office in one of the districts in Kansas, by Pres- 
ident Buchanan, to which State he had removed, and 
where he died before the e.xpiration of his term of 
office. 

We sum up the events and affairs of the State un- 
der Gov. Ransom's administration as follows : The 
Asylum for the Insane was establised, as also the 
Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind. Both of 
these institutes were liberally endowed with lands, 
and each of them placed in charge of a board of five 
trustees. The appropriation in 1849 for the deaf and 
dumb and blind amounted to $81,500. On the first 
of March, 1848, the first telegraph line was com- 
pleted from New York to Detroit, and the first dis- 
patch transmitted on that day. The following figures 
show the progress in agriculture : The land reported 
as under cultivation in 1848 was 1,437,460 acres; of 
wheat there were produced 4,749,300 bushels; other 
grains, 8,197,767 bushels; wool, 1,645,756 pounds; 
maple sugar, 1,774,369 pounds; horses, 52,305; cat- 
tle, 210,268; swine, 152,541; sheep, 610,534; while 
the flour mills numbered 228, and the lumber mills 
amounted to 730. 1847, an act was passed removing 
the Legislature from Detroit to Lansing, and tempo- 
rary buildings for the use of the Legislature wereim 
mediately erected, at a cost of $12,450. 









II 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



129 










-##iNtft- 1():I5ERT McOLElvLAND. •■^^e^'Mr';^ S, 

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OBERT McClelland, 

^(iovernor of Michigau from 
Jan. I, I <S5 2, to March 8, 1853, 
was born at Greencastle, Frank- 
lin Co., Penn., Aug. i, 1S07. 
Among his ancestors were several 
officers of rank in the Revohition- 
ary war, and some of his family con- 
nections were distinguished in the 
war of 1812, and that with Mexico. 
His father was an eminent physician 
and surgeon who studied under 1 )r. 
Benj. Rush, of Philadelphia, and 
l)racticed his profession successfully 
until six months before his deatji, at 
the age of 84 years. Although Mr. 
family had been in good circum- 
stances, when he was 17 years old he was thrown 
upon his own resources. After taking the usual pre- 
liminary studies, and teaching school to obtain tlie 
means, he entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle, 
Penn., from which he graduated among the first in 
his class, in 1829. He then resumed teaching, and 
liaving completed the course of study for the legal 
profession, was admitted to the bar at Chambersburg, 
Penn., in 1831. Soon afterward he removed to the 
city of Pittsburgh, where he practiced for almost a 
year. 

In 1833, Mr. McClelland removed to Monroe, in 



McClelland's 



llie 'I'erritory of Micliigan, where, after a severe ex- 
amination, he became a member of the bar of Michi- 
gan, and engaged in practice witli bright prospect of 
success. In 1835, a convention was called to frame 
a constitution for the proposed State of Michigan, of 
which Mr. McClelland was elected a member. He 
took a i)rominent part in its deliberations and ranked 
among its ablest debaters. He was apix)inted the 
first Bank Commissioner of the State, by Gov. Mason, 
and received an offer of the Attorney Generalship, but 
declined both of these offices in order to attend to his 
I)rofessional duties. 

In 1838, Mr. McClelland was elected to the State 
Legislature, in which he soon became distinguished 
as the head of several imixsrtant committees. Speaker 
pro tempore, and as an active, zealous and efficient 
memljer. In 1840, Gen. Harrison, as a candidate for 
tlie Presidency, swept the country witli an overwhelm- 
ing majority, and at the same time the State of Michi- 
gan was carried by the Whigs under the popular cry 
of" Woodbridge and reform " against the Democratic 
party. At this time Mr. McClelland stood among the 
acknowledged leaders of the latter organization ; was 
elected a member of tiie State House of Rejjresenta- 
tives, and with others adopted a plan to regain :i lost 
authority and prestige. 

This party soon came again into power in tlie State, 
and having been returned to the State Legislature M;. 
Mc("lelland's leadership was acknowledged by his 
election as Speaker of the House of Representatives 



ROBERT McClelland. 



ill 1843. Down to this time Michigan had consti- 
tuted one congressional district. The late Hon. Jacob 
M. Howard had been elected against Hon. Alpheus 
Felch by a strong majority ; but, in 1 843, so thoroughly 
had the Democratic party recovered from its defeat 
Df 2840 that Mr. McClelland as a candidate forCon- 
gress, carried Detroit district by a majority of about 
•.',500. Mr. McClelland soon toc'i a prominent pc-:i 
lion in Congress among the veteians of that body. 
During his first term he was placed on Committee on 
Conrmerce, and organized and carried through what 
•vere known as the " Harbor bills." The continued _ 
confidence of his constituency was manifested in his ' 
election to the 29th Congress. At the opening of this 
session he had acquired a National reputation, and so 
if.Torably was he known as a parlimentarian that his 
Qarae was 11 entioned for Speaker of the House of-Rep- 
icsentatives He declined t' e offer in favor of J. W. 
Davis, of L-.diana, who was elected. During this term 
he became Chairman of Committee on Commerce, in 
which position his leports and advocacy of important 
measures at once attracted public attention. The 
members of this committee, as an evidence of the es- 
teem in which they held his services and of their 
personal regard for him, presented him with a cane 
'vhich he retains as a souvenir of the donors, and of 
his labors in Congress. 

In 1847, Mr McClelland was re-elected to Con- 
tress, and at the opening of the 3olh Congress be- 
rame a member of the Committee on Fore gn Rela- 
aons. WhiL' acting in this capacity, what was known 
.'.? ti-.e 'Trench Spoliation Bill" came undjr his spe- 
cial charge, aid his management of the same was such 
as to command universal approbation. While in 
Congress, Mt. McClelland was an advocate of the 
•ight of petition as maintained by John Q. Adams, 
wher the petition, was clothed in decorous language 
and preseniui in the proper manner This he re- 
tarded as the cilizens'constitutional right which should 
iiot be impaired by any doctrines of temporary expe- 
diency. He also voted for the adoption of Mr. Gid- 
aings's bill fot the abolishing of slavery in the District 
of Co'umbi- Mr McClellan.d was one of the few 
DemocrptE a3.sociated with David Wilmot, of Penn- 
rylvania in bringing forward the celebrated "Wilmot 
Proviso, ' with a view to prevent further extension of 
slavery ii. new territory which might be acquired by 
.he United States. He and Mr. Wilmot were to- 
gether at the time in Washington, and on intimate 
r.nd confidential terms. Mr. McClelland was in sev- 
eral National conventions and in the Baltimore con- 
■fention, which nominated Gen. Cass for President, 
-," 1848, doing valiant service that year for the elec- 
tion of that distinguished statesman. On isaving 
"ongress, in 1848, Mr. McClelland returned to the 
practice of his profession at Monroe. In 1S50 a 
convention of the State of Michigan was called to 
revise the State constitution He was elected a 



member and was regarded therein as among the ablest 
and most experienced leaders. His clear judgment 
and wise moderation were conspicuous, both in the 
committee room and on the floor, rr, debate. In 1850, 
he was President of the Democratic State convention 
which adopted resolutions in suptJort of Henry Clay'.3 
famous compromise measures, of which Mr. McClel 
land was a strong advocate. He waj a member c! 
the Democratic National convention in 1S52, and in 
that year, in company with Gen Cass and Governo; 
Felch; he made a thorough canvass of the Stale 
He continued earnestly to advocate the Cay com 
promise measures, and took ari .active part -in the 
canvass which resulted in the election of Gen Pierce 
to the Presidency 

In 185 [, the new State constitution took effect an-) 
it was necessary that a Governo; should be elected 
for one year in order to prevent an interregnum, and 
to bring the State Government into ooerat;? \ tndei 
the new constitution, Mr. McClelland was elected 
Governor, and in the fall of 1852 was re-elected fo' 
a term of two years, from Jan, r, 1853, His admir - 
istration was regarded as wise, prudent and concilia- 
tory, and was as popular as could be expected at a 
time when party spirit ran high. There was really 
no opposition, and when he resigned, in March, 1853, 
the State Treasury was well filled, and the State 
otherwise prosperous. So widely and favorably hac 
Mr. McClelland become known as a statesmar. that or. 
the organization of thecabinet by President Pierce, in 
March, 1853, he was made Secretary cf tliC Interior, ri 
which capacity he served most creditably during low. 
years of the Pierce administration. He thoroughly 
re-organized his department and reduced the expend- 
iture- He adopted a course with the Indians which 
relieved them from the impositions and annoyances 
of the traders, and produced harmony and civilizatio' 
among them. During liis administration there wa-- 
neither complaint from the tribes nor corruption among 
agents, and he left the department in perfect order 
and system In 1867, Michigan again called a con 
vention to revise the State constitution, Mr. McClel 
land was a member and here again his long expcr. 
ence made him conspicuous as a prudent adviser, a 
sagacious parliamentary leader. As a lawyer hewa- 
terse and pointed m argument, clear, candid and im 
pressive in his addresses to the jury. His sincerity 
and earnestness, with which was occasionally mingled 
a pleasant humor, made him an able and effective 
advocate. In speaking before the people on political 
subjects he was especially forcible and happy. In 
1870 he made the tour of Europe, which, through .-iis 
extensive personal acquaintance \vith European dip- 
lomates, he was enabled to enjoy much more :.''an 
most travelers 

Mr. McClelland married, in 1837, Miss Sarah 
E. Sabin, of Williamstown, Mass. They have had 
six children, two of whom now snr\'ive. 



GOVERNORS OF .U/CH/GAN. 



>J3 




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ANDREW PARS;()X^. 



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NDREW PARSONS, (;oVLr- 
nor of Michigan from Marcli 
8, 1853 to Jan. 3, 1855, was 
born in the town of Hoosick, 
County of Rensselaer, and 
State of New York, on tlie 22d 
^ day of July, 1817, and died June 
6, 1855, at the early age of 38 
years. He was the son of John 
Parsons, born at Newbury port, 
(Mass., Oct. 2, 1782, and who was the 
sonof Andrew Parsons, a Revolutionary 
soldier, who was the son of Phineas 
Parsons, the son of Samuel Parsons, 
a descendant of Walter Parsons, born 
in Ireland in 1290. 
Of this name and family, some one hundred and 
thirty years ago, Bishop Gilson remarked in his edi- 
tion of Camden's Britannia: "The honorable family 
of Parsons have been advanced to the dignity of 
Viscounts and more lately Earls of Ross." 

The following are descendants of these f.unilies : 
Sir John Parsons, born 1 481, was Mayor of Hereford; 
Robert Parsons, born in 1546, lived near Bridgewater, 
F^ngland. He was educated at Ballial College, Ox- 
ford, and w.as a noted writer and defender of the 
Romish faith. He established an English College at 
Rome and another at Valladolia. Frances Parsons, 
Ixjrn in 1556, was Vicar of Rothwell, in Notingham; 
Bartholomew Parsons, born in 1618, was another 
noted member of the family. In 1634, Thomas Parsons 
-was knighted by Charles I. Joseph and Benjamin, 
brothers, were born in Great Torrington, England, 



and accompanied their father and others to New 
I'.ngland about 1630. Samuel Parsons, bom at Salis- 
bury, Mass., in 1707, graduated at Harvard College in 
1730, ordained at Rye, N. H., Nov. 3, 1736, married 
Mary Jones, daughter of Samuel Jones, of Boston, 
Oct. 9, 1739, died Jan. 4, 1789, at the age of 82, in 
the 53rd year of his ministry. The grandfatherof Maiy 
Jones was Capt. John Adams, of Boston, grandson 
of Henry, of Braintree, who was among the first set- 
tlers of Massachusetts, and from whom a numerous 
race of the name are descended, including two Presi- 
dents of the United States. The Parsons have be- 
come very numerous and are found throughout New 
England, and many of the descedants are scattered 
in all parts of the United States, and especially in 
the Middle and Western States. Governor Andrew 
Parsons came to Michigan in 1835, at the age of 17 
years, and spent the first summer at Lower Ann 
Arbor, where for a few months he taught school which 
ho was compelled to abandon from ill health. 

He was one of the large number of men of sterling 
worth, who came from the East to Michigan when ii 
was an infant State, or, even prior to its assuming 
the dignity of a State, and who, by their wisdom, 
enterprise and energy, have developed its wonderful 
natural resources, until to-day it ranks with the])roud- 
est States of the Union. These brave men came ki 
Michigan with nothing to aid them in the conquesi 
of the wilderness save courageous hearts and stronp 
and willing hands. They gloriously conquered, how- 
ever, and to them is due all honor for the labois 
so nobly performed, for the solid .lud sure foundation 
which they laid of a great Commonwealth. 



'34 



ANDREW PARSONS 



la the fall of 1835, he explored the Grand River 
Valley in a frail canoe, the whole length of the river, 
from Jackson to Lake Michigan, and spent the following 
winter as clerk in a store at Prairie Creek, in Ionia, 
County, and in the spring went to Marshall, where he 
resided with his brother, the Hon. Luke H. Parsons, 
also now deceased, until fall, when he went to Shia- 
wasseCounly,then with Clinton County, andan almost 
unbroken wilderness and constituting one organized 
township. In 1837 this territory was organized into 
a county and, at the age of only 19 years, he (x\n- 
drew) was elected County Clerk. In 1840, he was 
elected Register of Deeds, re-elected in 1842, and 
also in 1844. In 1846, he was elected to the State 
Senate, was appointed Prosecuting Attorney in 1848, 
and elected Regent of the University in 185 1, and 
Lieutenant Governor, and became acting Governor, 
in 1853, elected again to the Legislature in 1854, and, 
overcome by debilitated health, hard labor and the 
responsibilities of his office and cares of his business, 
retired to his farm, where he died soon after. 

He was a fluent and persuasive speaker and well 
calculated lo make friends of his acquantances. He 
was always true to his trust, and the whole world 
could not i)ersuade nor drive him to do what he con- 
ceived to be wrong. When Governor, a most power- 
ful railroad influence was brought to bear upon him, 
to induce him to call an extra session of the Legisla- 
ture. Meetings were held in all parts of the State 
for that purpose. In some sections the resolutions 
were of a laudatory nature, intending to make him do 
their bidding by resort to friendly and flattering words. 
In other places the resolutions were of a demanding 
nature, while in others they were threatening beyond 
measure. Fearing that all these influences might 
'"ail to induce him to call the extra session, a large 
sum of money was sent him, and liberal offers ten- 
dered him if he would gratify the railroad interest of 
the State and call the extra session, but, immovable, 
he returned the money and refused to receive 
any favots, whether from any party who would at- 
tempt to corru'n 'iim by laudations, liberal offers, or 



by threats, and in a short letter to the people, after 
giving overwhelming reasons that no sensible man 
could dispute, showing the circumstances were not 
"extraordinary," he refused to call the extra session. 
This brought down the wrath of various parties upon 
his head, but they were soon forced to acknowledge 
the wisdom and the justice of his course. One of 
his greatest enemies said, after a long acquaintance : 
"though not always coinciding with his views I never 
doubted his honesty of purpose. He at all times 
sought to perform his duties in strict accordance, 
with the dictates of his conscience, and the behests 
ofhisoath." The following eulogium from a politcal op- 
ponent is just in its conception and creditable to its 
author: "Gov. Parsons was a politician of the Dem- 
ocratic school, a man of pure moral character, fixed 
and exemplary habits, and entirely blameless in every 
public and private relation of life. As a politician he 
was candid, frank and free from bitterness, as an ex- 
ecutive officer firm, constant and reliable." The 
highest commendations we can pay the deceased is 
to give his just record, — that of being an honest man. 
In the spring of 1854, during the administration of 
Governor Parsons, the Republican party, at least 
as a State organization, was first formed in the United 
States " under the oaks " at Jackson, by anti-slavery 
men of both the old parties. Great excitement pre- 
vailed at this time, occasioned by the settling of 
Kansas, and the issue thereby brought up, whether 
slavery should exist there. For the purpose of permit- 
ting slavery there, the " Missouri compromise " (which 
limited slavery to the south of 36" 30) was re- 
repealed, under the leadership of Stephen A, Douglas. 
Phis was repealed by a bill admitting Kansas and 
Nebraska into the Union, as Territories, and those who 
were opposed to this repeal measure were in short 
called "anti-Nebraska" men. The epithets, "Ne- 
braska" and "anti-Nebraska," were temporally em- 
ployed to designate the slavery and anti-slavery 
parties, pending the desolution of the old Democratic 
and Whig parties and the organization of the new- 
Democratic and Republican parties of the ])resent. 



GO VERyORS OF MICHIGAN. 



'.^7 




S:^ 



B3 K.INSURY ©. BiNQHAM. 



"<7 






INSLEY S. BINGHAM, 
Governors of Michigan from 
1855 to 1859, and United 
States Senator, was born in 
Camillus, Onondaga County, 
N. v., Dec. 16, 1808. His 
father was a farmer, and his own 
early Hfe was consequently de- 
voted to agricultural pursuits, but 
notwithstanding the disadvan- 
tages related to the acquisition 
of knowledge in the life of a farmer 
he managed to secure a good aca- 
demic education in his native State 
and studied law in the office of 
Gen. James R. Lawrence, now of 
Syracuse, N. Y. In the spring of 
1833, he married an estimable lady 
wht) had recently arrived from Scot- 
land, and obeying the impulse of a 
naturally enterprising disposition, 
he emigrated to Michigan and 
purchased a new farm in company 
with his brother-in-law, Mr. Robert 
W'orden, in Green Oak, Livingston County. Here, on 
the border of civilization, buried in the primeval for- 
est, our late student commenced the arduous task of 
preparing a future home, clearing and fencing, put- 
tin^' '!)) buildings, etc., at such a rate that the land 



I 



chosen was soon reduced to a high state of cultivation. 

licconiing deservedly prominent, Mr. Bingham wai 
elcctLd to thfe office of Justice of the Peace and Post- 
master under the Territorial government, and was the 
first Probate Judge in the county. In the year 183O. 
when Michiga'i i ecame a State, he was elected to the 
first Legislature. He was four times re-elected, and 
Speaker of the House of Representatives three years. 
In 1846 he was elected on the Democratic ticket, Re[>- 
resentalive to Congress, and was the only practical 
farmer in that body. He was never forgetful of the 
interest of agriculture, and was in particular opiwsed 
to the introduction of " Wood's Patent Cast Iron 
Plow " which he completely prevented. He was re- 
elected to Congress in 1S48, during which time he 
strongly opposed the extension of slavery in the 
territory of the United States and was committed to 
and voted for the Wilmot Proviso. 

In 1854, at the first organization of the Republican 
party, in consequence of his record in Congress as a 
Free Soil Democrat, Mr. Bingham was nominated 
and elected Governor of the State, and re-elected in 
1S56. Still faithful to the memory of his own former 
occupation, he did not forget the farmers during his 
administration, and among other profits of his zeal in 
their behalf, he became mainly instrumental in the 
establishment of the Agricultural College at Lansing 

In 1859, Governor Bingham was elected Senator in 
Congress and took an active part in the stormy cam- 
paign in the election of Abrahatn Lincoln. He wit 



13^ 



KINSLEY S. BINGHAM. 



nessed the commencement of the civil war while a 
member of the United States Senate. After a com- 
paiatively short life of remarkable promise and pub- 
lic activity he was attacked with appoplexy and died 
suddenly at his residence, in Green Oak, Oct. 5, 1861. 
The most noticable event in Governor Bingham's 
first term was the completion of the ship canal, at the 
Falls of St. Mary. In 1S52, Angust 26, an act of 
Congress was approved, granting to the State of Mich- 
igan seven hundred and fifty thousand acres of land 
for the purpose of constructing a ship canal between 
Lakes Huron and Superior. In 1853,1116 Legislature 
accepted the grant, and provided for the appointment 
of commissioners to select the donated lands, and to 
arrange for building the canal. A company of enter- 
prising men was formed, and a contract was entered 
into by which it was arranged that the canal should 
be fiiiished in two years, and the work was pushed 
rapidly forward. Every article of consumption, ma- 
chinery, working implements and materials, timber 
for the gates, stones for the locks, as well as men and 
supplies, had to be transported to the site of the canal 
from Detroit, Cleveland, and other lake ports. The 
rapids which had to be surmounted have a fall of 
seventeen feet and are about one mile long. The 
length ot the canal is less than one mile, its width one 
hundred feet, depth twelve feet and it has two locks 
of solid masonary. In May, 1855, the work was com- 
pleted, accepted by the commissioners, and formally 
delivered to the State authorities. 

The disbursements on account of the construction 
of the canal and selecting the lands amounted to one 
million of dollars; while the lands which were as- 
signed to the company, and selected through the 
agency at the Sault, as well as certain lands in the 
Upper and Lower Peninsulas, filled to an acre the 
Government grant. The opening of the canal was 
an important event in the history of the improvement 
of the State. It was a valuable link in the chain of 
lake commerce, and particularly important to the 
interests of the Upper Peninsula. 

There were several educational, charitable and re- 
formatory institutions inaugurated and opened during 
Gov. Bingham's administrations. The Michigan Ag- 
ricultural College owes its establishment lo a provision 
of the State Constitution of 1850. Article 13 says, 
" The Legislature shall, as soon as practicable, pro- 
vide for the establishment of an agricultural school." 
For the purpose of carying into practice this provision, 
legislation was commenced in 1855, and the act re- 
quired that the school should be within ten miles of 
Lansing, and that not more than llrj an acre should 
be paid for the farm and college grounds. The col- 
lege was opened to students in May, 1857, the firstof 
existing argricultural colleges in the United States, 
Until the spring of i86i,it was under tlie control 
of the State Board of Education; since that time it 
has been under the management of the State Board 



of Agriculture, which was created for that purpose. 

In its essential features, of combining study and 
labor, and of uniting general and professional studies 
in its course, the college has remained virtually un- 
changed from the first. It has a steady growth in 
number of students, in means of illustration and 
efficiency of instruction. 

The Agricultural College is three miles east of 
Lansing, comprising several fine buildings; and there 
are also very beautiful, substantial residences for the 
professors. There are also an extensive, well-filled 
green-bouse, a very large and well-equipped chemical 
laboratory, one of the most scientific apiaries in the 
United States, a general museum, a meseuni of me- 
chanical inventions, another of vegetable products, 
extensive barns, piggeries, etc., etc., in fine trim for 
the purposes designed. The farm consists of 676 
acres, of which about 300 are under cultivation in a 
systematic rotation of crops, 

Adrian College was established by the Wesleyan 
Methodists in 1859, now under the control of the 
Methodist Church. The grounds contain about 20 
acres. There are four buildings, capable of accom- 
modating about 225 students. Attendance in 1875 
was 179; total number of graduates for previous year, 
121 ; ten professors and teachers are employed. Ex- 
clusive of the endowment fund ($80,000), the assets 
of the institution, including grounds, buildings, furni- 
ture, apparatus, musical instruments, outlying lands, 
etc., amount to more than $137,000. 

Hillsdale College was established in 1855 by the i 
Free Baptists. ■ The Michigan Central College, at j, 
Spring Arbor, was incorporated in 1845 It was kept I 
in operation until it was merged into the present ; 
Hillsdale College. The site comprises 25 acres, 
beautifully situated on an eminence in the western 
part of the city of Hillsdale. The large and impos- 
ing building first erected was nearly destroyed by fire 
iu 1874, and in its place five buildings of a more 
modern style have been erected. They are of brick, 
three stories with basement, arranged on three sides 
of a quadrangle. The size is, respectively, 80 by 80, • 
48 by 72, 48 by 72, 80 by 60, 52 by 72, and they con- ' 
tain one-half more room than the original building. 
The .State Reform School. This was established 
at Lansing in 1855, in the northeastern portion of the 
city, as the House of Correction for Juvenile Of- 
fenders, having about it many of the features of a 
prison. In 1859 the name was changed to the State 
Reform School. The government and dicipline, have 
undergone many and radical changes, until all the 
prison features have been removed except those that 
remain in the walls of the original structure, and 
which remain only as monuments of instructive his- 
tory. No bolts, bars or guards are employed. The 
inmates are necessarily kept under the surveillance of 
officers, but the attenqits at escape are much fewer 
than under the more rigid regime of former days. 




^ 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



'41 






? OSES WISNER. Governor of 
■'^Michigan from 185910 1861, 
•■'" was born in Springport, Cayu- 
{ ga Co., N Y., June 3, 1815. 
-, His earl) education was only 
'*^' what could be obtained at a 
common school. Agricultural labor 
and frugality of his parents gave 
him a physical constitution of unus- 
ual strength and endurance, which 
;^was ever preserved by temperate hab- 
its. In 1837 he emigrated to Michi- 
^' gan and purchased a farm in Lapeer 
w Q)unty It was new land and he at 
'■^■■>^ once set to work to clear it and plant 
crops. He labored diligently at his 
task for two years, when he gave up 
the idea of being a farmer, and removed to Pontiac, 
(Jakland Co. Here he commenced the study of law 
in the office of his brother. George W. Wisner, and 
Rufus Hosmer In i%.\\ he was admitted to ths bar 
and establislied himself in his new vocation at the 
village of Lapeer. While there he was appi'ointed 
by Gov. ^Voodbridge Prosecuting Attorney for that 
county, in which capacity he acquitted himself well 
and gave i)romise of that eminence he after^vard at- 
tained in the profession. He remained at Lapeer but 
a short time, removing to Pontiac, where he became 
a member of a firm and entered fully ujxan the 
practice. 

In politics he was like his talented brother, a Whig 
of the Henry Clay stamp, but with a decided anti- 
slaverj bias. His practice becoming extensive, he 



took little part in politics until after the eleix<on of 
Mr. Pierce to the Presidency in 1852, when he took an 
active part against slavery. As a lawyer he was a 
man of great ability, but relied less uixjn jiiere book 
learning than upon his native good sense. Liberal 
and courteous, was he yet devoted to the interest of 
his client, and no facts escaped his attct.tion or his 
memory which bore upon the case. He was no friend 
of tricker) or artifice in conducting a case As an ad- 
vocate he had few equals. When fully aroused by the 
merits of his subject his elociuence was at once grace- 
ful and powerful. His fancies supplied the most 
original, tiie most ix)inted illustrations, and his logic 
became a battling giant under whose heavy l)lowsthe 
adversar)' shrank and withered. Nature had be- 
stowed upon him rare qualities, and his powers as a 
jwpular orator were of a high order. 

On the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 
1854, repealing the Missouri compromise and opening 
the Territories to slavery, he was among the foremost 
in Michigan to denounce the shamfi.l scheme. He 
actively participated in organizing and consolidating 
the elements opjxjsed to it in that State, and was a 
member of the popular gathering at Jackson, in July, 
1854, which was the first formal Republican Conven- 
tion held in the United States. At this meeting the 
name " Republican " was adopted as a designation of 
the new party consisting ■ of Anti-slavery, Whigs, 
Liberty men. Free Soil Democrats and all others op- 
ixjsed to the extension of slavery and favorable to its 
expulsion from the Territories and the District of 
Columbia. At this convention Mr. W. was urged to 
accept the nomination for Attorney General of the 



MOSES WISJSIKR. 



State, bui declined. An entire State ticivet was nom- 
inated and at the annual election in Novemb^T was 
elected by an average majority of nearly 1 0,000. 
Mr. W. was enthusiastic in the cause and brought to 
its support all his personal influence and talents. In 
his views he was bold and radical. He believed from 
the beginning that the political power of the slave- 
holders would have to be overthrown before quiet 
could be secured to the country. In the Presidential 
canvass of 1856 he supported the Fremont, or Re- 
publican, ticket. At the session of the Legislature of 
1857 he was a candidate for United States Senator, 
and as such received a very handsome support. 

In 1858, he was nominated for Governor of the 
State by the Republican convention that met at De- 
troit, and at the subsequent November election was 
chosen by a very large majority. Before the day of 
the election he had addressed the people of almost 
every county and his majority was greater even than 
that of his popular predecessor, Hon. K. S. Bingham. 
He served as Governor two years, from Jan. i, 1859, 
io Jan. I, i86i. His first message to the Legislature 
was an able and statesman-like production, and was 
read with usual favor. It showed that he was awake 
to all the interests of the State and set forth an en- 
lightened State policy, that had its view of the rapid 
settlement of our uncultivated lands and the devel- 
opment of our immense agricultural and mineral re- 
sources. It was a document that reflected the highest 
credit upon the author. 

His term having expired Jan. i, 1861, he returned 
to his home in Pontiac, and to the practice of his 
profession. There were those in the State who 
counselled the sending of delegates to the peace con- 
ference at Washington, but Mr. W. was opposed to all 
such temporizing expedients. His counsel was to 
send no delegate, but to prepare to fight. 

After Congress had met and passed the necessary 
.egislation he resoh ed to take part in the war. In 
the spring and summer of 1862 he set to work to 
raise a regiment of infantry, chiefly in Oakland 
County, where he resided. His regiment, the 22d 
Michigan, was armed and equipped and ready to 
march in September, a regiment whose solid quali- 
ties were afterwards proven on many a bloody field. 
Col. W's. commission bore the date of Sept. 8, 1862. 
Before parting with his family he made his will. His 
regiment was sent to Kentucky and quartered at 



Camp Wallace. He had at the breaking out of the 
w:ir turned his attention to military studies and be- 
came proficient in the ordinary rules and discipline. 
His entire attention was now devoted to his duties. 
His treatment of his men was kind, though his disci- 
pline was rigid. He possessed in an eminent degree 
the spirit of command, and had he lived he would 
no doubt have distinguished himself as a good 
officer. He was impatient of delay and chafed at 
being kept in Kentucky where there was so littlt 
prospect of getting at the enemy. But life in canqj, 
so different from the one he had been leading, ano 
his incessant labors, coupled with that impatience 
which was so natural and so general among the vol- 
unteers in the early part of the war, soon made tlieir 
influence felt upon his health. He was seized with 
typhoid fever and removed to a private house near 
Lexington. Every care which medical skill or the 
liand of friendship could bestow was rendered him. 
In the delirious wanderings of his mind he was dis- 
ciplining his men and urging them to be prepared for 
an encounter with the enemy, enlarging upon the jus- 
tice of their cause and the necessity of their crush ■ 
"ng the Rebellion. But the source of his most poig- 
nant gnet was the prospect of not being able to come 
to a hand-to-hand encounter with the "chivalry." 
He was proud of his regiment, and felt that if it could 
find the enemy it would cover itself with glory, — a 
distinction it afterward obtained, but not until Col W. 
was no more. The malady baffled all medical treat- 
ment, and on the 5th day of Jan., 1863, he breathed 
his last. His remains were removed to Michigan and 
interred in the cemetery at Pontiac, where they rest 
by the side of the brave Gen. Richardson, who re- 
ceived his mortal wound at the battle of Antietam. 
Col. W. was no adventurer, although he was doubtless 
ambitious of military renown and would have striven 
for it with characteristic energy. He went to the war 
to defend and uphold the principles he had so much 
at heart. Few men were more familiar than he with 
the causes and the underlying principles that led to 
the contest. He left a wife, who was a daughter of 
Gen. C. C. Hascall, of Flint, and four children to 
mourn his loss. Toward them he ever showed the 
tenderest regard. Next to his duty their love and 
welfare engrossed his thoughts. He was kind, gen- 
erous and brave, and like thousands of oti:iers 1;« 
sleeps the sleep of the martyr for his country, 





i 



GOVERNORS OF MfCHIGAN. 



145 




?^^fJ■»^ . •►<^. 




m^% 



■•=»-::__ ■^«*-'»>.'>? f- 










""''SPgje 




USTIN BLAIR, Governor 

of Michigan from Jan. 2, 

^;.i 1 86 1, to Jan. 4, 1865, and 

^ 'j kown as the War Governor, is 

md illustration of the benifi- 

ent influence of rcpubhcan in- 



^ stitutions, having inherited neith- 
er fortune nor fame. He was born 
in a log cabin at Caroline, Tomp- 
kins Co., N. v., Feb. 8, 1818. 
His ancestors came from Scot- 
land in the time of George I, and 
for many generations followed the 
pursuit of agriculture. His father, 
I George Klair, settled in Tompkins 
County in 1809, and felled the trees and creeled the 
first cabin in the county. The last 60 of the four- 
score and four years of his life were spent on that 
spot. He married Rhoda r51ackman,who now sleeps 
with him in the soil of theold homestead. Thefirst 
17 years of his life were spent there, rendering his 
father what aid he could upon the farm. He then 
spent a year and a half in Cazenovia Seminarj- pre- 
paring for college; entered Hamilton College, in 
Clinton, prosecuted his studies until the middle of 
the junior year, when, attracted by the fame of Dr. 
Nott, he changed to Union College, from which he 
graduated in the class of 1839. Upon leaving col- 
iCge Mr. Blair read law two years in the office of Sweet 
& Davis, Owego, N Y., and was admitted to practice 
v/ 'iJAi, and the same year moved to Michigan, locat- 



ing in Jackson. During a temjiorar)' residence m 
Eaton Rapids, in 1842, he was elected Clerk of Eaton 
County. At the close of the official term he returned .0 
Jackson, and as a Whig, zealously esjwused the cause 
of Henr)' Clay in the campaign of 1844. He was chosen 
Representative to the Legislature in 1845, at which 
session, as a member of the Judiciary Committee, he 
rendered valuable service in the revision of the gen- 
eral statutes ; also made an able report in favor of 
abolishing the color distinction in relation to the elec- 
rive franchise, and at the same session was acrive in 
securing the abolition of capital punishment. In 1848 
Mr. Blair refused longer to affiliate with the Whig 
party, because of its refusial to endorse in convention 
any anti-slavery sentiment. He joined the Free-soil 
movement, and was a delegate to their convention 
which nominated Van Buren for President that year. 
Upon the birth of the Republican ])arty at Jackson, 
in 1854, by the coalition of the Whig and Free-soil 
elements, Mr. Blair was in full sympathy with the 
movement, and acted as a member of the Committee 
on Platform. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney 
of Jackson County in 1852 ; was chosen State Senator 
two years later, taking his seat with the incoming Re- 
publican administration of 1855, and holding the 
lX)sition of parliamentary leader in tiie Senate. He 
was a delegate to the National Convention which 
nominated .Abraham Lincoln in i860. Mr. Biair 
was elected Governor of Michigan in i860, and re- 
elected in 1862, faithfully and honorably dischargi--^ 
the ard'.ous duti*»s of the office during that mo'.i mo- 



146 



AUSTIN BLAIR. 



meiitous and stormy period of the Nation's life. Gov. 
Blair, possessed a clear comprehension of the perilous 
situation from the inception of the Rebellion, and his 
inaugural address foreshadowed the prompt executive 
policy and the administrative ability which charac- 
terized his gubernatorial career. 

Never perhaps in the history of a nation has a 
brighter example been laid down, or a greater sacri- 
fice been made, than that which distinguished Mich- 
igan during the civil war. All, from the " War Gov- 
ernor," down to the poorest citizen of the State, were 
animated with a patriotic ardor at once magnificiently 
sublime and wisely directed. 

Very early in 186 1 the coming struggle cast its 
shadow over the Nation. Governor Blair, in his mes- 
sage to the Legislature in January of that year, dwelt 
very forcibly upon the sad prospects of civil war; and 
as forcibly pledged the State to support the principles 
of the Republic. After a review of the conditions 
of the State, he passed on to a consideration of the 
relations between the free and slave States of the 
Repul'.lic, saying: " While we are citizens of the State 
of Michigan, and as such deeply devoted to her in- 
terests and honor, we have a still prouder title. We 
are also citizeas of the United States of America. By 
this title we are known among the nations of the earth. 
In remote quarters of the globe, where the names of 
the States are unknown, the flag of the great Republic, 
the banner of the stars and stripes, honor and protect 
her citizens. In whatever concerns the honor, the 
prosperity and the perpetuity of this great Govern- 
ment, we are deeply interested. The people of Mich- 
igan are loyal to that Government — faithful to its con- 
stitution and its laws. Under it they have had peace 
and prosperity ; and under it they mean to abide to 
the end. Feeling a just pride in the glorious history 
of the past, they will not renounce the equally glo- 
rious hopes of the future. But they will rally around 
the standards of the Nation and defend its integrity 
and its constitution, with fidelity." The final para- 
graph being: 
" I recommend you at an early day to make mani- 



fest to the gentlemen who represent this State in the 
two Houses of Congress, and to the country, that 
Michigan is loyal to the Union, the Constitution, and 
the laws and will defend them to the uttermost ; and 
to proffer to the President of the United States, the 
whole military power of the State for that purjxjse. 
Oh, for the firm, steady hand of a Washington, or a 
Jackson, to guide the ship of State in this perilous 
storm ! Let us hope that we will find him on the 4th 
of March. Meantime, let us abide in the faith of our 
fathers — ' Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, 
now and forever. 

How this stirring appeal was responded to by the 
people of Michigan will be seen by the statement 
that the State furnished 88,1 1 1 men during the war. 
Money, men, clothing and food were freely and abun- 
dantly supplied by this State during all these years of 
darkness and blood shed. No State won a brighter 
record for her devotion to our country than the Pen- 
insula State, and to Gov. Blair, more than to any 
other individual is due the credit for its untiring zeal 
and labors in the Nation's behalf, and for the heroism 
manifested in its defense. 

Gov. Blair was elected Representative to the 
Fortieth Congress, and twice re-elected, to the Forty- 
first and Forty-second Congress, from the Third Dis- 
trict of Michigan. While a member of that body he 
was a strong supporter of reconstruction measures, 
and sternly opposed every form of repudiation. His 
speech upon the national finances, delivered on the 
floor of the House March 21, 1868, was a clear and 
convincing argument. Since his retirement from Con- 
gress, Mr. Blair has been busily occupied with his ex- 
tensive law practice. Mr. Blair married Sarah L. 
Ford, of Seneca County N. Y., in February, 1849. 

Their family consists of 4 sons — George H., a postal 
clerk in the railway mail service; Charles A., partner 
with his father; Fred. J. and Austin T., at home. 

Governor Blair's religion is of the broad type, and 
centers in the "Golden Rule." In 1883, Gov. Blair 
was noiiiinnted for Justice of the Supreme Court 
of the State by Hie Republican p irty, but wns defeated. 



GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



1 49 




'■r> 



'mm 



^n^ 



HENRY H, CRAPO, 







. t. 



•^ 




ENRY HOWLANL) CRAPO, 
lovernor of Michigan from 
I1S65 '" 1S69, was horn May 
24, 1804, at Dartmouth, bris- 
tol Co., Mass., and died at 
Flint, Mich., July 22, 1869. 
He was the eldest son of Jesse 
and Phtrbe (Howland) Crapo. 
His father was of French descent 
and was very poor, sustaining his 
nily liy the cultivation of a farm in 
irtmouth township, which yielded 
I nothing beyond a mere livelihood. 
His early life was consequently one 
(5(0 of toil and devoid of advantages for 
\ intellectual culture, but his desire for 
an education seemed to know no bounds. The in- 
cessant toil for a mere subsistence upon a compara- 
tively sterile farm, had no charm for him ; and, longing 
for greater usefulness and better things, he looked for 
them in an education. His struggles to secure this 
end necessitated sacrifices and hardships that would 
have discouraged any but the most courageous and 
persevering. He became an ardent student and 
worker from his boyhood, though the means of carry- 
ing on his studies were exceedingly limited. He 
sorely felt the need of a dictionary; and, neither having 
money wherewith to purchase it, nor being able to 
procure one in his neighliorhood, he set out to compile 
one for himself. In order to acquire a knowledge of 
the English language, he copied into a book every 
word whose meaning he did not comprehend, and 
u|xiii meeting the same word again in the newspapers 
::'id li v,jk>, which came into his hands, from the 



context, would then record the definition. Whenever 
unable otherwise to oi)tain the signification of a word 
in which he had become interested he would walk 
from Dartmouth to New Bedford for that pur[X)se 
alone, and after referring to the books at the library 
and satisfying himself thoroughly as to itsdeiinition, 
would walk back, a distance of about seven miles 
the same night. This was no unusual circumstance. 
Under such difficulties and in this manner he com- 
piled cpiite an extensive dictionary in manuscrip' 
which is believed to be still in existence. 

Ever in pursuit of knowledge, he obtained jxisses- 
sion of a book upon surveying, and applying himself 
diligently to its study became familiar with this art, 
which lie soon had an opportunity to practice. The 
services of a land surveyor were wanted, and he was 
called upon, but had no compass and no money with 
which to purchase one. A compass, however, he 
must and would have, and going to a blacksmith shop 
near at hand, upon the forge, with such tools as he 
could find in the siiop, while the smith was at dinner, 
he constructed the compass and commenced life as a 
surveyor. Still continuing his studies, he fitted him- 
self for teaching, and took charge of the village school 
at Dartmouth. When, in the course of time and un- 
der the pressure of law, a high school was to be 
opened, he passed a successful examination for its 
principalship and received the a|)jx)intment. To do 
this was no small task. The law re<iuired a rigid 
examination in various subjects, which necessitated 
days and nights of study. One evening, after con- 
cluding his day's lalxir of teaching, he traveled on foot 
to New Bedford, some seven or eight miles, called 
upon the preceptor of Friend's .\cadeniy and p isscj 



'5° 



HENRY HOIVLAND CRAPO. 



a severe examination. Receiving a certificate that 
he was quahfied, he walked back to his home the 
same night, highly elated in being possessed of the 
acquirements and requirements of a master of the 
high school. 

In 1832, at the age of 28 years, he left his native 
town and went to reside at New Bedford, where he 
followed the occupation of laud surveyor, and oc- 
casionally acted as an auctioneer. Soon after becom- 
ing a citizen of this place, he was elected Town Clerk, 
Treasurer, and Collector of taxes, which office he held 
until the municipal government was changed, — about 
fifteen years, — when, upon the inauguration of the city 
government, lie was elected Treasurer and Collector 
of taxes, a position which he held two or three years. 
He was also Justice of the Peace for many years. 
He was elected Alderman of New Bedford ; was 
Chairman of Council Committee on Education, and 
as such prepared a report upon which was based the 
order for the establishment of the free Public Library 
of New Bedford. On its organization, Mr. Crapo was 
chosen a member of the Board of Trustees. This 
was the first free public library in Massachusetts, if 
not in the world. The Boston Free Library was es- 
tablished, however, soon afterwards. While a resident 
in New Bedford, he was much interested in horticul- 
ture, and to obtain the land necessary for carrying out 
his ideas he drained and reclaimed several acres of 
rocky and swampy land adjoining his garden. Here 
he started a nursery, which he filled with almost every 
description of fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, 
flowers, etc. \\\ this he was very successful and took 
great pride. He was a regular contributorto the New 
England Horticultural Journal, a position he filled 
as long as he lived in Massachusetts. As an indica- 
tion of the wide reputation he acquired in that field 
of labor, it may be mentioned that after his death an 
affecting eulogy to his memory was pronounced by the 
President of the National Horticultural Society at its 
meeting in Philadelphia, in 1869. During his resi- 
dence in New Bedford, Mr. Crapo wa.s also engaged 
in the whaling business. A fine barque built at Dart- 
mouth, of which he was part owner, was named the 
"H. H. Crapo" in compliment to him. 

Mr. C. also took part in the State Militia, and for 
several years held a commission as Colonel of one of 
the regiments. He was President of the Bristol 
County Mutual Fire Insurance Co., and Secretary of 
the Bedford Commercial Insurance Company in New 
Bedford; and while an officer of the municipal gov- 
ernmenthecompiled and published, between the years 
[836 and 1845, ^^'^ numbers of the New Bedford 
Directory the first work of the kind ever published 
there. 

Mr. C. removed to Michigan in 1856, having been 
induced to do so by investments made principally in 
pine lands, first in 1837 and subsequently in 1856. 
He took up his residence in the city of Flint, and en- 



gaged largely in the manufacture and sale of lumber 
at Flint, Fentonville, Holly and Detroit, becoming 
one of the largest and most successful business men 
of the State. He was mainly instrumental in the 
construction pf the Flint & Holly R. R., and was 
President of that corporation iiniil its consolidation 
with the Flint & Pere Marquette R. R. Company. 
He was elected Mayor of that city after he had been 
a resident of the place only five cr six years. In 
1862 he was elected State Senator. In the fall of 
1864 he received the nomination on the Republican 
ticket for Governor of the State, and was elected by a 
large majority. He was re-elected in 1866, holding 
the office two terms, and retiring in January, 1869, 
having given the greatest satisfaction to all parties. 

While serving his last term he was attacked with a 
disease which terminated his life withiy one year 
afterwards. During much of this time he was an in- 
tense sufferer, yet often while in great pain gave his 
attention to public matters. A few weeks previous 
to his death a successful surgical operation vifas per- 
formed which seemed rapidly to restore him, but he 
overestimated his strength, and by too much exertion 
in business matters and State affairs suffered arelapse 
from which there was no rebound, and he died July 
33. 1869. 

In the early part of his life. Gov. Crapo affiliated 
with the Whig party in politics, but became an active 
member of the Republican party after its organization. 
He was a member of the Christian (sometimes called 
the Disciples') Church, and took great interest in its 
welfare and prosperity. 

Mr. C. married, June 9, 1825, Mary A. Slocum, 
of Dartmouth. His marriage took place soon after 
he had attained his majority, and before his struggles 
with fortune had been rewarded with any great meas- 
ure of success. But his wife was a woman of great 
strength of character and possessed of courage, hope- 
fulness and devotion, qualities which sustained and 
encouraged her husband in the various pursuits of 
his early years. For several years after his marriage 
he was engaged in teaching school, his wife living 
with her parents at the time, at whose home his two 
older children were born. While thus situated he 
was accustomed to walk home on Saturday to see 
his family, returning on Sunday in order to be ready 
for school Monday morning. As the walk for a good 
part of the time was 20 miles each way, it is evident 
that at that period of his life no common obstacles 
deterred him from performing what he regarded 
as a duty. His wife was none the less consci- 
entious in her sphere, and with added responsibilities 
and increasing requirements she labored faithfully 
in the ijerfo'mance of all her duties. They had 
ten children, one son and nine daughters. His son, 
Hon. Wm. W. Crapo, of New Bedford, is now an 
honored Representative to Congress from the First 
Congressional District of Massachusetts. 







^e-i-t^^ (^ '^c^^o6^>U-<^. 



GOr/:J^NO/iS OF M/Cll/GAN. 



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ENRY P. BALDWIN, Gov- 
ernor of Michisran from Ian. 
4, 1869, to Jan. I, 1873, is a 
lineal descendant of Nathan- 
3a iel Baldwin, a Puritan, of Buck- 
inghamshire, England, who set- 
tled at Milford, Conn., in 1639. 
His father was John Baldwin, 
a graduate of Dartmouth Col- 
lege. He died at North Provi- 
dence, R. I., in 1826. His 
paternal grandfather was Rev. 
Moses Baldwin, a graduate of 
Princeton College, in 1757, and the 
first who received collegiate hon- 
ors at that ancient and honored institution. He died 
at Parma, Mass., in 1813, where for more than 50 
years he had been pastor of the Presbyterian Church. 
On his mother's side (>overnov B. is descended from 
Robert Williams, also a Puritan, who settled in Rox- 
bury, Mass., about 1638. His mother was a daughter 
of Rev. Neheniiah Williams, a graduate of Harvard 
College, who died at Hrimfield, Mass., in 1796, where 
lor 2 I years he was pastor of the Congregationalist 
Church. The subject of this sketch was born at 
Coventry, R. I., Feb. 22, 1814. He received a New 
England common-school education until the age of 
12 years, when, both his parents having died, lie be- 
came a clerk in a mercantile establishment. Ho re- 
mained there, employing his leisure hours in study, 
until 20 years of age. 

At this early period Mr. B. engaged in business on 
his own account. He made a visit to the West, in 
1837, which resulted in his removal to Detroit in the 
spring of i8-;8. Here he established a mercantile 
house which has been successfully conducted until 
the present time. .Mthough he successfully conducted 



a large business, he has ever taken a deep interest in 
all things affecting the prosierity of the city and 
State of his adoption. He was for several years a 
Director and President of the Detroit Young Men's 
Society, an institution with a large library designed 
for the benefit of young men and citizens generally. 
An Episcopalian in religious belief, he has been 
prominent in home matters connected with that" de- 
nomination. The large and flourishing i)arish of St. 
John, Detroit, originated with Governor Baldwin, who 
gave the lot on which the parisli edifice stands, and 
also contributed the larger share of the cost of their 
erection. Governor B. was one of the foremost in 
the establishment of St. Luke's Hospital, and has 
always been a liberal contributor to moral and relig- 
ious enterprises whether connected with his own 
Church or not. There have been, in fact, but few 
public and social improvements of Detroit during the 
past 40 years with which Governor IS.'s name is not 
in some way connected. He was a director in the 
Michigan State Bank until the e.xpiration of its char- 
ter, and has been President of the Second National 
Bank since its organization. 

In i860, Mr. Baldwin was elected to the State 
Senate, of Michigan ; during the years of i86i-'2 he 
was made Chairman of the Finance Committee, a 
member of Committee on Banks and Incorporations 
Chairman of the Select Joint Committee of the two 
Houses for the investigation of the Treasury Depart- 
ment and the official acts of the Treasurer, and of 
the letting of the contract for the improvement of 
Sault St. Marie Ship Canal. He was first elected 
Governor in 1868 and was re-elected in 1870, serving 
from 1S69 to 1872, inclusive. It is no undeserved 
eulogy to say that Governor B.'s happy faculty of es- 
timating the necessary means to an end — the knowint; 
of how much effort or attention to bestow upon the 
thing in hand, has been the secret of the uniform 



irj 



HENR V P. BALD WIN. 



success that has attended his efforts in all relations 
of life. The same industry and accuracy that dis- 
tinguished him prior to this term as Governor was 
manifest ir. his career as the chief magistrate of the 
State, and while his influence appears in all things 
with which he has had to do, it is more noticeable in 
the most prominent position to which he was called. 
With rare exceptions the important commendations 
of Governor B. received the sanction of the Legislat- 
ure. During his administration marked improve- 
ments were made in the charitable, penal and reforma- 
tory institutions of the State. The State Public School 
for dependent children was founded and a permanent 
commission for the supervision of the several State 
institutions. The initiatory steps toward building the 
Eastern Asylum for the Insane, the State House of 
Correction, and the establishment of the State Board 
of Health were recommended by Governor B. in his 
messa.e of 1873. The new State Capitol also owes 
its oiigen to him. Tlie appropriation for its erection 
was made upon his recommendation, and the contract 
for the entire work let under this administration. 
Governor B. also appointed the commissioners under 
whose faithful supervision the building was erected in 
a manner most satisfactory to the people of the State. 
He advised and earnestly urged at different times 
such amendments of the constitution as would per- 
mit a more equitable compensation to State officers 
and judges. The law of 1869, and prior also, permitting 
municipalities to vote aid toward the construc- 
lion of railroads was, ii 1870, declared unconstitu- 
tional by the Supreme Court. Many of the munici- 
palities having in the meantime issued and sold their 
bonds in good faith. Governor B. felt that the honor 
and credit of the State were in jeopardy. His sense 
of justice impelled him to call an extra session of the 
Legislature to propose tiie submission to the people a 
constitutional amendment, authorizing the payment 
of such bonds as were already in tlie hands of boiia- 
fide holders. In his special message he says : "The 
credit of no State stands higher than that of Michigan, 
and the people can not afford, and I trust will not 
consent, to have her good name tarnished by the repu- 
diation of either legal or moral obligations." A spe- 
cial session was called in March, 1872, principally for 
•.he division of the State into congr_s--ional districts. 
K number of other important suggest :ors were made, 
however, and as an evidence of tl.e Governor's la- 
borious and thoughtful care for the H a icial condition 



of the State, a series of tables was prepared and sub- 
mitted by him showing, in detail, estimates of receipts, 
expenditures and appropriations for the years 1872 to 
1878, inclusive. Memorable of GoveniDrB.'s admin- 
istration were the devastating fires which swept over 
many portions of the Northwest in the fall of 187: 
A large part of the city of Chicago having been re- 
duced to ashes. Governor B. promptly issued a proc- 
lamation calling upon the people of Michigan for 
liberal aid in behalf of the afflicted city. Scarcely had 
this been issued when several counties in his State 
were laid waste by the same destroying element. 
A second call was made asking assistance for the suf- 
fering people of Michigan. The contributions for 
these objects were prompt and most liberal, more thai: 
$700,000 having been received in money and supplies 
for the relief of Michigan alone. So ample were 
these contributions during the short period of abou' 
3 months, that the Governor issued a proclamation 
e.xpressing in behalf of the people of the State grate- 
ful acknowldgment, and announcing that further 
aid was unnecessary. 

Governor B. has traveled extensively in his own 
country and has also made several visits to Europe 
and other portions of the Old World. He was a pas- 
senger on the Steamer Arill, which was captured and 
bonded in the.Carribean Sea, in December, 1862, by 
Capt. Semmes, and wrote a full and interesting ac- 
count of the transaction. The following estimate of 
Governor B. on his retirement from office, by a leading 
newsjiaper, is not overdrawn: "The retiring message 
of Governor B., will be read with interest. It is 
a characteristic document and possesses the lixid 
statement, strong, and clear practical sense, which 
have been marked features of all preceding documents 
from the same source. Governor B. retired to private 
life after four years of unusually successful adminis- 
tration amid plaudits that are universal throughout the 
State. For many years eminent and capable men 
have filled the executive chair of this State, but in 
painstaking vigilance, in stern good sense, in genuine 
public spirit, in thorough integrity and in practica. 
capacity, Henrj' P. Baldwin has shown himself to be 
the peer of any or all of them. The State has been un- 
usually prosperous during his two terms, and the State 
administration has fully kept pace with the needs of 
the times. The retiring Governor has fully earned 
the public gratitude and confidence which he to-day 
jxjssesses to such remarkable deirec. 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



•57 







J. IBABXll 



<;^/ ^. 




'(3 ■4-, 



«o 







OHN lUDSON BAGLEV, 

v;>\Governor of Michigan from 

1873 to 1877, was born in 

Medina, Orleans Co., N. \ ., 

vg><-"^ J"'y ^'^i '''^3^- ^'^ father, John 
ISaglcy, was a native of New 
Hampshire, liis mother, Mary M. 
Bagley, of Connecticut. He at- 
tended the district school of lx)ck- 
[f « port, N. Y., until he was eight years 
old, at which time his father moved 
to Constantine, Mich., and he at- 
tended the common schools of that 
village. His early experience was 
like that of many country hoys whose 
parents removed from Eastern States 
to the newer jjortion of the West. 
His father being in very poor circum- 
ll-i'fl stances, Mr. B. was obliged to work 
as soon as he was able to do so. 
Leaving school when 13 years of age 
he entered a country store in Constan- 
tine as clerk. His father then re- 
moved toOwosso, Mich.,and he again 
engaged as clerk in a store. From 
early youth Mr. B. was extravagantly fond of reading 
and devoted every leisure moment to the perusal of 
such books, papers and periodicals as came within 
his reach. In 1847, he removed to Detroit, where he 
secured employment in a tobacco manufactory and 
remained in this position for about five years. 

In 1853, he began business for himself in theman- 
ufacturingof tobacco. His establishment has become 




one of the largest of the kind in the West. Mr. B. 
has also been greatly interested in other manufactur- 
ing enterprises, as well as in mining, Ixmking and in- 
surance corporations. He was President of the 
Detroit Safe Company for several ) ears. He was o.ie 
of the organizers of tjie Michigan Mutual Life Insur- 
ance Company of Detroit, and was its President from 
1-867 to 1872. He was a director of the Amer- 
ican National Bank for many years, and a stock- 
holder and director in various other corporations. 
Mr. B. was a member of the Board of Education two 
years, and of the Detroit Common Council the same 
length of time. In 1S65 he was ap[)ointcd by Gover- 
nor Crapo one of the first commissioners of the 
Metrojxjlitian police force of the city of Detroit, serv- 
ing six years. In November, 1872, he was elected 
Governor of Michigan, and two years later was re- 
elected to the same office, retiring in January, 1877. 
He was an active worker in the Repui)lican party, and 
for many years was Chairman of tiie Republican 
State Central committee. 

Governor Bagley was quite liberal in his religious 
views and was an attendant of the Unitarian Ciitirch. 
He aimed to be able to hear and consider any new 
thought, from whatever source it may come, but was not 
bound by any religious creed or formula. He held 
in respect all religious opinions, believing that nooiie 
can be injured by a firm adherence to a faith or de- 
nomination. He was married at Dubuque, Iowa, Jan. 
16, 1855, to Frances E. Newberry, daughter of Rev. 
Samuel Newberry, a pioneer missionar)- of Michigan, 
who took an active part in the early educational mat- 
ters of the State and in the establishment of its ex- 
cellent system of education. It was princi[)ally 



'58 



JOHN J. BAGLEY. 



I'.'.rough his exertions that the State University was 
founded. Mr. B.'s family consists of seven children. 

As Governor his administration was charac- 
terized by several important features, chief among 
which were his efforts to improve and make popular 
the educational agencies of the State by increasing 
the faculty of the University for more thorough in- 
struction in technical studieSjby strengthening the hold 
of the Agricultural College upon the public good will 
and making the general change which has manifested 
itself in many scattered primary districts. Among 
others were an almost complete revolution in the 
management of the penal and charitable institutions 
of the State; the passage of the liquor-tax law, taking 
the place of the dead letter of prohibition; the estab- 
lishing of the system of dealing with juvenile offend- 
ers through county agents, which has proved of great 
good in turning the young back from crime and plac- 
ing the State in the attitude of a moral agent ; in se- 
curing for the militia the first time in the history of 
Michigan a systematized organization upon a service- 
able footing. It was upon the suggestion of Gov. B. 
in the earlier part of his administration that the law 
creating the State Board of Health, and also the law 
creating a fish commission in the inland waters of the 
State, were passed, both of which have proved of great 
benefit to the State. The successful representation 
of Michigan at the Centennial Exhibition is also an 
honorable part of the record of Gov. B.'s adminis- 
tration. 

As Governor, he felt that he represented the State 
— not in a narrow, egotistical way, but in the same 
sense that a faithful, trusted, confidential agent rep- 
resents his employer, and as the Executive of the 
State he was her "attorney in fact." And his intelli- 
gent, thoughtful care will long continue the pride of 
the people he so much loved. He was ambitious — 
ambitious for place and power, as every noble mind 
is ambitious, because these give opportunity. How- 
ever strong the mind and powerful the will, if there 
be no ambition, life is a failure. He was not blind to 
the fact 1jiat the more we have the more is required 
of us. He accepted it in its fullest meaning. He 
had great hopes for his State and his country. He had 
his ideas of what they should be. With a heart as 
broad as humanity itself; with an intelligent, able and 
cultured brain, the will and tlie power to do, he 
asked his fi'llow citizen to give him the opportunity to 
labor for t'liem. Self entered not into the calculation. 



His whole life was a battle for others ; and he entered 
tlifi conflict eagerly and hopefully. 

His State papers were models of compact, busi- 
ness-like statements, bold, original, and brimful of 
practical suggestions, and his administrations will long 
be considered as among the ablest in this or any 
other State. 

His noble, generous nature made his innumerable 
benefactions a source of continuous pleasure. Liter- 
ally, to him it was " more blessed to give than to 
receive." 

His greatest enjoyment was in witnessing the com- 
fort and happiness of others. Not a tithe of his char- 
ities were known to his most intimate friends, or even 
to his family. Many a needy one has been the recipi- 
ent of aid at an opportune moment, who never knew 
the hand that gave. 

At one time a friend had witnessed his ready re- 
sponse to some charitable request, and said to him: 
"Governor, you give away a large sum of money ; aboul 
how much does your charities amount to in a year.'' 
He turned at once and said: "I do not know, sir; I 
do not allow myself to know. I hope I gave more 
this year than I did last, and hope I shall give more 
next year than I have this." This expressed his idea 
of charity, that the giving should at all times be free 
and spontaneous. 

During his leasure hours from early life, and espe- 
cially during the last few years, he devoted much time 
to becoming acquainted with the best authors. Biog- 
ra]3hy was his delight; the last he read was the "Life 
and Woik of John Adams," in ten volumes. 

In all questions of liusiness or public affairs he 
seemed to'hnve the power of getting at the kernel of 
the nut in the least possible time. In reading he 
would spend scarcely more time with a volume than 
most persons would devote to a chapter. After wha! 
seemed a cursory glance, he would have all of value 
the book contained. Rarely do we see a business 
man so familiar with the best English authors. He 
was a generous and intelligent patron of the arts, and 
his elegant home was a study and a pleasure 
to his many friends, who always found there a 
hearty welcome At Christmas time he would spead 
days doing the work of Santa Claus. Every Christma . 
eve he gathered his children about him and, takin;j 
the youngest on his lap, told some Christmas stor\, 
closing the entertainment with " Tlie Night Before 
Chrislmas," or Dickens's "Christmas Carol." 




\(y*^^ 







GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



i6i 




•'»4ii££rSi@'Vjj^t«i^j 



CHARLES M. CROSWKLL. Mf^ 



'i& 










HARLES M. CROSWELL, 
Governor of Michigan from 
y\ Jan. 3, 1877 to Jan. i, 1881, 
)3 was born at Newburg, Orange 
" County, N. Y., Oct. 31, 1825. 
He is the only son of John and 
Sallie (Hicks) Croswell. His 
father, who was of Scotch-Irish 
extraction, was a paper-maker, 
and carried on business in New 
York City. His ancestors on 
his mother's side were of Knicker- 
bocker descent. The Croswell 
family may be found connected 
with prominent events, in New York 
and Connecticut, in the early exis- 
tence of tlic Republic. Harry Cros- 
well, during the administration of 
Jefferson, published a pa- 
illed the Balance, and was 
prosecuted for libeling the President 
under the obnoxious Sedition Law. 
He was defended by the celebrated 
I Alexander Hamilton, and the decis- 
ion oi the case establiscd the important ruling that 
the truth might be shown in cases of libel. Another 
member of the family was Edwin Croswell, the fam- 
ous editor of the Albany Aij^iis ; also. Rev. William 
Croswell, noted as a divine and jxjet. 

When Charles M. Croswell was seven years of age, 
his father was accidentally drowned in the Hudson 
River, at Newburg ; and, within three months preced- 
ing that event, his mother and only sister had died, — 
thus leaving him the sole surviving member of the 
family, without fortune or means. U|ion the death 



n] President 
« per called 



of his father he went to live with an uncle, who, in 
1837, emigrated with him to Adrain, .Michigan. .\t 
sixteen years of age, he commenced to learn the car- 
penter's trade, and worked at it very diligently for 
four years, maintaining himself, and devoting his spare 
time to reading and the acquirement of knowledge. 
In 1846, he began the study of law, and was ap- 
pointed Deputy Clerk of Lenawee County. The du 
ties of this office he performed four years, when he 
was elected Register of Deeds, and was re-elected 
in 1852. In 1854, hetook part in the first movements 
for the formation of the Rei)ui)lican party, and was a 
member and Secretary of the convetion held at Jack- 
son in that year, which put in the field the first Re- 
publican State ticket in Michigan. In 1855, he 
formed a law partnership with the present Chief-Jus- 
tice Cooley, which continued until the remov.il of 
Judge Cooley to .^nn Arbor. 

In 1862, Mr. Croswell was ap|X)inted City Attorney 
of Adrian. He was also elected Mayor of the city 
in the spring of the same year; and in the fall was 
chosen to represent Lenawee County in the State 
Senate. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1864, 
and again in 1866, during each term filling the iwsi- 
tions above mentioned. .Among various reiwrts made 
by him, one adverse to the re-establishment of the 
death penalty, and another against a proposition tD 
pay the salaries of .State officers and judges in coin, 
which then commanded a very large premium, may 
be mentioned. He also drafted the act ratifying the 
Thirteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution, 
for the abolishment of slavery, it being the first 
amendment to the instrument ratified by Michigan. 
In 1863, from his seat in the State Senate, he de- 
livered an elaborate speech in .'a-orof the Ptoclama- 



l62 



CHARLES M. CRO SWELL. 



tion of Emancipation issued by President Lincoln, 
and of his general policy in the prosecution of the 
war. This, at the request of his Republican associ- 
ates, was afterwards pulilished. In 1867, he was 
elected a member of the Constitutional Convention, 
and chosen its presiding officer. This convention 
was composed of an able body of men ; and though, 
in the general distrust of constitutional changes 
which for some years had been taking possession of 
the people, their labors were not accepted by the pop- 
ular vote, it was always conceded that the constitu- 
tion tliey proposed had been prepared with great care 
and skill. 

In 1868, Mr. Croswell was chosen an Elector on 
the Republican Presidential ticket; in 1872, was 
elected a Representative to the State Legislature 
from Lenawee County, and was chosen Speaker of 
the House of Representatives. At the close of the 
session of that body his abilities as a parliamentarian, 
and the fairness of his rulings were freely and form- 
ally acknowledged by his associates ; and he was pre- 
sented with a superb collection of their portraits 
handsomely framed. He was, also, for several years. 
Secretary of the State Board for the general supervis- 
ion of the charitable and penal institutions of Michi- 
gan ; in which position, his propositions for the amel- 
ioration of the condition of the unfortunate, and the 
reformation of the criminal classes, signalize the be- 
nevolence of his nature, and the practical character 
of his mind. 

In 1876, the general voice of the Republicans of 
the State indicted Mr. Croswell as their choice for 
Governor; and, at the State Convention of the party 
in August of the same year, he was put in nomination 
by acclamation, without the formality of a ballot. At 
the election in November following, he was chosen to 
the high position for which he had been nominated, 
by a very large majority over all opposing candidates. 
His inaugural message was received with general 
favor; and his career as Governor was marked with 
the same qualities of head and heart that have ever 
distinguished him, both as a citizen and statesman. 



Governor Groswell has always prepared his ad- 
dresses with caYe ; and, as his diction is terse, clear, 
and strong, without excess of ornament, and his de- 
liver}' impressive, he is a popular speaker; and many 
of his speeches have attracted favorable comment in 
the public prints, and have a permanent value. He 
has always manifested a deep interest in educational 
matttrs, and was for years a member and Secretary of 
the Board of Education of Ad rain. At the formal 
opening of the Central School building in that city, 
on the 24th day of .\pril, 1869, he gave, in a public 
address, an " Historical Sketch of the .\drian Public 
Schools." 

In his private life. Governor Croswell has been as 
exemplary as in his public career he has been suc- 
cessful and useful. In February, 1S52, he was mar- 
ried to a daughter of Morton Eddy, Lucy M. Eddy, 
a lady of many amiable and sunny qualities. She 
suddenly died, March rg, r868, leaving two daugh- 
ters and a son. Governor Croswell is not a member 
of any religious body, but generally attends the Pres- 
byterian Church. He pursues the profession of law, 
but of late has been occupied mainly in the care of his 
own interests, and the quiet duties of advice in 
business difficulties, for which h.is unfailing pru- 
dence and sound judgment eminently fit him. Gov- 
ernor Croswell is truly popular, not only with those of 
like political Liith with himself, but with those who 
differ from him in this regard. 

During Gov. Croswell's administration the public 
debt was greatly reduced ; a policy adopted requiring 
the State institutions to keep within the limit of ap- 
propriations; laws enacted to provide more effectually 
for the punishment of corruption and bribrery in elec- 
tions; the State House of Correction at Ionia and the 
Eastern Asylum for the Insane at Pontiac were opened 
and the new capital at Lansing was completed and 
occupied. The first act of his second term was to pre- 
side at the dedication of this building. The great riot 
at Jackson occured during his administration, and it 
was only bv his promptness that great distraction of 
both life and property was prevented at that time. 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



'65 



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DAVID H. JEROME, Gover- 
S^nor of from Jan. i, 1881, to 
Jan. I, 1883, was born at De- 
troit, Mich., Nov. 17, 1S29. 
His parents emigrated to 
"^"%V Michigan from Trumansburg, 
Tomiikins Co., N. Y., in 1828, 
locating at Detroit. His father 
died March 30, 1831, leaving 
nine children. He had been 
twice married, and four of the 
children living at the time of his 
death were grown up sons, the off- 
spring of his first union. Of the 
five ciiildren by his second marriage, David H. was 
the youngest. Shortly after Mr. Jerome's death, his 
widow moved back to New York and settled in 
Onondaga County near Syracuse, where they remained 
until the fall of 1834, the four sons by the first wife 
continuing their residence in Michigan. In the fall 
of 1834, Mrs. Jerome came once more to Michigan, 
locating on a farm in St. Clair County. Here the 
Governor formed those habits of industry and ster- 
ling integrity that have been so characteristic of tlie 
man in the active duties of life. He was sent to the 
district school, and in the acquisition of the funda- 
mental branches of learning he displayed a precocity 
and an application which won for him the admiration 
of his teachers, and always placed him at the head 
of his classes. In the meantime he did chores on 
the farm, and was always ready with a cheerful heart 
and willing hand to assist his widowed mother. The 
heavy labor of the farm was carried on by his two 



older brothers, Timothy and George, and when 13 
years of age David received his mother's permission to 
attend school at the St. Clair Academy. While attend- 
ing there he lived with Marcus H. Miles, now de- 
ceased, doing chores for his board, and the following 
winter performed the same service for James Ogden, 
also deceased. The next summer Mrs. Jerome 
moved into the village of St. Clair, for the purjxDse of 
continuing her son in school. While attending said 
academy one of his associate students was Sena- 
tor Thomas W. Palmer, of Detroit, a rival candidate 
before the gubernatorial convention in 1880. He 
completed his education in the fall of his i6th year, 
and the following winter assisted his brother Timothy 
m hauling logs in the pine woods. The next summer 
he rafted logs down the St. Clair River to Algonac. 

In 1847, M. H. Miles being Clerk in St! Clair Coun- 
ty, and Volney A. Ripley Register of Deeds, David 
H. Jerome was appointed Deputy to each, remaining 
as such during 1848-49, and receiving much praise 
from his employers and the people in general for the 
ability disjjlayed in the discharge of his duties. He 
spent his summer vacation at clerical work on board 
the lake vessels. 

In 1849-50, he abandoned office work, and for the 
proper development of his physical system spent 
several months hauling logs. In the spring of 1850, 
his brother "Tiff" and himself chartered the steamer 
"Chautauqua," and "Young Dave" became her mas- 
ter. .\ portion of the season the boat was engaged 
in the passenger and freight traffic between Port 
Huron and Detroit, but during the latter part was 
used as a tow boat. At that time there was a serious 
obstruction to navigation, known as the "St. Clair 
Flats," between Lakes Huron and Erie, over which 



1 66 



DA VJD H. JEROME. 



vessels could carry only about 10,000 bushels of grain. 
Mr. Jerome conceived the idea of towing vessels 
from one lake to the other, and put his plan into 
operation. Through the influence of practical men, — 
among them the subject of this sketch, — Congress 
removed tlie obstruction above referred to, and now 
vessels can pass them laden with 60,000 or 80,000 
bushels of grain. 

During the season, the two brothers succeeded 
in making a neat little sum of money by the sum- 
mer's work, but subsequently lost it all on a contract 
to raise the "tien. Scott," a ves'iel that had sunk in 
Lake St. Clair. David H. came out free from debt, 
but possessed of hardly a dollar of capital. In the 
spring of [S5 i , he was clerk and acting master of the 
steamers "Franklin Moore" and "Ruby," plying be- 
tween Detroit and Port Huron and Goderich. The 
following year he was clerk of the propeller "Prince- 
ton." running between Detroit and Buffalo. 

In January, 1853, Mr. Jerome went to California, 
oy way of the Isthmus, and enjoyed extraordinary 
success in selling goods in a new place of his selec- 
tion, among the mountains near Marysville He re- 
inained there during the summer, and located the 
Live Yankee Tunnel Mine, which has since yielded 
millions to its owners, and is still a paying investment. 
He planned and put a tunnel 600 feet into the mine, 
but when the water supply began to fail with the dry 
season, sold out his interest. He left in the fall of 
1853, and in December sailed from San Francisco for 
New York, arriving at his home in St. Clair County, 
about a year after his departure. During his absence 
his brotlTcr "Tiff" had located at Saginaw, ana in 
1854 Mr. lerome joined him in his lumber operations 
in the valley. In 1855 the brothers bought Black- 
mer & Eaton's hardware and general supply stores, 
at Saginaw, and David H. assumed the management 
of the l)usiness. Prom 1855 to 1873 he was also ex- 
tensively engaged in lumbering operations. 

Soon after locating at Saginaw he was nominated 
for Alderman against Stewart B. Williams, a rising 
young man, of strong Democratic principles. The 
ward was largely Democratic, but Mr. Jerome was 
elected by a handsome majority. ^Vhen the Repub- 
iican party was born at Jackson, Mich., David H. 
Jerome was, though not a delegate to the convention, 
one of its "charter members." In 1862, he was com- 
missioned by Gov. Austii; B'ai: tt raise one of the 



six regiments apportioned to the State of Michigan. 
Mr. Jerome immediately went to work and held 
meetings at various points. The zeal and enthusiasm 
displayed by this advocate of the Union awakened a 
feeling of patriotic interest in the breasts of many 
brave men, and in a short space of time the 23d 
Regiment of Michigan Volunteer Infantry was placed 
in the field, and subsequently gained for itself a bril- 
liant record. 

In the fall of 1862, Mr. Jerome was nominated by 
the Republican party for State Senator from the 26th 
district, Appleton Stevens, of Bay City, being his op- 
ponent. The contest was very exciting, and resulted 
in the triumphant election of Mr. Jerome. He was 
twice renominated and elected both times by in- 
creased majorities, defeating George Lord, of Bay 
City, and Dr. Cheseman, of Gratiot County. On tak- 
ing his seat in the Senate, he was appointed Chair- 
man of the Committee on State Affairs, and was ac- 
tive in raising means and troops to carry on the war. 
He held the same position during his three terms of 
service, and introduced the bill creating the Soldiers' 
17ome at Harper Hospital, Detroit. 

He was selected by Gov. Crapo as a military aid, 
and in 1865 was appointed a member of the State 
Military Board, and served as its President for eight 
conseciilive years. In 1873, he was apjiointed by 
Gov. Bagley a member of the convention to prepare 
a new State Constitution, and was Chairman of the 
Committee on Finance. 

In 1875, Mr. Jerome was appointed a member of 
the Board of Indian Commissioners. In I876 he was 
Chairman of a coi.imission to visit Chief Joseph, the 
Nez Perce Indian, to arrange an amicable settlement 
of all existing difficulties. The commission went to 
Portland, Oregon, thence to the Blue Hills, in Idaho, 
a distance of 600 miles up the Columbia River. 

At the Republican State Convention, convened at' 
Jackson in August, 1880, Mr. Jerome wr.s placed in 
the field for nomination, and on the 5th day of the 
month received the highest honor the convention 
could confer on any one. His opponent was Freder- 
ick M. Hollowav of Hillsdale County, wh' was sld- 
ported by the Democratic and Greenback parties 
The State was thoroughly canvassed by both parties, 
and when the polls were closed on tiie evening of 
election day, it was found that David H. lerome had 
been selected by the voters of the Wolverine State to 
occupy the highest position wnhin theiv gift. 




Q^cn^^^^o^y^ 9i^ X 




GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN 



i6() 





JOSIAH W. BEOfEjl 







^. 



OSIAH \V. BEGOLE, the 
resent (1883), Governor of 
Michigan was born in Living- 
ston, County, N. Y., Jan. 20, 
1815. His ancestors were of 
French descent, and settled at 
' an early period in the State of 
Matykind. His grandfather, Capt. 
BoUes, of that State, was an offi- 
cer in the American army during 
1^ the war of the Revolution. About 
the beginning of the present cent- 
ury both his grandparents, having 
become dissatisfied witli the insti- 
tution of slavery, although slave- 
holders themselves, emigrated to 
Livingston County, N. Y., then 
a new country, taking with them a 
IP number of their former slaves, who 
volunteered to accompany them. 
His father was an officer in the 
.\merican army, and served during 
the war of 1S12. 
Mr. B. received his early education in a log school- 
house, and subsequently attended the Temple Hill 
.\cadeniy, at Geneseo, N. Y. Being the eldest of a 
family of ten children, whose parents were in moder- 
ate though comfortable circumstances, he was early 
taught habits of industry, and when 2 r years of age, 
being ambitious to better his condition in life, he re- 
solved to seek his fortune in the far West, as it was 




then called. In August, 1836, he left the parental 
roof to seek a home in the Territory of Michigan 
then an almost unbroken wilderness. He settled in 
Genesee County, and aided with his own hands in 
building some of the early residences in what is now 
known as the city of Flint. There were but four or 
five houses where this flourishing city now stands 
when he selected it as his home. 

In the spring of 1S39 he married Miss Harriet .V. 
Miles. The marriage proved a most fortunate one, 
and to the faithful wife of his youth, who lives to en- 
joy with him the comforts of an honestly earned com- 
petence, Mr. Begole ascribes largely his success in 
life. Immediately after his marriage he commenced 
work on an unimproved farm, where, by his perse- 
verance and energy, he soon established a good home, 
and at the end of eighteen years was the owner of a 
well improved fanii of five hundred acres. 

Mr. Begole being an anti-slavery man, became a 
member of the Republican party at its organization. 
He served his townsmen in various offices, and was 
in 1856, elected County Treasurer, which office he 
held for eight years. 

At the breaking out of the Rebellion he did not 
carry a musket to the front, but his many friends will 
bear witness that he took an active part in recruiting 
and furnishing supplies for the army, and in looking 
after the interests of soldiers' families at home. The 
death of his eldest son near Atlanta, Ga., by a Confed- 
rate bullet, in 1864, was the greatest sorrow of his life. 
When a few years later he was a member in Congress 



170 



JOSIAH IV. BEGOLE. 



Gov. Begole voted and worked for the soldiers' 
bounty equalization bill, an act doing justice to the 
soldier who bore the burden and heat of the day, and 
who should fare equally with him who came in at the 
eleventh hour. That bill was defeated in the House 
on account of the large appropriation that would be 
required to pay the same. 

In 1870, Gov. Begole was nominated by acclama- 
tion for the office of State Senator, and elected by a 
large majority. In that body he served on the Com- 
mittees of Finance and Railroads, and was Chairman 
of the Committee on the Institute for the Deaf and 
Dumb and Blind. He took a liberal and public- 
spirited view of the importance of a new capitol 
building worthy of the State, and was an active mem- 
ber of the Committee that drafted the bill for tlie 
same He was a delegate to the National Republi- 
can Convention held at Philadelphia in 1872, and 
was the chosen member of that delegation to go to 
Washington and inform Gen. Grant and Senator 
Wilson of their nominations. It was while at that 
convention that, by the express wish of his many 
friends, he was induced to offer himself a can- 
didate for tlie nomination of member to the 43d Con- 
gress, in which he was successful, after competing for 
the nomination with several of the most worthy, able 
and experienced men in the Sixth Congressional Dis- 
trict, and was elected by a very large majority. In 
Congress, he was a member of the Committee on 
Agricultural and Public Expenditures. Being one of 
the 17 farmers in that Congress, he took an active 
part in the Committee of Agriculture, and was ap- 
pointed by that committee to draft the most impor- 
tant report made by that committee, and upon the 
only subject recommended by the President in his 
message, which he did and the report was printed in 
records of Congress ; he took an efficient though an 
unobtrusive part in all its proceedings. 

He voted for the currency bill, remonetization of 
silver, and other financial measures, many of which, 
though defeated then, have since become the settled 
policy of the country. Owing to the position which 
Mr. Begole occupied on these questions, he became a 
"Greenbacker." 

In the Gubernatorial election of 1882, Mr. Begole 
was the candidate of both the Greenback and Dem- 
ocratic parties, and was elected by a vote of 154,269, 
the Republican candidate, Hou. David H. Jerome, 



receiving 149,697 votes. Mr. Begole, in entering 
upon his duties as Governor, has manifested a spirit 
that has already won him many friends, and bids fair 
to make his administration both successful and pop- 
ular. 

The very best indications of what a man is, is what 
his own townsmen think of him. AA'e give the fol- 
lowing extract from the Flint Globe, the leading Re- 
publican paper in Gov. Begole's own county, and it, 
too, written during the heat of a political campaign, 
which certainly is a flattering testimonial of his ster- 
ling worth : 

" So far, however, as Mr. Begole, the head of the 
ticket, is concerned, there is nothing detrimental to 
his character that can be alleged against him. He 
has sometimes changed his mind in politics, but for 
sincerity of his beliefs and the earnestness of his pur- 
pose nobody who knows him entertains a doubt. He 
IS incapable of bearing malice, even against his bit- 
terest political enemies. He has a warm, generous 
nature, and a larger, kinder heart does not beat in 
the bosom of any man in Michigan, He is not much 
given to making speeches, but deeds are more signif- 
icant of a man's character than words. There are 
many scores of men in all parts of the State where 
Mr. Begole is acquainted, who have had practical 
demonstrations of these facts, and who are liable to 
step outside of party lines to show that they do not 
forget his kindness, and who, no doubt, wish that he 
was a leader in what would not necessarily prove a 
forlorn hope. But the Republican party in Michigan 
is too strong to be beaten by a combination of Demo- 
crats and Greenbackers, even if it is marshaled by so 
good a man as Mr. Begole." 

This sketch would be imperfect without referring 
to the actiort of Mr. B. at the time of the great calamity 
that in 1881 overtook the people of Northeastern 
Michigan, in a few hours desolating whole counties 
by fire and destroying the results and accumulations 
of such hard work as only falls to the lot of pioneers. 
While the Port Huron and Detroit committees were 
quarreling over the distribution of funds, Mr. Begole 
wrote to an agent in the "jburnt district " a letter, from 
which we make an extract of but a single sentence : 
"Until the differences between the two committees 
are adjusted and you receive your regular supplies 
from them, draw on me. Let no man suffer while I 
have money." This displays his true character. 



ii 



} 





J2^^ 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



173 













^(XNy/^f- 




USSELL A.ALOER.Oovernoi- 
of Michigan for the term coui- 
mcncing Jan. 1, 1885, was 
tis born in Lafa3'ette Township, 
*■ Medina Co., Ohio, Eeh. 27, 
1 8;jG. Having lived a tem- 
''W perate life, he is a comijarative 
young man in appearance, and pos- 
sesses those mental faculties that are 
the distinguisliing characteristics oi 
roluist, mature and educated man- 
hood. Wlien 11 years of age both 
his parents died, leaving him -^'itha 
younger brother and sister to sup- 
port and without any of the substan- 
tial means of existence. Lacking the opportunity of 
betteremployment, he worked on a farnr. in Richfield, 
Oiiio, for the greater part of each of tlie succeeding 
seven yeai-s, saving money enough to defray his ex- 
penses at Richfield Academy during the winter 
terms. lie obtained a verj- good English education, 
and was enabled to teach school for several subse- 
quent winters. In 1 857 he commenced tlic study of 
law in tlie oHices of Wolcott & Upson at Akron, re- 
maining until March, 1859, when he was admitted 
to the bar by the Oliio Supreme Court. He then 
reuKjved to Cleveland, and entered the law oflice of 
Otis it Coninbur3-, where he remained several 
montiis. Here he continued his studies with in- 
creased zeal, and did much general reailing. Hard 
study and close confinement to office work, however, 
began to tell on iiis constitution, ami failing health 
warned him that lie must seek other occupation, 



He therefore reluctantly abandoned tlie law and re- 
moved to Graml Rapids, Mich., to engage in the 
1 umber business. 

When Michigan was called upon to furnish troops 
for the war, Mr. Alger enlisted in the Second Midi. 
Cav. and was mustered into the service of tlie 
United States as Captain of Co. C. His record as 
a cavalry officer was brilliant and honorable to 
himself and his company. He particip.ated in some 
of the fiercest contests of the rebellion and waf 
twice wounded. His first injury was received ir 
the battle of Booneville, Miss., July 2, 1862. 
His conduct in this engagement was so distin- 
guished that he was promoted to the rank of 
Jl.ajor. On the same occasion his Colonel, the 
gallant Phil. Sheridan, was advanced to the rank 
of Brigadier General. A few months later, on the 
IGth of October, Major Alger became Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the Sixth Mich. Cav., and was ordered 
with iiis regiment to the Army of the Potomac. 
After marked service in the early campaign of 18G3, 
he was again advanced, and on June 2 received his 
commission as Colonel of the Fifth Mich. Cav. His 
regiment at this time w.is in Custer's famous Michi- 
gan cavalry brigade. On the Clh of Jul}- occurred 
the battle of Boonesboro, Md. In this conflict he 
was again wounded. His health received a more 
than temporary impairment, and in October, 1864, 
he was obliged to retire from the service. His 
career as a soldier included many of the most cele- 
brated contests of the war. He wasan active charac- 
ter iu all the battles fought by the Army of the 



174 



RUSSELL A. ALGER. 



Potomac, from the time of the invasion of Maiy- 
iancl by Gen. Lee in 18G3, up to the date of his 
retirement, with the exception of those engagements 
which occurred while he was absent from duty on 
account of wounds. In all he took part in G6 bat- 
tles and skirmishes. At the close he was breveted 
Brigadier General and Major General for "gallant 
and meritorious services in the field." 

Aside from regular dut}^ Gen. Alger was on 
private service during the winter of 1863-4, receiv- 
ing orders personally from President Lincoln and 
visiting nearly all the armies in the field. 

Gen. Alger came to Detroit in 1865, and since 
that time has been extensively engaged in the pine 
timber business and in dealing in pine lands. He 
was a member of the well-known firm of Moore <fe 
Alger until its dissolution, when he became head of 
the firm of R. A. Alger & Co., the most extensive 
pine timber operators in the West. Gen. Alger is 
now president of the corporation of Alger, Smith & 
Co., which succeeded R. A. Alger & Co. He is also 
president of the Manistique Lumbering Company 
and president of the Detroit, Bay City & Alpena 
Railroad Company, besides being a stockholder and 
director of the Detroit National Bank, the I eninsu- 
lar Car Company and several other large corpor- 
ations. 

While always an active and influential Republi- 
can, Gen. Alger has never sought nor held a sal- 
aried office. He was a delegate from the First Dis- 
trict to the last Republican National Convention, 
but aside from this his connection with politics has 
not extended beyond the duties of every good cit- 
izen to his party and his country. 

Gen. Alger is now forty-nine years of age, an 
active, handsome gentleman six feet tall, living 
the life of a busy man of affairs. His military 
bearing at once indicates his army life, and although 
slenderly built, his square shoulders and erect 
carriage give the casual observer the impression 
that his weight is fully 180 pounds. He is a firm, 
yet a most decidedly pleasant-appearing man, with 
a fine forehead, rather a prominent nose, an iron- 
gray moustache and chin whiskers and a full head 
of black hair sprinkled with gray. He is usually 
attired in the prevailing style of l)i;siness suits. His 
favorite dress has been a high buttoned cutaway 



frock coat, with the predominating cut of vest and 
trousers, made of firm gray suiting. A high collar, 
small cravat, easy shoes and white plug hat com- 
plete his personal apparel. He is very particular 
as to his appearance, and always wears neat clothes 
of the best goods, but shuns any display of jewelry 
or extravagant embellishment. He is one of the 
most appro.achable men imaginable. No matter 
how busy he may be, he always leaves his desk to 
extend a cordial welcome to every visitor, be he of 
high or low situation. His affable manners delight 
his guests, while his pleasing face and bright, dark 
eyes always animate his hearers. 

Gen. Alger is a hard worker. He is always at his 
office promptly in the morning and staj's as long as 
anything remains that demands his attention. In 
business matters he is always decided, and is never 
shaken or disturbed bj'^ any reverses, lie has the 
confidence of his associates to a high degree, and al. 
his business relations are tempered with those little 
kindnesses that relieve the tedium of routine office 
life. Although deeply engrossed iu various busi- 
ness pursuits, Gen. Alger has yet found time for 
general culture. He owns a large libr.ary and his 
stock of general information is as complete as it is 
reliable. His collection of paintings has been se- 
lected with rare good taste, and contains some of 
the finest productions of modern artists. His team 
of Ijays are pei'haps the handsomest that grace the 
roads of Detroit, and usually lead the other outfits 
when their owner holds the reins. 

Gen. Alger has an interesting famil}-. His wife 
was Annette H. Henry, the daughter of W. G. 
Hemy, of Grand Rapids, to whom he was married 
April 2, 1861. She is a slender woman of fair com- 
plexion, bright and attractive, and a charming host- 
ess. She is gifted with many accomplishments and 
appears quite young. There are six children. Fay. 
a lively brunette, and Caroline A., who is rather taU 
and resembles her mother, have completed e, course 
at an Eastern seminary, and during the past j-eai 
traveled in Europe. The remaining members of 
the family' are Frances, aged 13; Russell A., Jr., 
aged 1 1 ; Fred, aged 9, and Allan, aged 3. All are 
bright and promising children. Gen. Alger makes 
his home at his handsome and large new residence on 
Fort street, at the corner of First street, Detroit. 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIOAN. 



i77 




" >tp^ — ,5.-..;:;-j:j«-.?»- ^ 





YRUS GRAY LUCK, the 
present Governor of Michi- 
gan, combines in his charac- 
ter the substantial traits of 
the New England ancestry 
of his father, and the chival- 
V " rous and hospitable elements 
^"^itiU ;S^ peculiar to the Southerners, which 
•^5^4^15^" came to him from his mother's side of 
the house. The New Englanders, act- 
ive in the cause of American libertj-, 
after this desired result was accom- 
plished, turned their attention to the 
growth and development of tiie 
country' which their noble daring had 
constitutea independent of foreign rule. The pri- 
vations they endured and the struggles from which 
they had achieved victory built up in tlicni those 
qualities which in the very nature of events could 
not be otherwise tlian transmitted to their posterity, 
and this jiosterit}' comprises a large ininiber of the 
men who to-day, like the subject of this history, 
are making a record of which their descendants will 
be equally' proud. 

Gov. Luce W!is born in Windsor, Ashtabula Co., 
Ohio, .July 2, 1824. His father w.as a native of 
Tolland. Conn., served as a soldier in the War of 
1812, and soon after its close emigrated from New 
England and settled on the Western Reserve in 
Northern Oliio. His mother, who in her girlhood 
was Miss Mary Gray, was liorn in Winchester, Va. 
Her father, tinctured with Abolitionism, found his 
home in the ()hl Uomiuiun becoming unconifortii- 
ble as an abiding-place at that time, and accord- 
ingly, with his wife and family of young children. 



he also migrated, in 1815, to the wiltls of Northern 
Ohio. Tiicro the parents of our subject, in 1819, 
were united in marriage, and continued residents of 
Ashtabula County until 18;)(;. There also were 
born to them six sons, Cj'rus G. of this sketch being 
the second. 

The incidents in the early life of Gov. Luce were 
not materially different from those of other boys 
living on tlic farms in that new country. He was 
taught to work at anything necessary for him to do 
and to make liitnself useful around the pioneer 
iiDUicstead. Wlicn twelve years of age his i)arents 
removed further West, this time locating in Steu- 
ben County, Ind. This section of country was still 
newer and more thinly settled, and without recount- 
ing the particular hardships and privations which the 
family experienced, it is sutlicient to say that but few 
enjtiyed or suffered a greater variety. Markets were 
distant and difficult of access, the comforts of life 
scarce, and sickness universal. Young Luce, in com- 
mon with other boys, attended school winters in the 
stereotyped log school-house, and in summer as- 
sisted in dealing aw.ay the forests, fencing the 
fields and raising crops after the land was improved. 
He attended three terms an academy located at On- 
tario, Ind., and his habit of reading and observation 
added essentially to liis limited school privileges. 
When seventeen years of age the father of our 
subject erected a cloth-dressing and wool-carding 
establishment, where Cyrus (;. acquired a full 
knowledge of this business and subsequently had 
charge of the factory for a period of seven years. 
In the meantime he had become interested in local 
politics, in which he displayed rare judgment and 
sound common sense, and on account of which, in 
1848, lie was nominated by the Wliigs in a district 
comi)osed of the counties of DcKalb and Steubea 
for Representative in the Stale Legislature. He 
made a vigorous canvass but was defeated by eleven 
majority. This incident w:is but a transient bub- 
ble on the stream of his life, and that same year 



178 



CYR US OR A Y L UCE. 



Mr. Luce purchased eighty acres of wild land near 
Gilead, Branch Co., llich., the improvement of 
which he at once entered iii)on, clearing away tiie 
trees and otherwise making arrangements for the 
establishment of a homestead. In August, 1849, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Julia A. Dickinson, 
of Gilead, and the young people immediately com- 
menced housekeeping in a modest dwelling on tlie 
new farm. Here they resided until the death of the 
wife, which took place in August, 1882. Mrs. 
Luce was tlie daughter of Obed and Experience 
Dickinson, well-to-do and highl}' respected residents 
of Gilead. Of her union with our subject there 
were born five cliildren, one now deceased. 

In November, 1883, Gov. Luce contracted a sec- 
ond marriage, with Mrs. Mary Thompson, of Bron- 
son, this State. lie continued on the same farm, 
which, however, liy subsequent purchase had been 
considerably extended, until after his election to the 
office of which he is now the incumbent. In the 
meantime he has had a wide and varied experience 
in public life. In 1 852 he was elected to represent his 
township in the County Board of Supervisors, and 
two years later, in 1854, was elected Representative to 
the first Republican Legislature convened in tlie State 
of Michigan. He served his township altogether 
eleven 3'ears as a member of the Board of Supervisors. 
In 1858 he was elected County Treasurer of Branch 
County and re-elected in 1860. In 1864 he was 
given a seat in the State Senate and re-elected in 
1 866. In the spring of 1 807 he was made a member of 
the Constitutional Convention to revise the Consti- 
tution of the State of Michigan, and in all of the 
positions to which he has been called has evidenced 
a realization of the sober responsibilities committed 
to Lis care. To the dnties of each he gave the most 
conscientious care, and has great reason to feel pride 
and satisfaction in tlio fact that during his service 
in both Houses of tlic Legislatare his name appears 
upon every roll-call, he never having been absent 
from his post a day. 

In July, 1879, Mr. Luce was appointed State Oil 
Inspector by Gov. Croswell, and re-appointed by 
Gov. Jerome in 1881, serving in this capacity three 
and one-half j-ears. In the management of the 
duties of this office ho is entitled to great credit. 
The office was not sought )iy him, but the Governor 



urged him to accept it, claiming that the office was 
the most difficult he had to fill, and was one which 
required first-class executive ability. He organized 
tlie State into districts, appointed an adequate force 
of deputies and no more, secured a reduction of tiie 
fees b}^ nearly one-half, and in ever3'^ way managed 
the affairs of the office so efficiently and satisfac- 
torily that above all expenses he was enabled to 
pay into the State Treasury during his management 
#.32,000.49. 

In August of the year 1886 Mr. Luce was nom- 
inated by the Republicans in convention assembled 
at Grand Rapids, for the olfice of Governor of 
Michigan by acclamation, and on the 2d of Novem- 
ber following was elected by a majoritj' of 7,432 
over his chief competitor, George L. Yaple. In 
1874 he became an active member of the farm- 
ers' organization known as the Grange. Believing 
as he does that agriculture furnishes the basis of 
N.ational prosperity, he was anxious to contribute to 
the education and elev.ation of the farming com- 
munity, and thus availed himself of the opportuni- 
ties offered by this organization to aid in aecom- 
i;)lishing this result. For a period of seven years he 
was blaster of the State Grange but resigned the 
position last November. Fidelity to convictions, 
close application to business, whether agricultural or 
affairs of State, coupled with untiring industiy, are 
his chief characteristics. As a farmer, legislator, 
executive officer, and manager of county as well as 
State affairs, as a private as well as a public citizen, 
his career has all along been marked with success 
No one can point to a spot reflecting discredit ir_ 
his public career or private life. He is a man of 
the people, and self-made in the strictest sense. His 
whole life has been among the people, in full sym- 
pathy with them, and in their special confidence and 
esteem. 

Personally, Gov. Cyrus G. Luce is high-minded, 
intellectual and affable, the object of maiy 
and warm friendships, and a man in all resjoects 
above reproach. To the duties of his high position 
he has brought a fitting dignit3', and in all the re- 
lations of life that conscientious regard to dut}- of 
which we often read but which is too seldom seen, 
especially among those having within their hands 
the interests of State and Nation. 





^olyH^-i-^^ /&. /aWt^Ox^-I^ 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



iSi 




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1 




--••O-i- 



(^0' 




EDWIN B. WINANS, 

wlio began his duties as 

Governor of Michigan, 

anuary 1, 1891, is a son 

^ •»\->- ^f ^'"^ Empire State, of 

"^T" which his parents also were 



^5yS natives. From German ancestry on 
the father's side, he derives tiie in- 
C^f ^^ stincts of frugality and careful con- 
sideration of ways and means, and 
these are strengthened by the sub- 
stantial traits of the Puritan fore- 
fathers of his mother. Both lines 
have transmitted to him the love 
of country and home that has led 
thousands into untrodden wilds where they migiit 
secure that wliich would be for the future good of 
tiiemselves and posterity. 

John and Eliza (Waj-) Winans removed from 
New York to this Stale in 18.31, and settled on a 
farm in Livingston County, where the boyhood of 
fJov. Winans was passed. He was about eight 
years old at the time of the removal, having been 
born rt Avon, Livingston County, N. Y., May IG, 
]82(i. Up to the age of eighteen j-ears he attended 
the district school, and he then entered Albion 
College, from which he was graduated in 1850. 
The excitement attendant upon the discovery of 



gold in California had not died out, and young 
Winans felt a strong desire to visit the coast and 
try his fortune in the mines. He decided in favor 
of the overland route, crossed the plains in safetj', 
and spent the ensuing eight years in seeking the 
precious metal — a quest that was fairly successful. 

Returning to Livingston Countj-, this State, Mr. 
Winans bought land and engaged in general farm- 
ing. He has retained the farm as his home through 
all the changes various official positions have 
brought him, and joyfully returned to it whenever 
his faithful discharge of public duty would allow. 
His estate now includes four hundred acres of land 
under a higii state of cultivation and improved 
with buildings of the best construction and modern 
design. In connection with general farming Gov. 
Winans has given considerable attention to raising 
stock of high grades, and his understanding of 
agriculture in its various departments is broad and 
deep. He believes that his success in political life 
is largely due to his thorough identification with 
the agricultural interests of the State and no doubt 
he is right. 

The public career of Gov. Winans began in 1860, 
when he was elected to represent his count}- in the 
State Legislature. He served two consecutive 
terms, covering the period from 1860 to 1865. In 
1867 be was a member of the Constitutional Con- 



^2 



EDWIN B WINANS. 



vention of the State, and in 1876 he was elected 
Probate Judge of Livingston County for a term 
of four years. The next important position occu- 
pied by Gov. Winans was that of Congressman dur- 
ing the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses, 
representing the Sixth District. It was always his 
lot to be nominated for office when the Democratic 
party was decidedly in the minority, but such v/ere 
his personal characteristics and his reputation as 
one interested in the welfare of that great class, 
the farmers, that in every case he made a successful 
race. When he was put up for Congress the oppo- 
sition had a majority in the district of three thou- 
sand votes, but he was elected by a plurality of 
thirty. While in Congress he took an active part 
in all measures tending to the public good and 
served on the Committees on Agriculture and Pen- 
sions. In the fall of 1891 his name headed the 
Democratic ticket and he was elected Governor of 

the State. 

In his private life Gov. Winans has been as ex- 
emplary as in his public career he has been useful 
and influential. He is a consistent member of the 
Episcopal Church and in his religious faith and 
practice has the close sympathy of his wife, who 
belongs to the same society. His marriage was 
solemnized in Hamburg, Livingston County, in 
1855, his bride being Miss Elizabeth Galloway, who 



was born and reared on the farm she still calls home, 
as it was bought of her father by Gov. 'Winans. 
She is a daughter of George and Susan (Haight) 
Galloway, who are numbered among the early 
settlers of Livingston County, whither they came 
from New York. She is an educated, refined woman, 
whose mental attainments and social qualities fit 
her for the position which she occupies as hostess 
of the Gubernatorial mansion. Governor and Mrs. 
Winans have two sons, George G , who is now act- 
ing as his father's private secretary, and Edwm B., 
Jr., a graduate of West Point. 

Gov. Winans has in former years shown himself 
capable of close application to the duties which lay 
before him, and his judicious decisions and wise 
course when attempting to bring about a worthy 
object, are well known to those who are acquainted 
with the history of the State. Although it is ^ften 
said that it is scarcely safe to judge of a man until 
his career is closed, yet Gov. Winans has acted his 
part so well thus far in life that he is confidently 
expected to add to the credit that already belongs 
to the great commonwealth of Michigan, and which 
to a certain extent lies in the hands of those who 
have been and are its chief executives. Among his 
personal characteristics are those of a love of truth, 
justice and progresr, and a cordial, kindly spiiH 
which makes warm friends and stanch adherents. 




'mM£, ^Mm' 



KALAMAZOO, ALLEGAN, 



AND 



VAN BUREN COUNTIES, 



MICHIGAN. 



CCj=v^__^-^-^^ 




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w<t>1 




IH- 



INTRODUQT^ORY. 





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'*\ HE time has arrived when it 
becomes the duty of the 
people of tliis county to per- 
petuate the names of their 
pioneers, to furnish a record 
of their early settlement, 
and relate the story of their 
progress. The civilization of our 
day, the enlightenment of the age 
and the duty that men of the pres- 
ent time owe to their ancestors, to 
themselves and to their posterity, 
demand that a record of their lives 
and deeds should be made. In bio- 
graphical history is found a power 
to instruct man by precedent, to 
enliven the mental faculties, and 
to waft down the river of time a 
safe vessel in whicii the names and actions of the 
people who contributed to raise this country from its 
primitive state may be preserved. Surely and rapidly 
the great and aged men, who in their prime entered 
the wilderness and claimed the virgin soil as their 
heritage, are passing to their graves. The number re- 
maining who can relate the incidents of the first days 
jf settlement is becoming small indeed, so that an 
actual necessity exists for the collection and preser- 
vation of events without delay, before ail the early 
settlers are cut down by the scythe of Time. 

To be forgotten has been the great dread of mankind 
from remotest ages. All will be forgotten soon enough, 
in spite of their best works and the most earnest 
efforts of their friends to perserve the memory of 
their lives. The means employed to prevent oblivion 
and to perpetuate their memory has been in propor- 
tion to the amount of intelligence they possessed. 
Th : pyramids of Egypt were built to perpetuate the 
names and deeds of their great rulers.- The exhu- 
mations made by the archeologists of Egypt from 
\>uried Memphis indicate a desire of those people 



to perpetuate the memory of their achievements 
The erection of the great obelisks were for the same 
purpose. Coming down to a later i)eriod, we find the 
(ireeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and monu- 
ments, and carving out statues to chronicle their 
great achievements and carry them down the ages. 
It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in piling 
up their great mounds of earth, had but this idea — 
to leave something to show that they had lived. All 
these works, though many of them costly in the ex- 
treme, give but a faint idea of the lives and charac- 
ters of those whose memory they were intended to 
perpetuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of 
the people that then lived. The great pyramids and 
some of the obelisks remain objects only of curiosity ; 
the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crum- 
bling into dust. 

It was left to modern ages to establish an intelli- 
gent, undecaying, immutable method of perpetuating 
a full history — immutable in that it is almost un- 
limited in extent and perpetual in its action ; and 
this is through the art of printing. 

To the present generation, however, we are in- 
debted for the introduction of the admirable system 
of local biography. By this system every man, thougV 
he has not achieved what the world calls greatness, 
has the means to perpetuate his life, his history, 
through the coming ages. 

The scythe of Time cuts down all ; nothing of the 
physical man is left. The monument which his chil- 
dren or friends may erect to his memory in the ceme- 
tery will crumble into dust and pass away; but his 
life, his achievements, the work he has accomplished, 
which otherwise would be forgotten, is perpetuated 
by a record of this kind. 

To preserve the lineaments of our companions we 
engrave their [Xjrtraits, for the same reason we col- 
lect the attainable facts of their history. Nor do we 
think it necessary, as we speak only truth of them, to 
wait until they are dead, or until those who know 
them are gone : to do this we are ashamed only to 
publish to the world the history of those whose live= 
are unworthy of public record. 




(//mAi^'f'^-^^^-^ 



I A\ 






ik I 



^•;:^| ISlOGRAPfflGAL. 1^;;..^ 



^L 






WILLIAM AVERY IIOUSK. The rapid 
growth of Kalamazoo is flue in a large 
measure to the number of able and li(>iif>r- 
able men wiio have from time to time sought a home 
within its limits and contributed generously to the 
development of its resources. Such a one is the 
subject ol this brief biographical notice, and the 
original of the portrait on the opposite page, of 
wiiom, when he passed away, it was tlic universal 
testimony of his fellow-citizens, "Take liim all in 
all, we have lost our best man." His death, which 
resulted from accident December 8, 1881, removed 
from the city a gentleman unswerving in his de- 
votion to its interest and in his support of its in- 
stitutions. 

Our subject was the sun of llulibard and Aiihia 
(Johnson) House, natives of Vermont. Sincere 
Christians by exaniple and precept, they trained 
their children for responsible jjositions in life. 
William Avery House was born in Morctown, 
Washington County, Vt., July 21, 1821. When (piitc 
young, he accompanied his parents to (Ucnns Falls, 
N. Y., and from there to Clyde, Wayne County, the 
same State, where he remained until 18.'57. ^lean- 
while he enjoyed the ordinary school advantages of 
those times, and undfer the training of his father, a 
man of Christian ])rinciples, firm in character and 
generous in heart, he grew to a stalwart manhood. 

In 1837, our subject accomjjanied his parents to 
Michigan and located on new land two miles from 
the present village of Otsego. He endured all the 
hardships of pioneer life and aided in the support 



of the family. Two years after settling on the 
place, they removed to a home which the father 
had purchased in Otsego, and for several years 
thereafter our subject was emploj'ed with his team 
in drawing flour from the Otsego mills to Kalama- 
zoo. Regularly, each day except Sund.ay, he came 
with his load and usually returned home with 
merchandise for the Otsego dealers. 

When after a time the wa^' opened for Mr. 
House to become a clerk in one of the village stores, 
his courteous dealings with his customers, and 
obliging manners, won him popularity. He soon 
formed a partnership with J. B. I'orter and together 
they conducted a successful dry-goods business in 
Otsego. When he w.as twenty-four, he was united 
in marriage, in 1845, with Miss Emeline A. IJeck- 
with, with whom he lived happily until his death. 
Two of the children born of the union died in 
childhood and the third, Arabella Sophia, became 
Mrs. Leroy Caliill, and died September 22, 1874, 
so that of a once happy circle hut one remains. The 
widow finds consolation not in the houses and lands 
which are hers, but in the thought that she will meet 
her loved ones once more, in the land where Death 
never comes. 

For nine j'ears after his marriage, !Mr. House 
made his home in Otsego, during tiie latter part 
of tlie time engaged in managing the Otsego mills 
and in building a part of the plank road between 
Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. In 1854 he re- 
moved with his family to Kalamazoo, where he 
ever afterward resided. Prior to the war he en- 



192 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



gaged in business operations which i-equired his 
almost constant presence in the South and during 
his travels he was usually accompanied by his 
wife. The opening of the war compelled him to 
close his business, although not without a consid- 
erable loss. In 1860 he returned to Kalamazoo 
and a year after built the handsome block on the 
corner of Main and Burdick Streets, which bears 
his name. 

In 1867, Mr. House entered into partnership 
with Messrs. C. H. Booth and Beach Hall, as gen- 
eral real-estate and insurance agents, and after the 
withdrawal of Mr. Hall, the firm thus modified 
continued until the fall of 1874. The death of 
his daughter caused Mr. House to sever his connec- 
tion with the firm, and in compan}^ with his wife 
he spent some time in traveling. A few 3'ears later, 
in connection with his son-in-law, Capt. Leroy 
Cahill, he commenced the business of manu- 
facturing agricultural implements, which he con- 
ducted successfully until his death. While 
thus engaged he gave employment to scores of 
men in the city and also to many traveling 
salesmen. 

On the evening of December 8, 1881, while at 
his barn, Mr. House was so severely kicked by one 
of his horses which he was exercising that he 
soon after died. His sudden taking away caused 
the greatest consternation in the city, for it was 
recognized that Kalamazoo liad lost one of her 
best and most valued citizens, one who had been 
active in business and social circles as well as in 
church and charitable measures. He had filled tlie 
position of YilLage Trustee for many years, also 
served on the Board of Education, and was always 
able, efficient and valuable in those capacities. He 
was one of the original Republicans of Michigan, 
and was a delegate to the convention which met 
"under the o.aks" at .Jackson. During the war he 
w.as a stanch Union man and remained throughout 
his life a strong supporter of the Republican party. 
In his death the poor and needy lost a friend, who 
had often cheerfullj' aided them. 

The funeral services were held Sunday, Decem- 
ber 11, in the First Congregational Church, of 
which he was a faithful member. The capacities of 
the church were taxed to their utmost to accommo- 



date his friends, who paid the last tribute of re- 
spect to one they loved. His friend and pastor. 
Rev. C. O. Brown, delivered the memorial address, 
which was a lofty and eloquent eulogy of the 
virtues of the departed. Afterward the remains 
were borne to the grave, and, surrounded by tlie 
relatives, emplo^^es, and members of various civic 
organizations, were committed to the ground. 



4^ 



-1^^' ••• =^ 



^ 



DWARD MARGESON. Steuben County, 
N. Y., was the birthplace of our subject, his 
JiL^ natal day being in 1827. He is theson of Ca- 
leb and Lavina Margeson, and is at present resid- 
ing on section 32, Ganges Township, Allegan 
County, where he is engaged in cultivating forty 
acres of excellent laud. He devotes some time and 
attention to the practice of veterinary surgerj', his 
advice being much sought after in this county. 

Our subject is a son of Caleb and Lavina Marge- 
son, the father a native of Essex County, N. J., 
where he was reared on a farm and educated in the 
common schools. The elder Mr. Margeson accom- 
panied his parents on their removal from New York, 
where they located in Steuben County. When 
reaching j'ears when it became necessary for him 
to choose an occupation, he learned the trade of a 
shoemaker, which he followed the remainder of his 
life, never leaving the State of New York. 

In Steuben County, N. Y., the parents of our 
subject were married, his mother's maiden name 
being Lavina Beard. Their union was blest by 
the birth of nine children. In religious matters 
they were members of tiie Baptist Church. Caleb 
]\Iargeson died in 1831, his good wife surviving him 
about fifteen 3'ears. The paternal grandparents of 
our subject were Thomas and Mary JNIargeson, na- 
tives of New .lerse^-. Thomas M. was a son of the 
noted JMargeson who came to the New World in 
the " May flo AVer." 

Our subject began making his own living by 
working out on a farm at the age of thirteen ^ears. 
Later, for seven 3^ears, he was steersman on the 
Erie Canal, and in 18G2, came to Michigan and 
located at once in Allegan Couiity. Four \eais 
later he came to Ganges Townsliip where he now 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAVHICAi RECORD. 



193 



owns a good farm. February 16, 1862, he was 
married to Mary, daughter of John and Kliza 
(Haird) Ward, natives of the Enipiro State, and 
farmers by occupation. Mrs. Margeson had twelve 
brothers and sisters. By her marriage with oiii 
sul)ject, siie became tiie mother of a (hiiighler. 
I.aura, wlio died when onlv three years of age. 

i'\'l>ruary 28, 1865, Mr. Margeson entered the Un- 
ion .\rniy, enlisting in t'oni|)any I, Tenth Michigan 
Cavalry, under the command of (len. Sheridan. II(^ 
remained in the service initil the close of the wni'. 
receiving his honorable discharge at IMemphis, 
Tenn., November II, 11S65. Again returning to 
the peaceful jmrsuits of life, he came to Micliigan 
and devoted his attention to the cultivation of his 
property. lie h:us given some study to tiic veter- 
inary surgeon's art, and h.as been extremely suc- 
cessful in his practice in this region. 

Ml'. Margeson is a member of .Jacob Fry I'ost, No. 
t(), G. A. Iv., and is Republican in politics. With 
his wife, he is identified with tiie Metlutdist Epis- 
copal Church. 



^ MLLIAM H. ANDREW.S. Men of .strict in- 
\/\j// tegrity of cli.iracter, whose livesare guided 
•>^Ny l)y i)rudence and principle, are valued mem- 
bers of any community, whose best riches they con- 
stitute. Such a one is the subject of this brief no- 
tice, who is inlluential in the farming circles of 
Allegan County, and makes his home on section 3, 
Watson Township. A native of New York, he was 
born in Ocnesee County, .June 30, 1H8(), and when 
only foiu- years old was taken to Ohio by liis par- 
ents, Norton and Caroline (Root) .\ndrews, natives 
of the Empire State. His father, wiio followed 
the calling of a farmer, was thusengjigcd in Cuya- 
hoga County, Ohio, and .Vllcgan County, this. Slate, 
whither he removed in 1H.).5, settling on an uniin- 
pi-oved farm on section 3. Ills (hvitli ftccurred 
here at the age of seventy live, and his wife passed 
away when seventy-three. 

The parental family comprises nine children, 
seven of whom attained to malui-e years, and four 
are now living, namely: Willard: Delia, wife of 
Albert l.ane; .lane, who married .loli lve\ iiolds. 



and William B. Tlie last-named son received his 
education in Ohio, and accompanied his parents in 
their removal to Michigan, .settling with them fin 
the place which he now owns. The year follow- 
ing his arrival in Michigan, in 1856, he was married 
to Miss .Vvis Ann Round, a native of Vermont, 
who came to Michigan when she was a small child. 
This estiiualile lady was a devoted wife and tender 
mother, and her death, in 1H8(), proved a deep be- 
ivaveinenl to her family and friends. She was llu- 
iiiotlier of four children: Charles, who in.-uried 
Beillia Douwell; Frank, who was united with 
Sarah Dodge; Eva May, the wife of Fred Edgel, 
of Hopkins, Township; and Martha JNtay, who died 
at the age of twelve years. 

At one time .Mr. .Vndrews was the owner of one 
hundred and sixty acres, Ixit he now owns onlv 
half that amount, the remaining eighty acres hav- 
ing been given to his son Charles. He carries on 
a general farming and stock-raising business, and 
through the exercise of good judgment and great 
energy, has been successful. While he has been 
prospered lin:uicially, he h.as al.so gained the good- 
will and confidence of those with whom business or 
.social intercourse h.as brought him in contact, and 
is every where esteemed .IS an u[)right and indus- 
trious man. In his jiolitical views, he adheres to 
the principles of tin' Republican parly, but is not 
an ollice-.seeker, preferring the ipiiet discharge of 
his individual duties to the excitement of political 
life. 



*« — r -v^ 



11 ^ ENRY FORD, who li;is been a iMomiiiciit 

Ijjlj man in the political and loc:il affairs of his 
community for a number of years, is the 
owner of ;i line fruit farm near Lawton, in 
.Vnlwerp Townshi|i, Wan Buren County. He is a 
native of Orange County-, N. Y., and was born 
Fel)riiarv 11,1825. His parents were Davis F. 
and Mary (Townsend) Ford, who were of English 
and Irish descent. The father was born April 2. 
IT'.tl, and the mother .lune 7, 17',>6, tlie former 
being a farmer by occupation. To this worthy 
couple eleven children were born, seven sons ami 
four daughters, as follows: Harry, Benjamin .\.: 



194 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



PhcEbe E., wife of Milton Pemberton; Elizabeth, 
wife of Charles Campbell; Harriet, who married 
Peter P. Bush; and Charles T., John P., William 
J., David F., Townsend and Margaret, all the 
last-named being deceased. Tlie parents of this 
family died in Orange County, X. Y., the f;itheron 
May 8, 18G3, and the mother .Uine 16, 1861. 

Our subject was educated principally in tlie dis- 
trict schools of his native county, and at the age 
of seventeen became a clerk for the Southfleld 
Furnace Company, for whom he worked faithfully 
for a number of years. Bj^ his diligent and careful 
attention to his duties, he gained the confidence of 
liis employers and April 1, 1849, was intrusted 
with the management of the business. He occupied 
this position successfully for fifteen years, but in 
1866 the business clianged hands and he removed 
to Lawton, Mich. Here he took charge of the 
Lawton Furnace until October 15, 1874, when, the 
interest being purchased by other parlies, he be- 
came manager of the Bangor Furnace Compan3', in 
Van Buren County, which manufactured on an 
average thirty-eight tons of iron per day. In 1880, 
Mr. Ford eugaged in the mercantile business at Law- 
ton, in which he was employed until 1888, when he 
sold out and bought his present place of sixty-five 
acres, which is mostly in fruit, such as grapes, 
apples, peaches and raspberries. 

Mr. Ford represented the Twelfth District, con- 
sisting of Van Buren and Cass Counties, in Ihe 
State Senate in the session of 1881 and 1882, being 
elected by a vote of seven thousand and seventy- 
seven to tive thousand five hundred and forty-nine. 
He cast liis first vote for Zacliary Taylor while he 
was living in New York, but has been a firm Re- 
publican ever since the formation of that party. 
He served as Justice of the Peace for some six 
years, Township Trustee of Antwerp Townsliip for 
two years, and is at present President of the 
Town Council. He is a member of the Knights 
Templars and of the Masonic order, and is now 
holding the office of Justice of the Peace at Law- 
ton. Mr. Ford has been twice married, his first 
wife being Miss Kate Coffey, to whom he was 
united June 7. 1847, and wlio died April 3, 1881, 
leaving one child, Elizabeth. 

Mr. Ford was again married, in 1882, this tune to 



Florence Smith. Mrs. Ford was born in Michigan, 
January 20, 1859, her parents, Louisa and Jesse 
Smith, being early settlers of this State. Tliey 
had a family of four children, namely: Julia, Jesse, 
Charles II. and Florence. The father died in 1862 
and the mother is still living in Lawton. .She is a 
wortliy member of the Methodist Episcojial Church. 
Our subject and his wife are members of tlie Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, and hold a high position 
in society and in the estimation of all with whom 
they are associated. 






^^®ts^' 




AFAYETTE MEACHEN is a farmer and 
stock-raiser, residing on section 17, Law- 
rence Township, Vmi Buren County. He 
was born in Scipio, Cayuga County, N. Y., Jlarch 
28, 1827, and is the sou of Calvin and Polly Mca- 
chen. The father was a farmer and came West to 
Medina County, Ohio, when our subject was about 
eight years of age. There he purchased a farm 
upon which our subject was reared to manhood., 
receiving but a limited education. 

Lafayette Meachen began to make his own way 
in the world when attaining his eighteenth year, 
having bought his time of his father. On reaching 
his majority, he had a good team of his own. He 
was married October 13, 1848, to Miss Deborah 
Johnson, of Medina County, Ohio. Mrs. Meachen 
W.1S born in the southern part of Ireland, October 
2, 1821, and by her union with our subject has 
become the mother of four children : Maiy Eliza- 
beth, who died when six years of age; Deboiah, 
who was born in Medina County, Oliio, November 
1, 1851, married Prosper Manchester, a farmer of 
Gratiot County, this Stale, and has five children; 
Annie, who died when about six years of age, and 
Gaylord, also deceased. 

In 1852 our subject came to Lawrence Township, 
V.an Buren Count}', and purchased eighty acres of 
wood land. His father had previously come to 
Arlington Township, same county, where he be- 
came the possessor of forty acres of land. He of 
whom we write immediately erected a log house 
on liis purchase, into which he moved his family 
and began the work of clearing and improving his 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



195 



estate. He has since added eighty acres to his 
property, fifteen of wiiieh is devoted to an orcliard. 
In 1881, lie erected iiis present beautiful residence, 
which bears all the comforts .ind conveniences of 
modern times. Mr. Meachen is a self-made man 
in the truest sense <jf that term, and is i-ankcd 
among the first-class farmei-s of Van IJuren County. 
lie is a Republican in politics, and cast his first 
vote for John C. Fremont. Mrs. Jleachen came 
to America when about twenty years of age, and 
was residing in Medina County, Ohio, at the time 
of her marriage. She is a very worthy and esti- 
mable lady and has aided her husband greatly in 
attaining to liis i)rcscnl iiigli standing in the .igri- 
cuUural cDtiim unity. 




r^ AMIKL A. BKNTLKY is a retired farmer, 
living in .Vllegan. lie wiis born in Mon- 
roe Township. Monroe County, this State 
Seplemlier 27. 1819, and is the son of 
James and .Vmanda ( Barker) Hentley. His parents 
were natives of England and Ohio, respectively, 
and James Uentley came to Monroe County as early 
as 1803, where he engaged in farming. The father 
was all through the Waroi 1812 and was within one 
mile of the fort at Detroit when Hull sun-endered. 
The mother was born in I'ainesville, Ohio, in the 
year 1800, in December. She, when a young girl, 
came to Monroe, Mich., with her mother and step- 
father, and it was here she married James Bentle^v 
when about fifteen years of age, he being about 
thirty' years old. lie died in Monroe County, 
in 1862, .aged eighty-two years; his good wife 
survived him until 1889, and at her death had 
reached the advanced .age of eighty-nine years. 
James ISentle}' was a stanch Harrison man, having 
served under that general in the army of the War 
of 1812. 

Tlie parents of our subject had a large family of 
eleven children, nine of whom are living: our sub- 
ject, J.ames, John, Cliraena, Malissa, Eunice, Will- 
iam, Amanda and Eliza. Samuel A. Hentle^y re- 
ceived his education in a log schoolhouse in Monroe 
County, Mich., at the same time being well trained 
in farm duties. He remained an inmate of the par- 



ental home until reaching his m.ajority, then began 
working for himself Ijy renting farms and tilling 
the soil. He suffered all the privations of the 
early pioneer. 

In 1854 our subject came to Watson Township, 
Allegan Country, and purchased eighty acres of 
heavily timbered land. He industriously set 
about clearing his tract and remained upon it until 
1879, when he went to Plaintield, Kent County, 
and farmed for about twelve years. In 1890 he 
returned to Allegan Village and bought where he 
now resides, on Depot Street. 

Miss Electa Baird became the wife of oiu- subject 
in 1839. She was a native of Wooster, Oiiio, and 
came to Monroe County, Mich., with her parents, 
Charles and Hannah IJaird. Their union has been 
blessed by the birth of eleven children, seven of 
whom are living: Elizabeth, Abigail, Lemuel, Sam- 
uel, Charles, Mary and George. Mrs. Bentley died 
in 18()4, and our subject was a second time mar- 
ried, the lady on this occasion being Mrs. Sarah 
Baird, daughter of Jared and Susan (Hull) Smith, 
natives of Pennsylvania. They came to Michigan 
in 1836, and located in La Salle Townshij), Monroe 
County, where they engaged in farming until 
their death. Mrs. Sarah Bentley was their only 
child; her marriage with our subject took place in 
1872. By a former marriiige, she had become the 
mother of one child, a son, Frank E., now living 
in Grand Rapids. In politics, Mr .Bentley was or- 
iginally a Whig, casting his first vote for Gen. AVill- 
iam Henry Hairison. He afterwards became a Re- 
publican, liut is now a Prohibitionist. 

Mr. Bentley was the second white male child 
torn in the State of Michigan. John Anderson, 
who was about three months older than Mr. Bent- 
ley, was born in French Township, Monroe County, 
and was accidentally shot when twelve or four- 
teen j'ears old, so that our subject is now the oldest 
native of Michigan living. He relates that 
during the hard winter of 1854-65, deer would 
come into their yard and stand while the hay was 
being thrown out to the cattle, and when it was on 
the ground would then eat with them. He also 
rememl)crs seeing wolves come to the house in the 
day time, when his motlier would take down the 
old musket and shoot at them. Mr. Bentley is 



196 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a very interesting conversationalist and can relate 
many tales of hardship and adventure which have 
mnde a lasting impression on his mind. 

Mrs. Bentley, the present wife of our subject, 
was born in Seneca Count}', N. Y., where her 
father was a farmer. They came to Michigan in 
1836, and were thus early settlers here. She was 
given a good education and taught school iu Mon- 
roe County. In the early days, her father was a 
Whig. 



ORAN W. ROWLAND, a resident of Paw 
Paw, Van Buren County, who has been 
quite influential in various ways in the ad- 
vancement of the township and county, was born 
in Savannah, Ashland County, Ohio, March 25, 
1839. His parents when Eber and Jerusha (Fow- 
ler) Rowland, both natives of tlie State of New 
York. Our suliject was reared in the country and 
his father being a millei-, he was about the mill a 
great deal. When about fourteen, he came to Cal- 
houn County, Mich., and attended a common dis- 
trict school there, having attended only common- 
scliools in his native State. His parents soon came 
to Michigan and afterward, in 1856, settled in 
Lawrence Township, Van Buren County, and our 
subject journeyed hither and helped his fallier in a 
mill. When nineteen, he began teaching school 
which he followed winters until his enlistment in 
the late war. 

Mr. Rowland volunteered in Company C, Third 
Michigan Cavalry, September 17,1861. He saw a 
good deal of service in the South and was in Missouri, 
Tennessee, Alaljama, Lousiana, JNIississippi and Ar- 
kansas and was in active service for three years and 
nine months. He was in the hos|)ital from April, 
1862, to .September, 1862, except when at home on a 
thirty-day f ui'lougii. When the company was organ- 
ized, he was ai)pointed Sergeant and served as such 
and Orderl^'-Sergeant until liis re-enlistment in 1863 
when he received a commission from Gov. Blair 
as Second Lieutenant, in Company K, of tlie same 
regiment and, in 1861, was commissioned First 
Lieutenant in Company I; the following year as 



Captain he was re-assigned to Company C. On the 

22nd of September, 1861, five days subsequent to 
his enlistment, he was married to Miss Mary A. 
Benjamin, of Lawrence, Van Buren County. Slie 
was born at Marshall, Oneida County, N. Y., Janu- 
ary 7, 1843, and was a daughter of Daniel and 
Eunice Hazard Benjamin. 

On the return of Mr. Rowland fr(mi the army, 
he engaged in the milling business witli liis father 
for six months and then began teaching school in 
the township and village of Lawrence. He taught 
three winters and in the meantime he entered the 
grocery business at Lawrence and followed it until 
1868 when he was elected County Clerk and 
served two terms, removing to Paw Paw, 
January 1, 1869. He studied law while in this of- 
fice. He was admitted to the bar in the fall of 
1872, and practiced law for a number of years and 
durina; this time served one term as Prosecutingf 
Attorney and several terms as Circiut Court Com- 
missioner. Mr. Rowland Itegan the newspaper busi- 
ness at Paw Paw with Mr. A. C. Martin, in 
1882. He had one-half interest in it and assumed 
exclusive editorial charge, his partner being the 
business manager. He was thus connected with 
the True Northerner, as their sheet was called, 
for six years, when he sold to liis partner and pur- 
chased the Decatur RppuljUcaa in 1889, and lias 
since that date been editor and publisher of that 
.sheet. He has served as Justice of the Peace eight 
consecutive years and is at present the President 
of the School Board on which he has served for 
twelve years. He is one of the number who have 
iielped to bring the school up to its present high 
standard. In the summer of 1890, Mr. Rowland 
was special agent of the Census Bureau, liaving to 
collect statistics of mortage indebtedness in the 
counties of Van Buren, Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, 
Kalamazoo and Ionia. 

To our subject and liis wife have been born 
three children : Mary L., born November 9, 1864, 
is a graduate of the Paw Paw High School, the 
wife of Henry E. Shaefer and the mother of two 
children; Marion O., born April 8, 1869, is a grad- 
uate of the same school, is married and resides at 
Eaton Raiiids, and is the father of one son; Mina 
B., born August 11, 1875, died November 7, 1887, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



197 



of diphtheria. Mr. Rowland is a Republican in 
polities and cast his fii-st presidential vote for 
Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and lias never voted any 
other ticket since. He and his wife became mem- 
bei-s of the Disciples Cliurch in 1885, and iiave been 
valued and consistent members since, and he is an 
Klder in the same. 

The Rowland family are of Scotch descent, two 
brothers, Tiiomas and Daniel, having come to Am- 
erica from Scolhmd in the latter i)art of tlie seven- 
teenth century. They settled in Fairfield County, 
Conn., and Thomas had a son Thomas, who in turn 
named his son Thom.as, born in Connecticut, Sept- 
ember 22, 1721, and died M.ay 15, 1808. His wife 
was born December 25, 1721, and died August 17, 
1798. Their son, Ilezekiah Rowland, the third, 
was born January 9, 1759, at Reading, Conn., and 
married Grace Wildman, September 17, 1778. 
This couple were the great-grandparents of our 
subject. Ilezekiah died in New York, April 29, 
1819, and his wife in Ohio, M.ay U, 1846. Their 
son Levi, the fourth of ten children,was the grand- 
father of our subject, a native of New York, born 
November 12, 1788. lie married Phwbe Townsend, 
a native of New York, born December 11, 1785. 
Slie died in Ohio, August 22, 1832, and her hus- 
))and died in the same State, December 13, 1874. 
Tiiej' have five children, tlie fourth of whom,Eber, 
was the father of our subject, born at Southeast, 
N. Y., October 7, 1816, and married .lune 10, 1838, 
to Jerusha Fowler who was born March 31, 1817, 
at Cohocton, N. Y. They had eigiit children, of 
whom our subject is the oldest. 



f|/_^ ENRY LI'rrLE. At the advanced age of 
|i ninety-three j'ears, this venerable gentle- 




man and esteemed citizen of Kalamazoo 
jiassed away at his home. No. 435 Lovell 
Street, May 25, 1890. Wilh more than an ordinary 
endowment of vital energies, his physical and 
mental powers alike were retained in a remarkable 
degree until the very day of liis death. 

IJorn at Cambridge, N. Y., \\>\\\ 29, 1797, .Mr. 
Little was the son of William and I'lxebe (Mar- 
ciiaut) Little, lie was only six years old when he 



was bereaved by the death of his mother, after 

which the family was liroken up and became scat- 
tered. In his boyhood he was engaged as a farm 
laborer, but at the age of fifteen he was appren- 
ticed to learn the trade of a millwright, machinist 
and master mechanic, commencing in business 
in 1815, at St. Johnsbury, Vt., where he filled 
large and important contracts for the erection of 
public structures. 

In 1826, Mr. Little was engaged in constructing 
mills upon the "Big Dam" at Boston, Mass. Re- 
turning to St. Johnsbury in 1827, he entered the 
employ of Messrs. E. and T. Fairbanks, then con- 
ducting a foundry, iron-works and machine shops 
upon the site now occupied b}- their extensive scale 
manufactory, .and in 1830 superintended for them 
the erection of a mill for cleaning .and preparing 
hemp fibre for market. An imperative necessity 
arising for some improved apparatus for weighing 
hemp as brought to the mill, the Fairbanks broth- 
ers instituted various experiments in reference to 
scales upon an entirely new plan, and Mr. Little 
materially aided them in originating, planning and 
bringing to a successful result the world-renowned, 
valuable invention known as "the Fairbank's plat- 
form scales." 

March 11, 1822, Mr. Little w.as married to IMiss 
Ruth, daughter of Abraham Fuller, a patriot sol- 
dier of the Revolution. The union was a most happy 
one until death entered the home and removed the 
devoted wife, F'ebruary 8, 1888, at the .age of 
eighty-seven. The removal of the family to ^licli- 
igan, took place October 3, 1831, settlement being 
made first at Galesburg, afterward at Corastock, 
and still later on at (lull Prairie. In March, 1«38, 
Mr. Little removed to Grand Rapids, taking up 
some Government land, which he later exchanged 
for an im|)roved farm near llie old home f)n (iull 
I'rairie. 

nctwtiii the years 1838 and 1 HU). Mr. Little w.a.s 
engaged as a millwright in the construction of 
(louring mills at Faw Paw. Yorkville and Kala- 
mazoo. Leaving his farm at Richland in charge 
of his two younger sons, William Henry and .\l- 
bert, in 1863. he took up his permanent residence 
in Kalamazoo. His <inly daughter. Mrs. William 
C. Travis, died February 21, 1878, .aged fifty yeai's. 



198 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



His later years were devoted to general reading, 
and the writing of articles for publication, in wliich 
he was successful. Three sons survive him: 
Frank, whose sketcli is presented elsewliere iu tliis 
volume; AVilliam Henry arid Albert. 

Henrj' Little, in his jnore prominent characteris- 
tics, wasa man of positive convictions, of indoniit- 
alile energy, perseverance and self-will; orderly, 
painstaking, frugal and industrious in all his hab- 
its; scrupulously exact, undcviating, upright and 
reliable in business affairs; orthodox, strong and 
unswerving in his religious faith, enjoying as a 
citizen, neighbor and friend, the highest esteem 
and confidence of his fellow-men. 




f)HEO A. PALMER was born .lanuary 3, 
1838, in Madison County, N. Y. He is at 
present engaged in cultivating a portion of 
the soil on section 9, Porter Township, Xan Buren 
County. His j)arents were Philander and Betsey 
(Barker) Palmer, the father a native of .lefferson 
County, N. Y., and the mother born near Birming- 
ham, Vt. After their marriage they resided near 
Syracuse, N. Y., luitil 1845, when they came West 
to Michigan and located at Napoleon, .Jackson 
County. There the father imi)roved a farm, and 
liecame a very prominentcitizen. He was an active 
Republican iu politics and died in 1873. His good 
wife had preceded him to the better land by sev- 
eral years, dying in 1847. 

Two of the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Philander Palmer are living. Our subject received 
a good education in the common and select schools 
of the Wolverine State, and remained at home 
until reaching his majority. AYhen starting out 
on his own account, he became a butcher and was 
fairly successful in his undertaking. On the out- 
break of the Civil War, Mr. Palmer enlisted in 
Company K, Seventeenth Michigan Infantry, and 
was chief bugler of his regiment. AVith his com- 
pany he was sent to Washington, D. C, and took 
part in the following engagements: South Moun- 
tain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Newport, Louis- 
ville, Ky., and Bardstowii, same State, where he 



was taken sick and lay in the hospital for a short 
time. He was then sent to Louisville on detached 
service and later, joining his regiment at Knox- 
ville, Tenn., returned to the Arm^' of the Potomac 
and participated in all the engagements from the 
Wilderness to Petersburg. He was made Mail 
Agent of the First Division of the Ninth Army 
Corps, and, after the surrender of (ien. R. E. Lee, 
was sent to Washington, D. C, under Gen. Wil- 
cox. Mr. Palmer received his honorable discharge 
June 15, 18G5, and during the long period in 
which he saw service was never wounded or cap- 
tured. 

(Jn returning home after the close of the war, our 
subject engaged in farming in .Tackson County, 
and in the fall of 1871 removed to Kalamazoo and 
engaged in the grocery and provision business iu 
comi)any with Mr. Lot Hewitt. He continued 
thus em[)loyed until the fall of 1890, in the mean- 
time building up a large and lucrative business. 
<jn account of ill health, he w.as advised by his 
lihysician to remove to a farm and in doing so 
settled upon liis present tract of eighty acres, in 
December, 1890. He carries on general farming 
and fruit-growing and has a finely-improved 
tract. 

In October, 1865, our subject .and Miss Clara M., 
daughter of Lot Hewitt, were united in marriage. 
Mr. Hewitt, who was the former partner of our 
subject, died in 1888. Mrs. Palmer was born De- 
cember 10, 1845, in Columbia Township, .Tackson 
County, this State, where her father was a pioneer. 
She received an excellent education in the common 
and select schools and is an intelligent and refined 
lady. Our subject and his wife have an adopted 
son, Darwin, who is aged fourteen years. He is 
being given a good education and at the present 
time is a student in the High School at Lawton. 

He of whom we write and his good wife are 
members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Palmer was 
Trustee for nine years of the First Baptist Church 
in Kalamazoo, and was Chairman of the House 
Committee of the same for a like period. He h.as 
been a contributor to the Kalamazoo College for 
the past twenty-five years and his store was known 
as the "Students' Grocery," because he w.as always 
a warm friend and helper of the students. In 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



199 



politics, Mr. Palmer is a true-blue Republican and 
lias.ilvvays taken an active part in local affairs, and 
while a rcsidenl of Kiilaniazoo was I'lectod ono of 
the first Ald'-'rnien of the cit_y. While a member 
of that body, he organized the police force and 
also the secret service department, and was placed 
on five of the most imporlanl committees, of which 
he was made Chairman, lie was one of the char- 
ter members of Orcutt Post, No. 7'.), (i. A. R., 
of Kalamazoo, but refused to aceejit any official 
position in that body other than to act as Chair- 
man of the Council of Administration, which posi- 
tion he holds in the Lawton Post at the present 
time. He was also Chairman of the Special Relief 
Ct)mmittee. The Masonic order chiini ^Ir. Palmer 
as one of their warm adherents. He occupied the 
i>tlice of Trustee in the Society of Chosen Friends 
in Kalamazoo. 

%^ ADl.St)N 11. PLOPPKR. This <<enUemau 
iVi is carrying on a thriving grocery business 
Is in Lawrence. His store is well stocked 
with staple articles and all the table deli- 
cacies in their season. He also has a full line of 
(|uecnsware, hardware, etc. Mr. Ploppcr was born 
ill Madison County, N. Y., October 20, 1842, and 
is the son of Stephen and Phebe A. (Palmer) Plop- 
pcr. The father was born in New York, of 
German ancestry, while the mother was a native 
of New York and came of Yankee stock. 

The father of our subject w.as a cooper by trade 
and came to .Michigan with his family niien Madi- 
son H. was three yeai-s of age. He located in Mon- 
roe County, and there made his home until 18.")2, 
when he came to Paw Paw and remained during 
that winter. The following year he came to Law- 
rence Township. Van P>iiren ('f)unty, and purchased 
the farm upon which he is residing at the (ires- 
cnt time. 

.Madison 11. Ploppcr was ten years of age when 
his parents located in Lawrence Township. His 
mother died a few years after coming here, in 
1857, and he remained at home until reaching his 
majority. In February, 18G4, our subject enlisted 
in Company 1), Kiglityninth New York Infantry 



and joined his regiment at Charleslown, S. C. 
They were soon sent to Virginia, where Mr. Plo))- 
[ler [larticipatcd in the siege of Petersburg. Cold 
Harbor and Richmond. He was also present at 
the surrender of Gen. Lee at Appomattox. There 
w.as a period or six months when his regiment was 
under fire the greater part of the time. Our sub- 
ject received his honorable discharge August 12, 
186;j, and returning to Lawrence engaged in the 
peaceful pursuit of farming. 

The original of this sketch purchased forty 
acres of land in Decatur Townsliii) in 18()8, and, 
November 12 of that 3'ear, was married to Miss 
Lavinia Stearns, of Lawrence. Mrs. Ploppcr was 
born in Green County, Wis., December 2."5, 1847, 
and b^' her union with our subject h.as become the 
mother of seven children, five of whom are living, 
viz: Carrie, ClayUni, Phelie Ann. Clifford and Win- 
nie. In 1876, Mr. Ploppcr disposed of his farm 
and for ten years drove a |>eddler's w.agoii. At 
the expiration of that time he again purchased a 
farm, which he operated three years. Having re- 
ceived a sunstroke while in the army, he w.as unfit 
for outdoor work, and, .selling his estate, engaged 
in his present business, in Lawrence. 

Our subject has also been a Republican and cast 
his first Presidential vote for (Jraiit, in 1808. He 
has been A'illagc Trustee and is a member of the 
Grand Arm\- of the Republic, having attended the 
National Fncampmeiit at Detroit in 18'.ll. He is 
a member of the Christian Church, with which he 
lias been connected for thirtv-fivc years; Mrs. Plop- 
pcr is also a member of that hod^'. 



1 1 1 1 1 I I I I I I , 1 



? 1 ' I t . 




IBERTY 11. BAILEY, who is an old set- 
tler of Van lUiren County, having come 
^ here in April. 184.'), occupies a high place 
in the regard of his fellow-citizens, for his strict 
integrity of character and honoral)lc dealings with 
his fellow-men. He is one of the most prominent 
members of the Masonic fraternity in this part of 
the State, and takes great pride in his connection 
with that ancient and renowned order. His great- 
grandfather, Richard Bailey, emigrated from Eng- 
land when a young man, and settled in the Massa- 



200 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ehusetts Colony. He was a soldier in tlie Revolu- 
tioiiaiy War The graiulfatlier of our subject was 
born in Massachusetts and removed to Windliam 
County, Vt. 

The fatiier of our subject, Dana Bailey, was also 
l)orn in Massachusetts, and removed with his par- 
ents to Townsliend, Windham County, Yt., where 
he married Betsey Walker, and lived during the 
remainder of his life in the house in which his wife 
was born. He attained the age of upwards of 
eighty years, and was then accidentally killed by 
falling from a wagon. The maternal ancestors of 
our subject were also Englisli, Jesse Walker, his 
grandfallier, leaving England when but eleven 
years old, and coming to America, settled in Towns- 
liend, Vt. There he grew to manhood, married, 
and built a house, which still stands and is now oc- 
cupied by his granddaughter, a sister of our sub- 
ject. When the Revolutionary War broke out, 
.Jesse Walker was one of the first to enlist, and lie 
served until the close, being at the Siege of York- 
town and the surrender of Cornwallis. When a 
boy, in England, he numbered among his ijlaymates 
Samuel Marsh, who became a soldier in the British 
army. After the battle of Bunker Hill, iNIr. Inailey 
found his former companion among the dead, with 
his musket at his side, on which his name, Samuel 
Marsh, was carved. Mr. Walker took this musket 
and carried it for seven ^cars, until the close of the 
war, and it is now in the possession of the subject 
of this sketch. The mother of our subject was 
over eighty years of age when she died. 

The parental family consisted of seven children, 
of whom three are still living. One daughter re- 
sides on the homestead in Vermont; the youngest 
son is living in Minneapolis, Minn.; and the sub- 
ject of this sketch. Liberty II. Bailey, w,as liorn in 
Townsliend, Vt., February 26, 1820. Ilis ancestors 
were all tillers of the soil and he was reared to the 
same occupation. He was graduated from a Bap- 
tist College in his native town, acquiring a good 
academic education. In 1842 he came to Michigan 
in the eui]iloy of the Vermont Land Company, and 
located land for said company in various jiarts of 
the State, and in 1843 purchased the land where he 
now resides. He lived in Kalamazcio until April, 
184."), when he came to Van Buren County, and for 



ten years resided in Arlington Township. In 18.55 
he settled on the west half of section 11, South 
Haven Township, it being the land he had pur- 
chased in 184.3, at which time there were over three 
hundred inhabitants on the place, but they were 
all Indians, engaged in making maple sugar, hunt- 
ing and fishing. His land now lies adjoining the 
village of South Haven, is all cleared and well 
improved. He has an apple orchard of thirty-five 
acres, and also raises peaches, pears and other fruits. 
He has a number of cattle, horses and hogs, and 
everything necessary to carrying on a farm in first- 
class style. 

Mr. Bailey has been twice married, being united 
in 1845 to Sarah Harrison, daughter of Benjamin 
Harrison, who was first cousin to President Will- 
iam Henry Harrison. She was born in Columbus, 
Ohio, and died in South Haven, December 16, 
1862, at the age of thirty-eight years. By this 
marriage, three sons were born, namely: Dana, who 
died at the age of fourteen years; Marcus resides at 
Evanston, 111., and during the administration of 
President Cleveland w.as Chief Engineer of the 
United States Custom House, at Chicago. He is 
now connected with the electric lighting of that 
city. Liberty IL, .Fr., is Professor of Horticulture 
in Cornell University, at Ithaca, N. Y., and in rep- 
resenting that university he has traveled over 
nearly all of Europe. In 18().) ]\Ir. Bailey was 
married to his present wife, who was Miss IMaria 
Bridges. 

In politics. Mr. Bailey is a stanch Democrat, and 
has frecpicntly held local otlices. Tlici'e is nothing. 
however, in which Mr. Bailey t.akes more pride 
than in his connection with the M.asonic fraternity. 
He was made a Mason by {;en. B. K. CliadwicU 
Lodge, No. 1 19, in 1862, and is one of the charter 
members of Star of the Lake Lodge, No. 158, A. F. 
A' A. M., at South Haven, of which he was lirst 
iNLaster, and has held the otlice for eight years. 
He is a charter member of South Haven Chapter, 
No. 58, R. A. M., of which he was tlu' first High 
Priest and has held that ollice for six years, a char- 
ter member of .South Haven Council, No. 38, and 
Thrice Illustrious for two years. He is a member 
of Pinsular Commandeiy, No. 8, K. T., at Kalaina- 
zoo,and holdsa Thirty-second degree in the Ancient 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



201 



and Scottish Rite Masonry, Iwing a Cliarter mem- 
bov of the Consistory at (Jraixl Rnpids. lie also 
iH'Iongs to tlio lligli Priostlioofl of Micliiirnn. and 
to the OriiMilal Order of the I'alm and Shell. He 
ni'Vt-r misses attending tlic meetings of (Mtlier of 
tlu'sc liinnclies of M.isonrv wlien it is possil)le for 
him to lio |>ri'sont. Bailey Lodge, No. 287, A. K. iV 
A. M., at Hi-eodsviile. is named in his honor, and 
on Novemlier 13, 187.5, that lodge presented him 
witii a solid silver-iieadod eane. 

iVlr. Uailey is liberal in his religious views and 
leads an honest, upright life, being a man whose 
word is as good as his bond. lie has a pleasant 
home and a good library, liis liooks consisting 
largely of ^Insonie literature. 

?^L1)ER JOHN II. REKSI-:. The life of a 
minister of the Gospel is always a checkered 
experience, in which the sh.adows oftini pre- 
dominate, and in which, perhaps more than in any 
other calling, a brave heart, a firm will and con- 
tinued perseverance are necessary to accomplish the 
end in view. The constant strain on the nerves 
and brain of a conscientious pastor breaks down 
many a man who otherwise would l-.ave lived to a 
strong and hearty old age. It is not wonderful, 
therefore, that after thirty-two years' service in 
the Master's cause, Mr. Reese should feel the ne- 
cessity of taking a much needed rest and retiring 
from active work in his beloved calling. 

Mr. Reese, who resides in Bangor, w.as born in 
(Jlenn. Montgomery County, N. Y., January 9, 
1H2'.>. His |)arents, Martin and Hannah (Rulifson) 
l{eese, were natives also of New York, the former 
born in 1803, and the latter in 1809. Their family 
consisted of fourteen children, all, except one, 
reacliing mature years, as follows: Martha, John II., 
Cynthia, .lane E., James II., Juliet, David .\., 
Charlotte, Daniel H.,(ieorge AV.; Reuben W., who is 
editor at Kearney, Neb.; Margaret, wife of Perry 
Madison, who resides in Chicago, and Chauncey B., 
who was a soldier in the late war. Charles S., who 
was a soldier in the Twelfth Michigan Regiment, 
w.as taken prisoner at Pittsburg Landing, and died 
in tlie reliel prison at M.acon, Ga. Daniel IL. who is 



now employed in the Custom House .at New Orleans, 
w.os also a .soldier of the late war, enlisting in the 
.Sixth Michig.an Regiment. an<l. at the close of the 
war, was a LieuUMiant of a colored regiment. 
Since taking uj) hi.s residence in Lousiana, he has 
served one term in the Legislature of that Stale. 

Martin Ree>ie, the father of this large family, was 
a son of John and Margaret (I'eltingill) Reese, 
.lohn Reese was a son of Nicholas and Anna (Cline) 
Reese, who were residents of the Mohawk Vallev, 
an<l on both sides of the family they wei-e descend- 
ants of natives of Holland. They were the parents of 
thirteen children, as follows: Marks. John, Samuel. 
.Martin, Adam, Nicholas, William, .lacob, Henry. 
Christina, Ellen, Catherine and Kli/.idieth. The 
mother of our subject was a daughter of Harmon 
and Margaret (Forncrook) Rulifson, who were 
residents of the MohitAvli \\allcy. The maternal 
grandparents were Abraham and Catherine (Sours) 
Rulifson, the former a son of Henry and Peggy 
(V.an Horn) Rulifson. 

Our subject grew to mature years in New York, 
where he was educated in the common schools. 
He came to Berrien County, Mich., on October 6, 
18.50, where he followed teaching and farming un- 
til 18;59,when he began preaching in the Disciples 
Church, which he continued until 1867, when he 
entered Bethany College, at West \'irginia, being 
a student there for four years. In 1871, he re- 
turned to Cass County, Mich., having graduated 
from the college in June of that year, and has been 
engaged in the work of the ministry ever since. 
He was married in 18,52 to Harriet A. Fenton, and 
to them was born one son: Boyd E., now a resident 
of J.asper County, Mo. Mrs. Reese died, in 18.57, 
and our subject w.as afterward married to Miss 
Polly Goss, a native of Edinluirg, Ohio. 

In 187G, Mr. Reese took up his resi<lence in 
Bangor. At that time there was no organization 
of the Disciples Church in the village, but. by per- 
sistent efforts, Mr. Reese has succeeded in building 
up a live and prosperous church. He has devoted 
fourteen yeai-s of his life to this work, and has the 
satisfaction of seeing a great measure of success 
attend his efforts. The best of his life has lieen 
given to the furtherance of the Gosiwl and the 
advancement of all measures of reform. He has 



202 



POUTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



labored earnestly in the cause of temperance, believ- 
ing prohibition to be the only correct solution of 
the great question of the liquor traffic. Beside his 
mony other duties, he has found time to prepare a 
chart of "universal Church History which is a re- 
markable" work, and reflects great credit on the 
author. 

Mr. Reese has borne a prominent part in the 
histor}^ of this county, and will ever be held in 
grateful remembrance for his untiring work in its 
interests, and for the example of an earnest 
Christian life. 



/^APT. GEORGE N. DUTCHER. Among 
(i(^l the prominent citizens of Allegan County, 
^^^ none are more favorably known than the 
gentleman whose name we have just given, and 
who resides in Douglas. lie is the son of William 
F. and Lucinda (Deitrich) Dutcher, and was born 
in Pike County, Pa., October 28, 1834. He was 
given a good education, and at the age of fifteen 
removed with his parents to Portsmouth, Va. 
While there he learned the trade of machinist and 
engineer in the United States Nav.y Yard, serving 
an apprenticesliip of nearly five jears. 

In 1852 the parents of our subject came West as 
far as Chicago, 111., and two years later came to 
Douglas, Allegan County, where the father was en- 
gaged largely in the lumber business. George 
went to work on the Chicago <fe Rock Island Rail- 
road during the summers, and in the winter as- 
sisted his father in his lumber operations. In 1862 
he entered the service of the Union as First Lieu- 
tenant in Company I, Fifth Michigan Cavalry. 
Briefij^ stated, his war record is as follows: 

Entering the army as First Lieutenant, August 
14, 1862, he was promoted to be Captain, January 
13, 1863, and on the 2d of July was wounded in 
the battle of Gettysburg. He received a second 
injury in the engagement at Brandy Station, Xa.., 
which proved so serious that the Captain received 
an honoral)le discharge, November 2, 1863. Dur- 
ing a portion of his term of service, he acted as As- 
sistant Adjutant-General to Gen. Kilpatrick, to 



whose division he belonged, and whose brigade it 
will be remembered was the first of the Union forces 
to enter Gettysburg. 

Capt. Dutcher returned home in 1863, shattered 
in health and still suffering from his wounds. Act- 
ing upon the advice of his physician, he went to 
the seashore to rest and recuperate his wasted en- 
ergies. There he met the captain of a whaling 
vessel bound on a three-years' cruise, who induced 
him to accompany him as far as the Azores Islands. 
Thinking a short ocean voyage would do him 
good, as he could return on an incoming vessel, 
Capt. Dutcher accepted the invitation and set sail 
with the party. The result was he concluded to 
make the entire voyage. Unfortunately they were 
ship-wrecked oft the coast of Madagascar, but were 
rescued. Later Capt. Dutcher shipped before the 
mast on a trading vessel bound for Australia. His 
wanderings thus begun lasted for three years, 
during which time he traveled around the globe, 
visiting almost every foreign country of any im- 
portance. 

Our subject at Last returned to San Francisco in 
1869, poor in purse, but abundantly rich in re- 
stored physical health. On arriving in Chicago, 
in 1870, he at once engaged as superintendent of 
the machine department of Crane Bros. IMaiiufac- 
turing Works, with whom he remained for four 
years, when he became one of the organizers of the 
firm of Fieldhouse cfe Dutcher, steam-fitters, etc. 

In early life as a railroad engineer in Chicago, 
Capt. Dutcher was one of the members of the well- 
known organization of The Brotherhood of Lo- 
comotive Engineers, which order was instituted in 
1854. The following year he became a Mason in 
the Blue Lodge at Otsego, Mich., and is now a 
member of Dutcher Lodge, No. 193, at Douglas, 
which received its name in his honor. He is con- 
nected with Washington Chapter, No. 43, R. A.M.; 
Silvain Council, No. 50, R. ife S. M., of Chicago; 
Commandery No. 19, K. T. and Oriental Consis- 
toiy S. P. R. S., having taken the thirty-second de- 
gree. He is a prominent member of the G A. R., 
being identified with Van Arsdale Post, No. 148, 
and of the Illinois Commandery Military Order of 
tiie Loj'al League of the United States. 

November 14, 1854, Capt. Dutcher was united 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



205 



in inarri.'ijjc with Miss Kliza, daiigiitor of Edward 
Adams, of Lexington, Ohio, where Mis. Dulciier 
w!is horn. Our sulijcct lias erected one of tlio finest 
resich'nces in Allegan County, whieli would he an 
ornament to any city. The good judgment whicii 
('apt. Dutcher has displayed in every undertaking 
in life lia.s won success, and we arc gratified to be 
al)le to present to our readers a sketc-h of so prom- 
inent and enterprising a gentleman. A brief ac- 
count of the life of his brother, Thomas Benton 
Dutcher, will be found on another page in this 
volume. 









sidcrahle mention to be made of the life of 
early settler of Kalamazoo, who proved 



OX. CHARLES EDWARD STUART. This 
ift volume would be incom)iletc were no con- 

y^ side 

^) this 

himself to be an enterprising citizen, able lawyer, 
successful politician, broad statesman and an honest 
man. It is therefore with pleasure that we in- 
vite the attention of the readers to his portrait on 
the opposite page, and the following record of his 
lineage and life. 

The ancestors of Mr. Stuart were of Scotch and 
l^nglish origin, and members of the M.ayhew family, 
who emigrated from England, settling in Martha's 
Vineyard in 1642. Dr. Charles Stuart married 
Miss Catherine Parsons in October, 180.5, and 
soon afterward removed to Columbia Count}', N. 
Y., where their second son, Charles Edward, w.as 
born, Novoml)er 2,5, 181(1. Soon after the close of 
the War of 1812, Dr. Stuart removed to Waterloo, 
Seneca County, N. Y., where he practiced his pro- 
fession, and also cultivated a farm. 

On that farm Charles E. lived and labored from 
boyhood to man's estate. His education was 
limited, consisting of a mere training in the 
simplest rudiments of a common English school- 
ing, and gave liim no preparation for the 
impt)rtunt positions which he afterward so hon- 
orably filled. When nineteen, he commenced 
tiie study of law with Messrs. ISirdsall k Clark, at 
Waterloo, and in due time w.is admitted tf> the 
practice of his profcssit)n at the I5ar of Seneca 
County. 
9 



Early in 18.3.5, Mr. Stuart came to Michigan, 
arriving in Detroit, and afterward visiting (in 
search of a location) Dundee, Tecumseh, Ypsilanti, 
Ann Arbor, Jackson and Marshall. I'pon coming 
to Kalamazoo, he decided to make it his home, 
and at once formed a law partnership with Gov. 
Epaphroditus Ransom. Returning the following 
autumn to Waterloo, he was married November 3, 
183.5, to Miss Sophia S., daughter of George and 
Sophia (Lee) Parsons, and, with his young bride, 
came to Kalam.azoo. The golden wedding anni- 
versarj- of this happy marriage was fittingly cele- 
liraled by the family and ninny friends in Novem- 
ber, 1885. 

With the excepti<m of one session of .service in 
the Legislature, Mr. Stuart devoted his attention 
exclusiveh' for twelve j-ears to his profession. In 
1847, and again in 1850, he was elected by his 
district to Congress, and in the winter of 1852-53 
was elected United States .Senator, serving six 
years. In 1860, he was delegate-at-large to the 
National Democratic Convention, which met at 
Charleston, S. C, and adjourned to Baltimore, Md., 
with its work unfinished. Two years later he was 
commissioned by Gov. Blair to raise and equip the 
Thirteenth Regiment of Infantry, whicli was noted 
for gallantry on the field of battle. 

In 186() and 1868, Mr. Stuart served as delegate 
to the conventions at Philadelphia and New York. 
About that time inflammatory rheumatism, which 
resulted in heart disease, compelled his gradual 
withdrawal from participation in public affairs. 
His hist case in the courts was tried in 1873. In 
spite of the suffering of the last fifteen years of 
his life, he retained full possession of his mental 
faculties. On the evening of May 19, 1887, just 
after he had dictated a business and friendly letter, 
which closed with "Love to all," he passed away 
without a struggle, in the seventy-seventh year of 
his life. 

The loss of this distinguished citizen was pro- 
foundly mourned by the peo|)lc of Kalamazoo, 
and man}' memorial resolutions were passed by the 
organizations with which he was identified. At 
the opening of the Supreme Court, in Lansing, 
June 21, 1887, the Hon. Charles S. May, in behalf 
of the Bar of Kalamazoo County, presented resolu- 



206 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tions, wliicli woi-p arloptcd )i\- tliat bofly, ami aftor- 
ward sjiroad iipon llio .Ifnirnal of the C'oiiit. 
Jnstife SliiTwodd ain) Chief .Tu.stiee CaiiiiilK-ll 
responded, and paid glowing' tributes to the 
life and ciiaraeter of tlie deceased, whose great 
qualities as a jury lawyer, eUxiuence as au advo- 
cate, and profound knowledge of legal priiu-iples, 
drew around him a large circle of ardent admirers. 

A firm believer in tlie fuudameutal truths of 
revealed religion, Mr. Stuart cared little for tlie 
various dogmatic inter|)retations of those truths. 
Ho cherished a deeii I'cverence for real religion, 
and its consLstent exemplilicatifm in life, and was 
never heard to ridicule, in the least, the religio\is 
sentiments of others, however eccentric or crude. 
Those wlio knew him l»it little, deemed him cold, 
but his earlj' comrades knew him affectionately as 
"Charley Stuart," and ever held him in fond 
friendship. 

To speak fittingly of his ilomestic relations 
would necessitate the withdrawal of that veil be- 
hind wdiicli sits the sorrowing wife of his youth 
and their surviving children. But before that 
curtain, with heads bowed in respectful and sor- 
rowful memory, stand his old friends and neigh- 
bors in Kalamazoo, and the people of the State he 
loved and served and honored. 



^+^ 



~S) 



1^" 



^^^^ YLVANITS M. VAN DUSEN, a prominent 
^^^ citizen of Allegan, where he is living in 
lii^_3) ''etirement in an attractive home, has been 
connected with the agricultural interests 
of Allegan County for many years, as the propri 
etor of a choice farm in Watson Township, and he 
has also been activel3' identified with its public 
life as a member of the County Board of Super- 
visors for some years, and in various other 
responsible positions. He was born in the Town- 
ship of Mentz, in the County of Cayuga, N. Y., 
in April, 1815, and is a son of Richard and 
Betsy (Dutcher) Van Dusen, who were natives of 
Dutchess County, N. Y. His father, who was a 
millwright and a farmer of Dutchess County, 
subsequently removed to C^ayuga County, where 
he carried on a good farming business for many 



years. He was descended from one of the old 
Dutch families of New York. The maternal 
grandfather of our subject was Christopher Dutcher, 
of Dutchess County. He was a large land-holder, 
osviiing besides a tlour mill and a mill for cutting 
stone, .and was one of the wealthy men of tliat 
county. The father of oursubject lived in New York 
until IS;").'?, when he came to Michigan, and event- 
ually died in this county, in the township of 
Whaling, at the veneral)le age of seventy-seven 
years. His wife's death had occurred many years 
i)efore, in the year IcSKi. while she w.as yet a 
young woman. He w.as a man of a religious turn 
of niind, and of strong moral character. In pol- 
itics, he was a Whig, and later a IJepublican lo 
the d.ay of his death. He was the father of eight 
children, of whom our subject and his brother 
Silas, of l''psilanti, are the sole survivors. The 
latter, who is eighty-four years old, is living re- 
tired from active business. 

He of whom this is a life-record w.as well edu- 
cated at Le Roy, Genesee County, N. Y., .and 
began his career in life .as a teacher in the same 
district where he had attended school. He after- 
wards served seven years to master the details of 
the tanner and currier's trade at Le Roy. He 
enaaored in that line for some years in that town, 
and then took up his residence in Rochester, 
where he obtained a situation as assistant book- 
keeper in a leather house. In 1837, his employers 
sent him to Michigan to sell boots and shoes and 
woolen goods, .and he went from here to Chicago, 
where he purcli.ascd hides to ship to Rochester. 
Wishing to see more of the West, he left Chicago, 
and, going to Iowa, joined a survej-ing party. 
He was obliged to abandon it, however, as he be- 
came sick, and, returning to the Mississippi River, 
he l)oarded a boat, which conveyed him down that 
stream and up the Ohio to Cincinnati. He found 
employment in that city in splitting leather, and 
remained there at that occupation three years. 
At the end of that time he went out into the 
country, put down vats and built a tannery, and 
put it into running order before he returned to 
Cincinnati, where he worked at his trade five 
years longer. 

Our subject w.as then married to Miss Mary 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



207 



Bryant, and lie and liis bride went to Burlington, 
Iowa, to live. He opened a store in that eity for 
tiie sale of leather goods — l)00t« and shoes — 
whieh he managed three years. Ills next venture 
took him to Madison, lud.. where he was given 
eh.irge of the eurryiiig liepaitinent uf n tannery, 
and he held that position the ensuing eight years. 
Coming then to JNIichigan, ho purchased land in 
Watson Township, and gave his attention to farm- 
ing at that |)oint for some j^ears. lie at length 
retired from business entirely, and has since lieen 
a resident of Allegan, where he has a beautiful 
home, complete in its furnishings anil niipoint- 
ments, and charmingly located on Seminary Hill. 
He still retains his farm, whieh at one time con- 
tained two hundred and forty acres of land, lint 
has been reduced somewhat in size b}' the sale of 
a part of it. It is highly cultivated, and finel}' 
improved with substantial buildings, and a large 
barn, eight}' feet in length. When he was ac- 
tively eng.aged in its management, he had the farm 
well stocked with fine graded cattle, of which he 
made a specialty. 

Our subject's firet wife died, and he was sub.se- 
quently married to ^liss Lydia A., daughter of 
John and Klizabeth (Archer) (Trillin, who were 
natives respectively of England and New York. 
They were married in the Kmpuc State, and iNIr. 
Gritlin carried on farming at C'artright, Delaware 
Count}', until his death. Ilis widow was after- 
wards married to .Tames ^IcClaughry, with whom 
she came to Michigan in IMli."). Tiiev settled in 
Watson Township, where Mrs. McClaughry died 
in 1881. But two of her children are living, Mrs. 
Van Duscn, and her sister, .Mrs. Annie Harder, of 
Delaware County, N. Y. The mother was a de- 
voted Methodist. Mr. Van Dusen has three chil- 
dren living by the lirst wife: Edward S. and Will- 
iam, who are farmers of Watson Township; and 
Knima. who married .Michael Conway, and haslwo 
children, Clarence and Mary IJenc. William mar- 
ried Miss Nellie Bennett, and h.as one son. named 
Richard. 

A man of clear, well-balanced intellect, decided 
in character, of wide experience and exact judg- 
ment in business matters, Mr. \'nn Dusen at once 
took his pl.ace among the leading citizens of the 



county, after he took up his residence here, and 
his counsel and assistance have often been sought 
in the guidance of aflfairs of public importance. 
For a period of five years, from 1860 to 1865, he 
re[)resented Watson Township on the County 
Board of Supervisors. He was at one time School 
Director, and was .active in securing the erection 
of a new schoolhouse, with modern aiijiointments, 
in his district, and his pulilic spirit and liberality 
have been manifested by the material help that he 
lias afforded in the building of churches, in the 
construction of roads, and in his cordial encour- 
agement of all enterprises to stimulate the prog- 
ress of township or county. He is known in po- 
litical and social circles .as a Republican, and is 
likewise an Odd Fellow. 



AMES M. PO'rrS, a resident of Wayland 

Township, Allegan County, is one of the 
prosperous citizens of that township, who 
h.'is acquired an enviable reputation, not 
only for his liusiness qualilications lint for his 
many excellencies of character. He h.as always 
been a busy man and in whatever he has engaged 
has shown energy and enterprise and is well de- 
serving of the success with which he h.as met. 

Mr. Potts was born in Shelby County, Ohio, 
.Iiine 7, 1833. His parents, .Tames II. and Sarah 
(Shepherd) Potts, were natives respectively of 
INIiami County, Ohio, and Kentucky, the former 
dving September .">, 18,52, and the latter, February 
26, 1870, and both being interred in Beulah 
Cemetery in La Grange, Ind. The father was by 
trade a shfiemaker. The parental family consisted 
of nine children, of whom our subject was the 
fourth child and second son. He was able to ob- 
tain only a common-school education .as he was 
obliged at an early age to begin work. 

On the death of his father which occurred when 
our subject w.as nineteen years of age, he took 
charge of the home place which was then in La 
Grange County. Ind., and for seven years assisted 
his mother in her many cares. For some time he 
was engaged in working at the blacksmith's trade 



208 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and also in tlio iewclrv hiisincss, but after tlu' 
Civil AVar broke out lie aliandoned all tliouijlit of 
his own affairs and enlisted in [March, 1864. in 
liattcry A, First Heavy Artillery-, of Indiana, be- 
ing assigned to the Nineteenth Corps in the ])e- 
partment of the Gulf, wliieli at the time was under 
command of Gen. Banks. They took part in 
various engagements and during their service were 
in a number of the Southern States. He was dis- 
chaiged at Baton Rouge, La., in January, 1866. 

I'pon his discharge from the army, Mr. Potts re- 
turnoil to Indiana, Init in IMarch, IHGG, came to 
Michigan, locating in Salem Township, Allegan 
County, where he began farming .and speculating 
in wild lands. He afterward went to Ottawa 
County, where he remained for fourteen years en- 
gaged in lumbering and clearing Laud, also buying 
.and selling wild lands. At the expiration of this 
time, he returned to Allegan County, and has 
since been engaged in buying .and selling produce, 
etc. He also owns a place of fifty-three acres, on 
which he carries on farming to some extent and 
which is under a state of good cultivation. 

Mr. Potts was married October 14, 1858, at Wol- 
cottville, La Grange County, Ind., to Miss .Jemima 
M. Stroman of that iil.aee. They have become the 
parents of six children. Those living are Ida G., 
James V., Dolly and Charles S. Mary died .at the 
age of one month, and Ernest T., when twenty 
years old, the former being buried in Indiana and 
the latter at Elmwood Cemetery in Wayland 
Township. 

Mr. Potts luas been an extensive traveler 
through the United States and h.as learned much 
l.\y observation of the people and customs in vari- 
ous parts of the country. Since early manhood, 
his reading luas been extensive and of a substantial 
order, including the travels .and researches of some 
of the most eminent men of both hemispheres and 
the study of the theories of a number of the 
sciences, especially chemistry, geology, astronomy, 
l^hrenologj' and physiognomy. Many hours 
have been spent in search for knowledge in 
those interesting studies when the world around 
him was wrapped in slumber. These researches, to- 
gether with his extensive' travels throughout the 
ITnited States, close observation and excellent 



judgment, combine to make him a man of wide in- 
formation and breadth of knowledge. He is a 
liberal, both in religion and politics, anil is strictly 
moral and temperate. Socially, he is a member of 
the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Patrons 
of Industry, lie and his family are highly es- 
teemed by the peoiilc of the comiiiui.iily in wliich 
tliev reside. 



'^[[LANSON tanner is a general farmer 
( ©TLII and stock-raiser residing on section 3;j, 

//[ il Dorr Township, Alleg.an County. His fa- 
(^^ ther, James, was a native of Massachusetts, 
where he was reared, and chose farming as his life 
vocation. He w.as married to Miss Anna McConney, 
who was born and received her rearing and educa- 
tion in Connecticut. The paternal grandfather 
came to Ohio from M.assachusetts in 1812, and w.as 
one of the pioneers of Geauga County. 

Our subject received his rudimentary education 
in his native count}'. His father dying when our 
subject was but fifteen years old, and he being 
the oldest of the family of seven children, the sup- 
port of the family devolved upon him. He re- 
mained at home until he was twenty-three years 
old, giving his time to the care of the family. At 
th.at age he went to Illinois, where he located in 
McHenry County, and engaged in farming for one 
year, at the end of which time he came to Michi- 
gan, in the spring of 1856. He spent four years in 
Hopkins Township, and in 1860, came to Dorr 
Township, taking up the place on which he now 
resides. His place consists of sixty-six .acres, and 
he has probably cleared one hundred and sixty 
acres himself. He has splendid improvements on 
his land, and has made of it a fine estate. He has 
also dealt consider.ably in land in the county, buy- 
ing and selling. 

Mr. Tanner w.as married, Januar}' 2, 1854, to 
Laura Burlingame, of Munson Township, Geauga 
County, Ohio. They have had born to them six 
children, five of whom are married: James II.. 
Francis L., Viola I., Harman M., Alice L. and Flor- 
ence, who died when eight years old. iSIr. Tanner 
keeps a small dair_v and also has a number of 





^^zM^^ 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



211 



fine Poland-China liogs, making a specialty of 
this l)iT('(l. Ik' is a stant-h Rt'|iul)liu:iii in poli- 
tics, and was C'unsUiljlc of Hopkins Townsliip, 
wiiik" residing thoie. He Is partieulaily interested 
m the advaneenienl of educational causes, and lie 
and his family are held in high respect in theconi- 
Mumily. 

^?=^KN. KI.IMI A MIX, Sii|Hiiiitendent of the 
If . — , Poor of Allegan Comity. A large and lion- 
^Xiiijl oralile ininiher of men of Allegan County 
have a record of services to tlieir country during the 
Civil War. of which theircountry feels prt)ud and 
wiiich, it is not unlikely, will Ijc held .as tiie choicest 
heritage by their descendanUs. To liave helped to 
carry the (lag thiough tho.se daik days is an honor 
and will ever lie a joy to those who were so happy 
as to lie able to respond to the call of our War Presi- 
dent. The subject of om sketch, and the original 
of tlie portrait on the opposite p.age, is one of these 
men. 

Our subject w.as born in Watertown, l.itchlield 
County, Conn., November 17, 181 H. lie is the son 
of .lames and Lucy (.Steel) .Mix, natives of West 
llartfiird. Conn. The father was a manufacturer 
and merchant in the above-named city, anrl there 
liveil and died. The parental family included ten 
children, three of whom are now living: our sub- 
ject; .lames C, who is residing in New York City, 
being a member of the New York Life Insurance 
Company, with his olHce in Park Row; and M.aj. 
Frank W., residing at Stamford, C<inn. Another 
s<m, Capt. Edward Mix, a member of the Si.xteenth 
Connelient InfantiT, was knocked overboard by a 
boom at Pamlico Sound and di'owned. .lames Jlix. 
the father, w;is a soldier in the War of 1812. 

The grandparents of our subject were Elisha and 
Betsey (Webster) Mix, natives of Hartford. Conn., 
where the grandfather was a large landowner and 
where they spent their last days. He was a Revo- 
lulionarv sohlier. His father, the great-grand- 
falliei- of oiu- subject, .as w.-us also the great-great- 
grandfather, was nametl Elisha.Tlie maternal grand- 
parents of Cen. Mi.^, .Mlyn and.lohanna (Cadwell) 
Steel, natives of West Hartford. Conn., reare<I a 



family of six children. He is able to trace his an- 
cestTv on that side of the house back sever.al gen- 
erations. The father and mother of his grand- 
parents were .Samuel and .Martha Steel; his parents, 
•Johanna and Susannah Webster; his p.-irents, .Samuel 
and Mercy Bradford; his parents .Tohn and Mercy 
Warner, and his parents John, .Sr., and Rachel 
Nichols. The latter came from Es.sex, England, 
and settled in Cambridge, I\Iass., in 10.31. Later, 
with the Rev. Thomas Ib.oki'r. tliey oi'_fani/.<-d the 
Hartford Colony. 

Our subject was given a good education in the 
Hartford, Conn., schools, and after being graduated 
from the grammar department commenced clerk- 
ing in a wholesale grocery store. Later he learned 
the trades but did not folhiw them. He then went 
to New Y'ork Cit}-, where he embai-ked on a vessel 
.sailing between New York and I.iverpofil. Then 
going to Tampa lJa3-, Fla., he sailed up the 
Suawnee River to Ft. Fannin. Then abandoning 
the sea, he went into the Quartermaster's Dcjiarl- 
ment for one and one-half years. At the end of 
that time, returning to Connecticut, he engaged in 
making fine tools used in the manufacture of clocks, 
in the factory of Eli Terry it Co. He w.is thus en- 
gaged for two .veal's, then took a like position in 
the .Jerome Manufactory at New Haven, remaining 
with that company for eight year.'. Our subject 
with others then formed the New Haven Clock Co.. 
successors to the .Jerome ^NlanufacturingCfimpany, 
and are still engaged in m.aking clocks. Mr. ^lix 
disposed of his interest in the business in 18,52, hut 
while a member of the comiiany formed one of the 
Executive Hoard. 

While a resident of New Haven. Ocn. Jlix studied 
civil engineering an<l when he cami? to Allegan 
County, in 18.52, waselected County Surveyor. He 
erected the ft.rst sawmill in ManliusTownsliip,which 
he o|ierated for several years. He chartered other 
mills to assist in getting out the lumber, at the 
same time being engaged in surveying. He also 
owned a farm in Manlius Township which he 
operated until the outbreak of the Civil War. He 
then gave his attention to drilling companies foi- 
the service, having an order from (lov. HIair to 
rai,se a company for the l-jghth Michigan Cavalry. 
He was coniniissioned Captain of hisc<im|iany Nov- 



212 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ember 1, 1862 and Man!h 2, following, was pro- 
moted to be Major. April 16, 1864, he was made 
Lieutenant-Colonel, and in September, 1864, 
Colonel. He w.as taken prisoner in August, 1864, 
but was exchanged on the 27th of the following 
month and mustered out of the service in September, 
1865. 

Prior to receiving his discharge, our subject was 
commissioned Brevet Brigadier-General of the 
United States, which honor was conferred upon him 
in recognition of his long and meritorious service. 
In 1863-64 he was made Superintendent of Mili- 
tary Roads, with headquarters at Big Hill, Kj-. The 
roads over which he had supervision extended from 
Big Hill to Cumberland Gap and from Big Hill, 
Ky., to Somerset, Ky., via Crab Orchard. Gen. 
Mix when in the army was a prisoner of war at 
Macon, Ga., and Charleston, S. C, and while on the 
Stoneman raid his hat was shot through by a minie 
ball, which shock has affected his head more or less 
since that time. He received a wound while on 
the Chattahoochie River, in Georgia, which has 
seriously affected his health. Gen. Mix partici- 
pated m fifty-two battles during the late war and 
well deserves all the honors which are paid him. 

On returning from army life. Gen. Mix again 
located in Allegan and engaged in the hardware 
business for two years. He was then employed by 
the State in making surveys and later went to 
Wyandotte, Mich., where he established the Agri- 
cultural and Stove Works, remaining there for 
eighteen months. Returning to Allegan, our sub- 
ject built the car works of this place and Subse- 
quently went to Connecticut, where he followed 
his trade for live years. lie later went to Bridge- 
port,whe7e he built the factory for the Bridgeport 
Lock Company, and where he continued to reside 
for four years. In 1879 Gen. Mix went to Clarion 
County, Pa. where he was instrumental in the up- 
building of the village of Arthur and where be 
carried on an extensive lumber trade. At Swiss 
Mount, Elk County, Pa., he had in his employ 
three hundred men, being engaged in the lumber 
business. In 1884 he returned to Allegan County 
and has been a resident here since that date. 

Gen. Mix and Miss Amelia Edmunds were united 
in marriage in 1843. Mrs. Mix was a native of 



England but was residing in Bristol, Conn., at the 
time of her marriage. They have been granted a 
family- of two children: Rosena, who married Har- 
rold AYeeks and who has one daughter, Alice M.; 
Elisha, who married FannieAVilliams and has be- 
come the father of five children: Lora A., Mo^ey, 
Ralph, .James and Frank R . CZVc>-v^\a.cc- t-\v6\-vcv 

Our subject is a Republican in politics, a Mason 
and Odd Fellow and a member of the Grand Army 
of the Repulilic, and in church matters is 
connected with the Congregational Church of New 
Britton, Conn. Gen. Mix was instrumental in hav- 
ing the State road constructed from Allegan to 
Traverse City, in 1857, a distance of one hundred 
and eighty-five miles. It was one hundred and 
eight miles from any house and during that time 
his force mutinied on hun twice, their food giving 
out and they feeling the gna wings of hunger. But 
Gen. Mix pacified them and thus the work went on 
smoothly. He is one of the prominent men in Al- 
legan County and we are pleased to be able to 
present his sketch to our readers. 




AVID O. EVEREST. This gentleman is 
at the head of the firm of D. O. Everest iV 
Co., of Pine Grove Mills, Pine Grove 

Township, Van Burcn County, engaged in 
manufactiuing wood mouldings, windmills, har- 
rows and all kinds of agricultural implements. ISIr. 
Everest was born, March 22, 1825, in Montgomery 
C'oimty, N. Y. Ills father, David C. Everest, and 
his mother, Jane (Frey) Everest, were natives of 
New York, who resided in their native State un- 
til 1856, when they came to Pine Grove Township 
and spent the remainder of their days. The father 
was a lumberman and operated a sawmill iu 
his native State. The}' were the parents of six 
children, four of whom are living. One son, Alfred 
C, was a soldier in the Civil War and served under 
Grant in the Arm3' of the Potomac. 

Our subject received a common-school education 
in his youlli and learned the millwright and car- 
jieutcr's trade. He bugaii fur himself when six 
teen years of age, and was master workmau before 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



■213 



he was twentj'-one. He bad men under liini wlio 
liail li:i(l tbirty years' experience. 

Mr. Everest w:is married, AiigU!<l l.j. l><.il,t<> Ke- 
liaiiee Ann Stroiiii, a native of Onondaga County, 
N. v., Iiorn in \s->'.K By this union they have l)e- 
eoiiie the parents of .six eliildren, live surviving: 
Erank, who married Nettie Dyer, lives in Almena 
with his livi' children; Jane, the wife of Eranli 
I'lant.s, resides ln-re and is the mother of six cliil- 
dicMi; Emma married (iad (iilbert and lias three 
childriii; .lohn married (iertie Clark and they have 
two i-hildren; .Vddie. now the wife of Ered Stark, 
lives in Nebraska and they have two children. 
Our sulijeet came to Michigan in lAIay, 1852, and 
sciili'd at old Pine Grove. He reluiilt a .sawmill 
there and operated it till 1863, when it was de- 
.--irovfd liy lire, lie then liuilt another one on 
Ihandywine Lake and ran it until 1871. This 
was also swept away l)y lire with millions of feet 
of lumber. The yt)ung man was not to be (lis- 
eouragcil antl he set about to ereel a mill at 
Pine OroveMills, it being the onein which he does 
his man ut'.'Ktu ring at the present lime. The firm 
at lirst worked under the title of Everest A- Wise, 
but is now Everest it Co. "The Advance" spring 
tooth harrow and also the spring tooth corn culli- 
vatorare among their farming im|)iements and are 
the best made. The best material is used, and their 
goods are fully guaranteed. They have patronsall j 
over the country and are made known l)y their 
advertising and the tasty ciri-ulars which they send 
from place to place. When Mr. Everest lirst came 
here, this vicinity w.v-i all in woods and the best 
house was a shingle shanty. He is the pi(,>neer 
miller of this place, lie ha> seen the country pro>- 
per and lloniish and has taken a very active pail 
in its upbuilding. He has given some attention 
1^1 farming and now has between three huiidicd 
and four hundred acres of land, mostly cleared. 

Our subject has taken an active interest in poli- 
ties and for many years cast his vote with the IJe- 
|)ublie.nn parly, but is now entirely independent, 
preferring the man to the i)arty. He has served 
his towiishp as Treasurer, Supervisor and .Justice 1 
of the I'eaee. lie was Treasurer, .lustice of the Peace. 
Highway Conniiissioner and School Insiiector all 
at once. At the ru>l township meeting there weie 



but thirteen voters and they were mostly bis own 

mill hands. ( )ur subject helped to establish the 
station of Pine (Wove Mills, and built the station 
free of cost to the railroad company and also took 
fil,iU)() in slock. Socially, Mr. Everest is a member 
of the Masonic order and has been iSIaster of the 
local lodge, and was an Odd Eellow in New York 
State. Mrs. Everest is a consistent and valued 
member of the IJaiitisl Church; her husband is an 
attendant and sui)i)orter of the .same church. 



«^ 




HIEUS P. CII.VDDOCK is a resident of 
South Haven, where he has a comfortable 
lii home. He owns a farm near the village 
1^^ and devotes a great deal of his lime and 

attention to the lireeding of horses, which he finds 
to be a very profitable busine.s.s. His birth occurred 
Aiiril t), 1838, in Clarence, Erie County, N. Y., and 
is the son of William and Enialine (Parkhurst) 
Chaddock. There were five sons and three daugh- 
ters included in the parental family, all of whom 
were born in Erie County, N. Y. Nancy became 
the wife of Hudson Cleveland and died in Roches- 
ter, N. Y., leaving one child; William graduated 
with the degree of Doctor of .Medicine from the 
.Michigan I'niversily and died at Pewamo. this 
.State; Daniel E. is a farmer in \'aii 15uren County; 
Rachel married John Baker and died in Barry 
County, in 18',>1; .\ustin was a speculator in oil 
and died at Lockport, N. Y.; Charles is a farmer in 
Charlevoix County, Mich.; Emcline is the wife of 
William Titus and makes her home in Millerslown, 
Pa. The p.'ireiit-- died at Eockport, N. Y. 

The gentleiiiaii who.se name heads this sketch at- 
tended the district schools ••iiid learned the trade 
of .M e.-u peiiler. In 1 .•s(i7 he removed to Charlevoix 
County, Mich., and for a lime continued to wtirk 
at his trade. When reaching his thirty-fifth year 
he eoiicluded that manual labor was a slow and 
hard road to wealth. He thus gave up carpi'iiter- 
ing and built an hotel at East .lordan, Mich., which 
be eonlinued to eoiidiict as "mine host" until 1883, 
when he sold out and came to South Haven. Here 
he puiehasi'il a eomfortalile home in the village 
and invested in a lariii mar b\ . Ili> land i-~ well 



214 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



cultivated and stocked with a fine grade of horses. 

AruliusP. Chaddock was married, July 4, 1857, 
to Sarah, daughter of Amos and Betsey (Roberts) 
Davis. Mrs. Chaddock was born in Hamilton, 
Canada, May 14, 1842. Her parents resided in 
Niagara County, N. Y., with the exception of the 
time when Mrs. Chaddock was born when they 
were living temporarily in Canada. Our subject 
and his wife have a family of tliree children : Adel- 
phia, who was born September 13, 1858, is the wife 
of R. H. Craig, and has one child — Essie; Betsey 
died ,at theage of five years in New York, and Rule, 
who was born November 30, 1867, married Stella 
Lewis and is thefatherof two children: Raltie and 
Daisy. 

The original of this slvetch has been the architect 
of his own fortune and is now living in comfort- 
able circumstances respected by all who know him. 
In politics, he is a stanch Republican. 



> » ' ' I 



? I I I I Ml 



LDOROS S. SHEPARU, Postmaster at Mc- 
Donald, and a prominent merchant of the 
tj village, is classed among the ambitious. 



wide-awake j'oung men of this section,, whose 
energy and business talent have given a new im- 
petus to the varied interests of the county of Van- 
Buren. Besides attending to the business of his 
office and his store, Mr. Shepard is actively and 
profitalily eng.aged in market gardening. 

Our subject was born in the city of Rochester, 
N. Y., in 1854, the eldest in the family of three 
children of Mai-tin W. and Anna (Griffin) Shepard, 
who were also natives of Rochester. Our subject's 
grandfather. Series Shejiard, was probably born in 
England, as were also the grandparents on the 
mother's side. Our sulijecl was brought to Micli- 
igan when a chihl, and was reared on a farm near 
Kalamazoo, lie remained there until 1864, and 
then went to South Haven to live. He resided 
there but a short time before he located in the 
village of Bangor, where he remained until 1877. 
In the spring of 1884, he opened his store at Mc- 
Donald, and has been engaged here as a merchant 
ever since. lie has met with marko<l success, 
building up an extensive trade, not only with the 



residents of the village but numbering many of the 
people in the outlying country among his steady 
customers. His establishment is orderlj' and well 
appointed, and he carries a fine class of goods. 
He has succeeded because he pays close attention 
to his business, which is conducted systematically 
and on a paying b.asis, and he is invariably prompt 
and courteous in his dealings with all. Having 
been reared principally on a farm, he has a natural 
taste for agricultural pursuits, especially for horti- 
culture, and does quite a business in that line of 
farming. Mr. Shepard is a devoted adherent of 
the Republican party, although he is iiy no means 
an offensive partisan, as is shown by his popularity 
as Postmaster, to which office he was appointed in 
1886. 

Our subject w.as united in marriage to Miss 
Addie M. Brown, in November, 1887, and they 
have established one of the pleasantest homes in 
the village of McDonald. Their family circle is 
completed by the three children born unto them, 
whom tliey have named Floyd, Lewis and Gilbert. 
Mrs. Shepard is a native of this part of Michigan, 
and is a representative of one of its oldest pioneer 
families. Her father, John D. Brown, is s.aid to 
have been the first white child born in Van Buren 
Countv, his parents having been among its very 
first settlers. 






■^ i:SSE A. SHERROD. Among the gentlemen 
prominent in business circles in Bangor, 
there is perhaps no one more worthy of 
,^/y mention than the gentleman whose name 
initiates this paragrai)h, who has been identified 
with every wt)rthy enterprise of the city since be- 
coming a citizen of the place. 

Our subject was born in P>ie County, Pa., Oc- 
tober 5, 1837, and is one of nine children of his 
father's family. He grew to mature years in his 
native place, and received a fair education in the 
common schools, being also taught the principles 
of fanning, which he carried on while in Penns^l- 
vani.a. Thinking to better lus financial condi- 
tion, he decided to come to ^ an Buren County, 
which he did in the winter of 1863, and engaged 








Ucri^-iy^L^ 



''}f;7fhi^uiJ^^^^^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



217 



in tilling the soil until 1880, at which time 
he went into the undertaking buisiness, and is 
to-day carryinif it on. Eight years previous, in 
1871, lu' sold his farm and uniliarkod in the gen- 
eral meix'handise business, and to-day enjoys a 
hlieral patronage from his many friends and ao- 
(|uaiiitaiices. 

'I'lu' parents of Mr. fSherrod were Daniel iiiid 
llaiinaU (Cole) Sherrod, both natives of the 
Enipiri' State. The father was born in 1800, 
and was a son of Daniel Sherrod, who was a |)arli- 
eipant in the War of 1812. The mother was horn 
in New York, and died In 1881. The father 
passed away in 188S. Tlie raiiiily are descended 
from good old (Jorman stock, their native thrift 
and intelligence being lianded down through many 
generations. 

Tliis gentleman was happily united in marriage 
with Miss Rosalie IMorris. daughter of E. S. Morris, 
of Crawford County, Pa. The ceremony was sol- 
emnized April 2, 1862, at the home of tlie bride. 
They have become the parent-s of two children: 
A son, Burtis M., wlio was born March 28, 1865, 
and to whom they are giving the best educational 
advantages and training within tlieir power. The 
daughter, Ella Adell, died wlien nine years of age. 
The family is one highly respected in the eom- 
niunity, and are members of the Disciples Church, 
in which they are valued members. Mr. Sherrod, 
socially, is a member of the Independent Order of 
Odil Fellows, and politically is a I'rohibitionist. 



.>^ 



iKlDliE WllJ,i.\.M n. WII.I.IA.MS. The 
gentleman whose portrait atcomp.'inies this 
personal .skelch Is foUowin«f his lu'ofejssion 

in .Vllegan, where he is one of the honored 

anrl highly esteemed citizens. lie was born in 
I'itUsford, Monroe County, N. V.. .Inly 28,1826. 
His parents. Erastus and Elizabeth (I.umlev) Will- 
iams, were natives of Stockbridge, .Mass., and Wales, 
respectively. 

Erastus Williams followecl the occu[iation of a 
farmer flurlng his residence In .Monroe Countv, 
lirior t«j whlcli he had Ijcen a manuftkcturer of 



woolen goods in Berkshire County, Mass. He spent 
his later years in Monroe Count}-, where he died 
in 187.'!. He w.as an old-line Whig and a Deacon 
In the I'resb^'terian Church nearl_v all his life. The 
mother of our subject died in 1827. The grand- 
parents of Judge Williams were Asa and Lueretia 
(Parks) Williams, natives of Connecticut, who re- 
moved to Massachusetts and carried on farming in 
Stockbridge Township, Berkshire County, where 
the}' settled in 1775 and resided until their death. 
They had five children. 

The parents of our subject h.ad a family of four 
sons, three now living: Edwin, a retired farmer 
of Calhoun County, Mich.; Asa, a conductor on the 
Chicago & West Michigan Railroad, and William H. 
Cyrus M. is deceased, .ludge Williams was edu- 
cated in the district school and in the Pittsford 
High School. He studied law at Rochester, X. Y., 
at Ballslon Si)a, and in the State and National haw 
School. He was admitted to the Bar in 1851 and 
commenced the practice of law in Rochester, where 
he remained until 185:5. He then went to Pitts- 
ford, where he ])r.actlced until January', 1855, be- 
ing engaged in settling his father's estate. At 
that time he came to this city, there being but one 
firm of attorneys in (he place. In 1856, he was 
elected Judge of the Probate Court and was re- 
elected in 18()0, holding the ollice for eight years. 

When the first shot was fired at Et. Sumter, 
which was the opening gini of the War of the Re- 
bellion, Judge AVilllams, with others, began to or- 
ganize and raise troops, going around the country 
making speeches and using every means in their 
power to aid the cause of the I'nion. He not only 
nave his advice and counsel, but illustrated his 
patriotism by his example, enlisting on the Ith of 
.\ugust, 1862, In the Nineteenth Michigan Infan- 
try and being elected First lieutenant of his com- 
p.-iny. Soon afterward he raised a comi)any of his 
own, which became Company I, Filth Michigan 
Cavalry, and reiwrted at Detroit, with himself as 
Captain. They soon made their w.av to the front, 
where he took an active part until April, 1863. 
lie then returned home on a furlough of fifteen 
days, at the ex|iiratlon of which lime he returned 
to his command. an<l hilcr. In June, on account of 
sickness resigned. His company had been very 



218 



POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fortunate during their term of service, only one of 
lliein having died from disease. Several were 
martyrs to the terrible prison pens at Anderson- 
ville and Columbia, thirteen dying in those places. 
After his first return from the army, Judge Will- 
iams had authority from Gov. Blair to raise the 
Twenty-eighth Michigan Infantry', but owing to 
his illness he was not able to go to the field with 
them. He held the oHlce of Judge of Probate for 
two terms, after which he declined a re-election. 

In 1864, Judge AVilliams was appointed a mem- 
ber of the Visiting Board for the Michigan Uni- 
versity, holding the oHicc two terms, of two years 
each. In 1866, he was elected State Senator and in 
1868 re-elected, and was President, pro tem, of the 
Senate, and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. 
He declined a renominatioii to the Senate and was 
elected to the Constitutional Convention which 
met at Lansing, in 1867. In 1868, he was a mem- 
ber of the Republican National Convention at 
Chicago which nominated Gen. Grant for the 
Presidency. In 1871, he was api)ointed Attorney 
for the Chicago & Canada Southern Railroad. In 
1872, he was appointed by Gov. Baldwin a mem- 
ber of the State Board of Charities, in connection 
with Judge C. I. Walker, of Detroit, and the Hon. 
Henry W. Lord, of Ponti.ac. C. M. Croswell, who 
later was Governor of IMichigan, was Secretary of 
the Board. Judge Williams held this position un- 
til liis election to CVmgress, in 1873, to fill a va- 
cancy caused by tlie death of the Hon. Wilder D. 
Foster. He was re-elected to that honorable posi- 
tion in 1874, but declined to become a candidate 
in 1876. On retiring from Congress, March 4, 
1877, Judge Williams was appointed by Gov. Cros- 
well Railroad Commissioner of Michigan, holding 
that position three terms, when he requested to be 
relieved by Gov. Begole, the newly-elected Demo- 
cratic (Governor, his resignation taking effect Jan- 
uary 16, 1883. Since the latter date he has been 
a citizen of Allegan and has been very influential 
in its improvement. In addition to his law prac- 
tice, he h,HS been largely interested in real estate 
in this count}'. 

Judge Williams was married, in September, 
18.t3, Ic) Miss iMarietta Osborn,of Rochester, N. Y., 
a daughter of Daniel and Selura (Hawks) Osborn. 



Of this union five children have been born: Marion 
L., now Mrs. F. R. Rudd, of this city; William B., 
a resident of Deadwood, S. Dak.; VAla., the wife of 
T. S. Updyke, of Grand Rapids; Theodore O., 
County Surveyor of Allegan Count\', and F'rank 
IL, an attorney-at-law, who is associated with liis 
father in business. 

In politics. Judge Williams is a lliorougli Repub- 
lican, is deeply interested in all political issues of 
the day, and ranks among the influential members 
of his party in the Stale. He is a member of the 
Grand Army of the Republic. With Ins family, 
he is a devoted member of the Episcopal Church, 
and has been a member of the Vestry since the 
organization of the church, in 18,58, being the only 
one who has held that position continuously. He 
is one of the Trustees of the Akeley Institute at 
Grand Haven, a church school for girls, and con- 
tributes of his means toward benevolent measures. 



j-J"5"{>*4 



^.•{•♦•{••l*t. 



I-J-****^!^ -i-^-J-S-f 




LBERT P. THOMAS, who is the leading 
lawyer in South Haven, located in that 
town in May, 188.5. He was horn in Lock- 
port, N. Y., April 20, 1837, and is a son of 
Ziniri D. and Mary (Sanderson) Thomas. Zinui 
D. Thom.as w.as a native of Mass.achusetts, born in 
1809. When quite young, he came with his father 
to AVestern New York, locating near Lockport, on 
the Holland Purchase. When he grew up, he took 
a contr.act for enlarging the F>rie Canal. 1 a IH 14. 
he removed to Buffalo and carried on a hotel in that 
city and later at Hamburg, where he r.an a line of 
stages and also was Postmaster. He came to Mich- 
igan in 1853 and settled in Allen Townshii), Hills- 
dale County, on a farm which he operated until 
1865, when he Amoved to the city of Hillsdale 
where he has since resided. He is acting as Justice 
of the Peace, and has a large liusincss. He has 
held this office continuously for the p.ist twenty- 
eight years. He is an active Republican and held 
the office of Supervisor of Allen Township, Hins- 
dale County, and also represented his district in 
the Legislature, his election taking |)lace in 1H()4. 
He is a Knight Templar, having been a prominent 
member of the Masonic fraternity' for man}' years. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPinCAL RECORD. 



219 



The motber of our subject was born in New York 
State !iml (lied in 1877, at Hillsdale, llcr liiilli 
took plaoc .about ISll. .Slio was tlic iiKitlicr of live 
eliiiib'eii. who all attained their inajoritv, namely: 
William W., a farnuT in Reading Townshi|), Mills- 
dale CV)unty; Adeline, who maiiie(l Kmmet Will- 
iams and died in IIambur<T. leaving two eiiildien: 
Arvid S.. a farmer of Allen Townshiii; Albert P, 
and Carrie, wife of Frank llamlin, also residing in 
Allen Township. 

The .subject of this sketch, while in his native 
State, attended the common schools, and after 
coming to Michigan cntcicd the college at Hills- 
dale upon it* opening, alternately attending school 
and teaching. In 1861, while still at college, he 
enlisted, but was not accepted. In 18G2. he again 
enlisted, this time lieing more successful, and in 
Octoljer of that year was mustered into service as 
Lieutenant of Company C, First Michigan .Sharp- 
shooters. The company went into camp at Kala- 
mazoo, where, m the spring of 18()3, tliey were 
sent to Ft. Dearborn, Detroit. They look part in the 
chase after Morgan, the famous raider, afterward 
retuiiiing to Ft. Dearborn, and then came to Camp 
Douglas, Chicago, where they^were empk)yed in 
guarding prisoners until March, 18(11. They were 
then sent to Annapolis, Md., and joined the Ninth 
Army Corps under command of (ien. IJurnsidi', 
afterward going to Warrington Junction, \'a., where 
they joined the Army of the Potom.ac and partici- 
pated in the battle of the Wilderness. At Si)otl- 
.sy Ivania Courthouse, our subject received a gunshot 
wound which disalilcd him from service until Feb- 
ruary-, 18(j.'). He then went to Chicago, where he was 
made Lieutenant of Comi)any D, One Hundred and 
Forty-.sevcnth Illinois Infantry, being sent to Xa.sli- 
ville, Tenn., where his regiment liecamc a part of 
the second separate division of the Arnn' of the 
Cumlx'rland. ^\'hile in Nashville, Mr. Thomas was 
detailed as .\idi'-dt'-Camp on the staff of (u'U. H. M. 
.luilah. which position lie held until the (leneral 
was relieved at Mariett,a, (ia., in .August, 186.5, 
our subject having been promoted in the meantime 
to llie rank of Acting .VdJMtant-(ieneral. 

When (Jen. .ludah was relieved, (ien. .lolin I). 
Sle[ilieuson a.ssiimi'd conunand .and our subject re- 
mained Acting Adjutant-General. After the he.ail- 



quarters were changed to Atlanta, Mr. Thomas 
repi)ite(l to (ien. l$rannen,at .Savannah, Ga.,wliere, 
in December, 186.5, he was detailed as .ludge Advo- 
cate of the (leneral Court-IVIartial, and acted in 
that capacity \intil .laniuuy II, 1866, when he wa.s 
discharged from the service under a general order. 
He returned to Hillsdale and resumed his legal 
studies, and in the fall of 1866 entered the Law 
De|)artment of the Cniversity of Michigan, from 
which he was graduated in 1867. He located at 
Hillsdale, where he remained until the spring of 
1872, when he went to Howard City, M(ratcalm 
County, and in the fall of that year was elected 
Prosecuting Attorney for the county, serving in 
that position for four years. In May, 1885, he re- 
moved to South Haven. 

IMr. Thom.as was married, July 2, 1868, at Hills- 
dale, to Louise S. Beckhardt, daughter of David 
and Adeline Beckhardt. She was born in Buffalo, 
N. Y., in 1848. They are the parents of one 
daughter, Helen. In politics, Mr. Thomas is a Re- 
publian, and is ^'ice•president of the Enterprise 
Club. He became a member of the Knights Tem- 
plar, January 7, 1876, being knighted in the De 
Molai Comniandery, No. 5, Grand Rapids. Mr. 
Thomas relates many interesting incidents of his 
war experience, and among others tells how he was 
given an oriler for the capture of Jeff Davis, which 
was canic<l from ( ien. .Sleadnian to (ien. Wilson 
at Macon, going alone under a Hag of truce from 
Altoon.'i. lie reported to ( ien. Wilson, and the 
next day .letT Davis was captured, and our subject 
returned on the same train to .\tlanla. 



:-^+^i 



~S) 



()EL I). MONROE, who is engaged in busi- 
ness at Paw Paw as a pension, real-estate 
and collection agent, is a prominent and 
well-known ligure in political, (iiand Army 
and social circles in \'an P.nren County and else- 
where. He is a line representative of the native- 
Ikm'u citizens of the United StJites, who so nobly 
anil p.'itriolieally s.ai'rificed the opening years of 
their manhood in battling for the I'nioii during 
the Civil War. Our subject w.as scarcely more than 
a boy whuu he volunteered his services to defend 



220 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the Stars aud Stripes, liut early in the conflict he 
won a high reputation for coolness and untlinching 
courage, for promptness and fidelitj' in the dis- 
charge of his duties, and for other genuine sol- 
dierly qualities that gained liima military record 
of which he and his may well be proud. 

Sir. Monroe was born in the town of Semprouius, 
Cayuga County, N. Y., May 22, 1843, a son of Joel 
and Eliza (Atwood) Monroe. His father, a native 
of Scotland, was born September 8, 1806. He was 
an infant in arms when his father, Joel Monroe, 
Sr., settled in New Hampshire. When he was ten 
years of age, his father removed to Shrewsbuiy, 
Mass., whence he went to Cayuga County, N. Y., to 
live when Joel, Jr., was eighteen years old. It was 
there, in the town of Jloravia, that the 3'ounger 
Monroe met and married Eliza Atwood. She was 
a native of New Bedford, Mass., born May 22, 
1808, and had gone from her birthplace with her 
parents tf) New York. The parents of our subject 
spent tlieir early married life in Cayuga County, 
but when he was ten years old they took up their 
lesidencc in Huron County, Ohio, where the father 
carried on farming for many years. After the war, 
their son, of whom we write, persuaded them to 
remove to a farm which he had bought in Porter 
Township, this county. This was not the father's 
first experience of life in Michigan. He had form- 
erly lived in this State in Territorial days as a pio- 
neer settler in Oakland County, entering land near 
Pontiac, from the Government. He located there, 
and for some four years was engaged at his trade 
as a shoemaker. He then returned to New York 
and remained there until his removal to Ohio, in 
1H53. The father closed his eyes in death, in 1879, 
1)11 the farm in Porter Township. 

Our subject 'was reared on a farm in Ohio, and 
was eari^' set to work at various kinds of agricul- 
tural labor to tlic neglect of his education. lie 
was a thoughtful, studious lad, and in time made ui) 
for his lack of schooling. At the age of fourteen, | 
he began to perfect himself in penmanship, having 
a natural talent in that direction, and by studying | 
a Speucerian Compendium carefully, and practicing 
at every opportunity, he became so accomplished 
in the art that he was perfectl\' competent to teach 
it, and at the ago of seventeen commenced to con- ] 



duct night schools in country schoolhouses for the 
purpose of imparting instruction in penmanship. 
He soon acquired local fame in that line, and suc- 
ceeded financially beyond his highest expectations. 
He was at that time learning the trade of a carpen- 
ter in the summer, and he took lessons in symmet- 
rical drawing and architecture. By teaching pen- 
manship, he obtained money to ))uy a scholarshi[) 
in the commercial course at Oberlin College, l)ut 
did not attend, as the war broke out. 

At the opening of the rebellion, our sul>ject 
threw aside pen and books and eagerly volunteered 
for the three-months' service, enlisting May 17, 
1861, at which time he lacked five days of being 
eighteen years old. The (juota being already (ilied, 
much to his disappointment he was obliged t<i 
wait awhile before joining the army, but he re- 
enlisted, in July, for the three-years' term, being 
assigned to Company I, Fifty-lifth (Jhio Infantry, 
which formed a part of the Armj- of the Potomac. 
He fought gallantly with his regiment in man\ 
skirmishes with the enemy, and in the battles of 
Cliancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Fairfax Court 
House and Gettysburg. The connection of his 
regiment with the Army of the Potomac was sev- 
ered at Gettysburg by the consolidation of the 
Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, which became the 
Twentieth Corps, and he and his comrades were 
sent to tlie assistance of Kosecrans at Chattanooga. 
Here the brave boys saw more hard fighting, 
and our subject bore a gallant part in it all until 
after the battle of Lookout Mountain, when he 
was placed on detached service as clerk at head- 
quarters of transportation at Nashville, a post for 
which he was eminently fitted, and he retained it 
until the expiration of his term of enlistment. 

When he was discharged, Mr. Monroe returned 
to Ohio, and after staying at home a few days he 
[iroceeded to New York with some friends, and 
thence went to the front to visit the One Hundred 
aud Eleventh New York Infantry. The martial 
spirit was still strong within him, notwithstanding 
his previous long and trying experience of the 
hardships of war, and he re-enlisted as a member 
of that regiment, in Comi)any C. June I, 1861, 
and from that lime was present at every encounter 
with the euemv until December 9, when he was 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



221 



(lis:iliU'<l ;it IFatdiio's Run by a fiaclmc of liisskull. 
(•.'iiiscil li\ ii |)(ii'li(iii of a troi'.lliat liail liccii hit l>\ 
a shell, falling on liini. Ho was in a liospital for 
lifU'Oii (lays, Imt could no loiiijor staiiil llic ro- 
sti'iiinls of lios|jilal life, ami stole away witlioiit 
wariiiiiu' or leave, to join his regiment. The brave 
fellow was warmly received by his Cajitaiii and 
Colonel, who fnlly a[>pi-eciated his valiu' as a sol- 
dier and were glad 1<^ have him back again. lie 
was present at liie surrender of Lee, at Appomattox, 
and after taking part in the (Irand Review of all 
the troops at Wasliington.he was discliarged,,Iune 
■1, l.S(i.">. 

I'pon leaving the army for the last time, our 
frienil returned to New York to linish his inter- 
rupted visit of the ycJir before, lie then returned 
to his Ohio home, and subsequent!}- took a three- 
months' triji through Kansas, Neliraska, Colorado 
and other parts of the AVcst. He found no place 
in which liecared tolocite permanently, and retrac- 
ing his steps K.astward, he came to ^Michigan, and 
pureh.osed one hundred and twenty acres of land in 
Porter Township, Van Buren County, upon which 
he persuaded his parents to settle, as we have be- 
fore mentioned. That w.as in the fall of l.sGa.and 
for some time our subject gave his attention to 
fanning. Two years later, he removed to Lawton. 
where he followed his trade as a carpenter, and 
had charge of a planing mill. He lived there until 
1K7."), having sold his farm, and then went to re- 
side with his father in order to oversee the farm, 
as his father was in poor liealtli. He continued to 
follow carpenter work, however, and lived there 
and in that neighborhood until the fall of 1883. 
After his father's death, in 187;>, he bought forty 
acres of land near Lawton, and made his home 
upon that until 1887, when, having been elected 
Registrar of Deeds, he took up his residence at 
Paw Paw. He w.as re-elected to that ollice in I88!t, 
and served four yeai-s in all. AVhile living in 
Porter Township, he was .Tustice of the Peace four 
years. 

-Mr. Monroe is a member of the Republican party, 
of which he has been a loyal .idherent from the 
days when he was lighting to sustain its principles 
on Southern battlelields. His first Presidential 
vote was east in 18fi8, in favor of Gen, Grant, and 



many limes he has been a delegate to county eon- 
vi'utions, as well .-is to two congression.nl. three 
State and a like number of legislative conventions. 
He is also conspicuous as a (Irand Arm\- man and 
prominent in the conclaves of that organization, 
lie has been .Adjutant of 1,. C. Woodman Post. 
No. r.n;, (;. .\. \l.. Department of Michigan, he 
having been the prime iiio\'er in obtaining the or- 
ganization of that post, lie has also been ( )llicer of 
the day one term, Comiiiander two terms and Act- 
ing Commander one term, lie has been jiresent at 
three National reunions held at Columbus, Milwau- 
kee and Detroit, res|iectively. Mi'. Monroe is also 
one of till- most active members of the M.isonic 
fraternity in this part of the country, belonging 
to Lawton Lodge, No. 21('i. He held the position 
of Senior De.acon for four years, that of .lunior 
Deacon one year, and he is a charter member of 
said lodge. 

The marriage of our subject with Miss Lliza A. 
Munger w'as celebrated December 17, 1HG7. Mi's. 
.Alonroc is a native of this county, born in Porter 
Township, May Hi, 1K4 1, a daughter of one of the 
pioneer families. Her i)arents, Luke and Lucrelia 
( Reed) JIunger, were natives of New York Slate 
and Ohio, respectively, anil early settlers i)f Nan 
Huren County, coming to Michigan in Territorial 
days. Mr. and .Mrs. Monroe are the parents of the 
following children: Stella A., who married .lohn 
Lytle, a farmer of Porter Township, is the mother 
of one child; Mark P., who is learning the art of 
lirinting; Carl, Celia, Viola, Leon and Pearl. 



iS^ZRA S. riMl.\.M. allliuiigh n-idiiig on his 
Ira iile.isant farm (ni .section 1 7. Porter Town- 
li' — ^ ship. Van r.uren County, is retired from 
the active duties of life. He w.-is born April li», 
1821. in \'ermont, anil is the son of Joshua C.,.anil 
Sallie (Willar<l) Ipham, natives of Massacliusetts, 
but who accompanied their respective parents to 
\'ermont in theiryonth. The father was a clothier, 
ami his father, .lames rphani, died on a farm in 
Montgomery, Vt,, aged si.xty-eight years. He had 
been a merchant in e.irly life. The maternal grand- 



222 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fatliiT of (iui- siilijeot. Kli Willarrl, was a farmer, 
aiul flieil wiici) about seventy j'ears of age. The 
fainil3' on both sides of the house are of old New 
England stock. 

The parents of our subject came West to Lorain 
County, Ohio, in 1836. The mother died in Milan, 
that State, at the advanced age of ninety years. 
Mr. rpham passed away at the home of our subject, 
in liis seventh-ninth year. Ezra S. Upham came 
tu the Wolverine State in 1837, and made his 
home for three years in Otsego. He then returned 
to Ohio, and was married, in 1840, to Miss Sarah 
Hunter, a native of Vermont. Mrs. Uj)ham was 
born in 1822, and was the daughter of .Jonathan 
Hunter, a farmer who came to Michigan in 1838, 
and located in Genesee County, where lie was a 
prominent citizen and made his permanent home. 
Mrs. Hunter died some twenty years after coming 
to Michig.an. 

Our subject continued to make Lorain County, 
Ohio, his home after his marriage, wliere he pur- 
chased a farm upon whicli lie resided twent3'-two 
3'ears. I n 1862, he came witli his family to the Wol- 
verine State, and located in the Kinney Settlement 
on an improved farm. lie resided tiiere but two 
years, however, when he purchased a tract on sec- 
tion 24. Two years later he disposed of that prop- 
erty and became the owner of a good farm on 
section 20. He donated the land where the Prot- 
estant Methodist Church now stands, and was 
otherwise interested in all worthy objects. 

In 1873 Mr. I'pham purchased his present farm, 
wliich contains ninety acres. In addition to that 
tract, he owns thirty-eight acres east of his home 
farm, and a nine-acre wood lot. His comfortable 
residence was erected in 1876, and his estate con- 
tains all tiie improvements whicli make agriculture 
a pleasure. He does a general farming business 
and has his place stocked with a good grade of 
animals. 

The family of our worth}' subject and his wife 
number seven children: Elizabeth, Mrs. Chamber- 
lain, h.as one child; Harriet is the wife of T. Wy- 
inan and has two children; Almira, Mrs. .lohn Mc 
Lain, has four children; Martha, Mrs. Hamilton 
McLain. has two children ; Cappie married F. Cham- 
berlain and has one child; .James N. married Gert- 



rude Packard and has one child; Charles B. mar- 
ried Lillian Bradford and has two children. 

Jlr. Upham was for a number of years a school 
oilicer in his district. In politics, he is a Repub- 
lican, and cast his first Presidential vote for .James 
G. Birney. While a resident of Ohio, he was Town- 
ship Trustee for fifteen successive years, receiving in 
his last election every vote but two in the township. 
He has been elected Justice of the Peace three 
different times, but has never qualified. He has 
represented his township in the ottiee of Highway 
Commissioner, and has otherwise been active in 
public affairs. 



-^^l 



m^m 



!l^^ 



5ILLIAM WEBSTER is a resident of Hart- 
\\\ . /// ford. Van Buren County, who was born in 
'•}i^^J Cayuga County, N. Y., August 20, 1820, 
and is one of a family of eighteen children, fifteen 
of whom are still living. The parents of this 
family were Charles I. and Arvilla (Fish) AVebster. 
The}- came from New Hampshire to New York. 
During the War of 1812 the father served in the 
Commisary Department. His father, Nathan AVeb- 
ster, served as a Revolutionary soldier. 

Our subject was first married in New York State, 
in 1841, to Arplia Odell, and by her had eleven 
children. One son, Charles I., served in the AVar 
of the Rebellion and was killed in the battle of 
Atlanta. Our subject moved his family to Mich- 
igan in 18.5."), and has been a resident of this State 
since then. In 1889 Mrs. Webster passed away, 
and in 1890 the husband was married to Jane 
Bennett. Six of Jlr. AVetister's family are now liv- 
ing, two in Detroit and four in Hartford. 

AVIieii the original of this sketch came to this 
county, he found it entirely new and his famih' 
set to work and cleared a farm of three hundred 
and thirly-f(uir acres. He still owns one hundred 
and seventj-two acres of it, which is operated b}' 
a son. He owns a nice home in the village where 
he now makes his home, retired from all active 
labor, and is now enjoying the fruits of his early 
labors. He is a congenial man, and is held in 
the highest respect b}' all with whom he comes in 
contact. Politically, he is a Republican at all 



1Y)RTRAIT AND BIOrrRAPIIICAL RFX'ORD 



223 



times and socially lie is a nionilii-i nl' ilic I-'hm' mihI 
Ai-i'opt*>(l M.-Lsons ill lliirtfoid. Wlu'ii lie lirsl r:\]\w 
here, tlierc were lujt more tliau one <>r Iwn stores 
in the place and he has seen the town ili-xi'loii to 
wliat it is to dav. 



-- ^=^>-^-<i 



=-«- 



[Q?==~ 



ANIKL W. SIAS. wild was a soliliei- iliiriiiLr 
tiie late war. now oeciipies an iin|port;uit 
{^3^ position as a wide-nwaUe, prospeions 
farmer of Van Hiiveii t'oiinly. iiis line 
farm, with its well tilled aeres. and siihstantial 
modern improvements, eomparinij: with the best in 
Hanijor Township. Mr. Sias was liorn in .leffeison 
C'onnty, N. Y.. in 1839, the third eliild in the fam- 
ily of four children of Jeremiah and Mary (Chap- 
man) Sias. His father was born in Vermont, in 
ITltC, and the mother was a native of New York 
City. The paternal grandparents of our subject 
were Jeremiah and Aclisah (Whitlier) Sias, his 
grandmother being a cousin of the poet Wliittier. 
Our siiljject passed his youth in his native State, 
and was in the opening years of an energetic, 
self-reliant manhood when the war broke out. 
In IHGl, he threw aside all personal considera- 
tions and enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and 
Eiglity-si.'ith New York Infantry, and served until 
the Government had no farther use for his services, 
the contlict between the North and the South li:iv- 
ing been brought to a successful issue. He hove 
an active part in the capture of Petersburg, and in 
the various encounters of his regiment with the 
enemy, lie displayed the coolness and resource of a 
veteran, and his war record is an honor to linn. 

In 1871, Mr. Sias removed his family to iVIicii- 
igan and settled on section 31. IJangor Township. 
Here he h.os developed a very fine farm, amiily 
supplied with good buildings and with the mod- 
ern appliances pertaining to agriculture, and its 
eighty acres of fertile soil are under a high state 
of cultivation. Mr. .Si.as has proved to be a valu- 
able .acquisition to the citizenshi|) of this county, 
and has not only done good work as a skillful, 
pr.actieal farmer, but also as a public-spirited civic 
otticial. He h.as held the olflce of Justice of the 
Peace about fourteen years, besides licing School 



lii^pccior .-11111 lliuliw.ay Commissioner. He is a 
iiiiiii of sti'Milv. clear br:iiii. of niMlmilited veracity 
.•iiid steadfast honor, and in him the Christian 
Cliiircli (iiids one of its most consistent and hard- 
working members. Politically, he has been iden- 
tilie<l with the Kcpiiliiicrin parly ever since he be- 
gan to vote. 

The iiiai riani' of dur suiiject with Miss Addie 
I'arUer look placi; in his native county in IMiid. 
It has been a felicitious union, and has lirought 
Ilii'Mi two children: I'jiiest 15.. who resides on a 
farm adjoining his falhei's. and Klizalietli, wife of 
W'airen T. Winslow. station agent for the Toledo 
it Souili ll.neik Itaiiway.at Covert. Mrs. Sias is a 
daughter of l):ivis Parker, who is thought to have 
been born at Lawrence, Mass., and wIkj was a brother 
of tlie fainous Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Mr. 
O. Parker, who resided in Flint, Mich., and was a 
son of .loseph Parker. The l:itler was a native of 
New Knijlanil. but was of Kimlisli antecedents. 



//^ LENN DOlt; LASS S 11 A WT. To a few such 
'll f — -. men as our subject, Kalamazoo owes much 
^^^ of its [iresent aetlvily in trade an<l manu- 
facturing interests. 

It is to the .active, pushing, vigorous young 
businessmen like the gentleman whose name heads 
this article that this beautiful city owes much of 
its advancement, (ilenn Douglass Stuart is doing 
his part well and were the lovers of the esculent 
herb to have a voice he would be crowned what 
he is already "The Celery King." 

I'.orn at (lowanda, N. Y., Feliniary 15, 18(;o. 
Mr. Stuart is the son of Hon. William II. and liar- 
l)ara (Allen) Stuart, natives of New York. He 
is the fourth of live children, three of whom sur- 
vive, one, Mrs. Alice lUackney, being identilied 
with him in business. He w.as reared in (iowanda, 
received his education in Wooster (Ohio) College, 
and studied law in his native city. In 1883 he 
came to Kal.amazoo and studied under Gov. 
Charles May, with whom he remained some ycai-s. 
On .account of trouble with his eves, he was com- 
pelled to abandon his study and seek outdoor em- 



224 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



|)lo\infint. He therefore eoinmenced in tlio celery 
lui!<iness, and from a small Iteginning has inereasotl 
his enterprise until now the business in the city 
averages fort}' tons daily during the season. 

The business in which Mr. Stuart engages sup- 
ports at least one fourth of the poi)ulation of Kal- 
amazoo. His grounds inelude three thousand 
acres in Kalamazoo and vicinity. Mr. Stuart is 
also a breeder of trotting horses, having about 
thirty first-class animals. Several have a record 
of 2:oO, while many others have become well 
known on the track. December 8, 1883, Mr. Stuart 
was married to Miss Alice, daughter of Herman 
llascall, fc)under of the daily Tdegraph. Mrs. 
Stuart was born in Kalamazoo. Mr. Stuart and 
liis wife have two children: jNIaiid and Allen. 

Socially, Mr. Stuart is iilentified with the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Few men have 
Tiiade as rapid and substantial advancement in 
business as Mr. Stuart. Keen-witted and wide- 
awake he is atypical resident of the West and will 
undoul>tedly attain wealth in his chosen occupa- 
tion. 



44» 



fcr'«T^ii: 



^> 



<^ IVILLIAM K. VAN HISE is a well-known 
\/iJI '"^"'^ highly-respected farmer of Van Buren 
V^^ County, residing on section 14, Decatur 
Townshij), where for a third of a century be has 
made his liome. Of much of the history of the 
county he has been an eye-witness, has seen 
its growth and upbuilding, and has aided in its 
development. He is, therefore, deserving of rep- 
resentation in this volume, and it is with pleasure 
that we record his sketch. 

Our subject's father, Joseph Van Hise, was born 
in Trenton, N. J., in 1805. and when a lad of 
seven years went with his parents to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, where he grew to manhood and married 
Ma}- Keer, a native of the Buckeye State. Shortl}' 
afterward he removed to Lebanon, Ohio, in 1836, 
and twenty years later came to Michigan, locat- 
ing in Decatur Township. In Cincinnati he had 
learned the hatter's trade, but in Lebanon fol- 
lowed the milling Imsiness, and here engaged in 
farming. He was a Democrat in politics until the 



nomination of Fremont, when he joined the new 
Kei)ublican party and became one of its stanch 
advocates. He served as Justice of the Peace and 
Town Clerk for a number of 3'ears, and was Super- 
visor of Decatur Township before the townships 
were divided. He died April 14, 1872, and was 
buried on tlie old homestead, where his father and 
mother were also interred, their deaths occurring 
several years after he came to Michigan. Of the 
eight children in the Van Hise family, six grew to 
mature years and three yet survive. Eunice, who 
h.as taught thirty-nine terms of school, is now liv- 
ing with her mother on the old homestead; Jarred 
P. operates the old homestead, which was a wild 
tract of land when it was purchased by the father 
from the Ignited States Government. 

William \'an Hise. of this sketch, claims Ohio 
as the State of his nativity, a farm in Butler 
County being the pl.ace of his birtli and the date 
Julj- 10, 1835. He was a babe when his parents 
came to Michigan, and in this State, therefore, al- 
most his entire life has been passed. The public 
schools afforded him his educational privileges, 
but his training tiiere was more meager than that 
which he received on the farm. Abandoning farm 
work at the age of twenty-one, he embarked in the 
grocery business, which he followed for four years, 
having had some experience in that line as a clerk 
in a store in Lawton. On selling his stock of 
grocei'ies; he removed to the farm in Decatur 
Towniship which has since been his home, and his 
farming labors have only been interrupted by his 
service in the late war. Feeling that bis country 
needed his aid, he enlisted, December 9, 1863, in 
Companjr II, Twelfth Michigan Infantry, under 
Capt. Claflm, and served until the close of the 
war, being mustered out on the 15th of Februarj', 
1866. He was with the Western Army, and most 
of the time served on detached duty. 

On the 18th of July, 1858. jMr. Van Hise was 
joined in wedlock with Miss Amelia, daugh- 
ter of Richard and Phojbe Armitage. who were 
natives of the Empire State and emigrated to 
Jackson, Mich., in an early da^'. Mrs. ^'an Hise's 
mother died when she was a maiden of ten sum- 
mers, and her father afterward removed to Decatur, 
where she became acquainted with her future bus- 





Z-£^^c6z.Cy< 




POliTKAlT AXD BIUGKAl'lllCAL UECORD. 



227 



hand. Unto tlieiu were born four children, but 
Kiigcne E., born May 24, 1863, died February 25. 
18(J1. Ini'z P., horn .luly :?, 1859. is the wifo of 
AilelluTt Miiguire, of Paw Paw Townslii|); Siisa 
K., horn Jhuvli 17, 1861, is teaching school in the 
McU'illiains (li,-.Uii'l and resides at home; Carrie 
H., who was born June 25, 1875, and is now at- 
lending school in Decatur, completes the family. 

Mr. \'an llisc is a man who gives liis supiMirt to 
all worthy untorprist-s and is a friend to educa- 
tional, soiial and moral reforms. Of the cause of 
lein|(erance he is a standi advocate, and hiliors 
earnestly in its interests. Socially, he is a demilted 
Mason, and belongs to the Farmers* Alliance and 
tlie (; rand Army Post of Decatur. He is an in- 
llexil)le adhcient of I\e[)ublican [)rincii)les. and an 
active worker for tiie i)arty's interest, and has 
lilled a number of ollices with credit to himself 
and satisfaction to his constituents. For six years 
he has been Supervisor of the township, still hold- 
ing the position; was Clerk for twt> years; for 
alKiut twenty years has been .Justice of the Peace, 
and was Drain Conunissioner .and Comniissiouer of 
Highways for one year eacli. The duties of citi- 
y.i'nshii) he lias ever faithfidly discharged, and is 
alike true to private trusts, lie now does a gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising business, ;uid has 
forty acres of his sixty-acre farm under a high 
stale of cutivation. 



>»l>l II I !■ I I 




m I.KXANDKW \V. UK.NDPK K. M. D. Tlie 
i^ZLJi niedical profession h.as many able repre- 
■' !•» sentiitives in Paw Paw, and among those 
who stand foremost and highest in the 
esteem of the people may be mentioned the gen- 
tleman wiiose portrait is presented on the oppo- 
site page. Ill' is a graduate of Hahnemann Medi- 
cjil College, at Chicago, and during the years 
wiiieh lie ha-i devoted to his profession him i)roved 
hiniM'lf I'lninently worthy of his higii calling, .and 
h.as achieved succe.'is and prominence. As a sur- 
geon he stands very high, iiaving liad many in- 
tricate c.a.ses under his care aucl nu-eting with won- 
derful success. 

The subject of this skeleli is perliaiis be>l known 
10 



outside of Paw Paw as the founder and pro- 
prietor of the "Maple City Home," where the 
drinking and opinm habits may be cured by a 
Ire.'itnu'nt which includes all tla-re is in the chloride 
of gold cure. At this institute there are two 
distinct courses of treatment: one for original 
cases, and another especially adapted to the cure 
of those wlio have taken a course elsewhere and 
have since relapsed. The treatment is most ap- 
prised and successful, .and consists in the u.se of 
chloride of gold and sodium, in eonil)inatiou with 
other potent and well-chosen drugs. The so-called 
bi-chlorideof golil or double gold — if it means any- 
thing — is too strong, and with its use |)atients arc 
liable to be overdosed; hence the dangerous ten- 
denc3' to rehipse, insanity and suicide which occur 
so frequently in other treatments. The chloride of 
goM. and of ^sodium as a pre|);iratioii of gold, is 
sullicicully powerful, and with other direct and 
potent remedies in combination is much more 
eflicieut, and l)y its use the ill etlects of the gold 
cure are avoided. 

The cure adopted by Dr. Ilendrick is per- 
formed liy autidoting the alcoholic poison, elimi- 
nating its ill effects, curing the diseased condi- 
tions, righting up the prostrated nerves, and taking 
away the appetite for liipior — making it loath- 
some, so that the person so treated will abhor it 
within one week. It may Uike three or four weeks 
to complete a cure. All liquors needed are 
furnished until no more will, or can. be taken. 
Drunkenness is cured by this treatment .as posi- 
tively as ague may be cured and as easily. 

While the cure is thorough, the patients are lire- 
served from the shock of the b;ittle. their nerve 
ftirce not licing exhausted in the maiiuer complaine<l 
of by those who have been tiealcd elsewhere. In- 
variably the patients leave with .-i well-regulated 
system and a hopeful spirit. The .second course 
of treatment is adapted to those who have re- 
laii.sed after a cour.se at otiiei' institutes. It is 
well understood that it is dangerous for them to 
go through the same treatment where the bi- 
chloride of gold is used. One directly adapted 
to such cases is here provided, aiicl it is proving 
to lie wonderfully successful; and these second- 
course patients have a s:ife, easy time, with no 



228 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



more suffering than the flrst-eourse patients. They 
have as briglit and hopeful prospects as others, 
and have reason to feel the most pi'ofound grati- 
tude for their restoration. At the Maple City 
Home, baths of all kinds are administered, as well 
as the massage and electric treatment and the 
Swedish Movement Cure. While the general 
work of a sanitarium is done here, especial atten- 
tion is given orificial surgery, for which splendid 
advantages are offered. * 

A native of New York, Dr. Hendrick was born 
in Berlin Township, Rensselaer Count}', A^ugust 
8, 1837, and is a son of Alexander W. and Betsy 
A. (Record) Hendrick, natives of New York and 
of English ancestry. Our subject grew to man- 
hood in New York, receiving an academic educa- 
tion aud fitting for college at New Hampton, 
N. H., where he took a course in the Biblical 
School. After taking his college course at Am- 
herst, he entered the ministry at the age of 
twenty-four. He had been converted to the faith 
of the Free-will Baptist Church three years pre- 
vious to becoming a minister. For about five 
years he followed ministerial work in Central 
New York. 

On September 3, 1860, Dr. Hendrick and Miss 
Harriet Horton, of Poestenkill, N. Y., were united 
in marriage. Failing health induced the young 
minister to come to Batavia, 111., and later he en- 
tered Hahnemann Medical College, at Chicago, 
from which he was graduated in 1871. He lo- 
cated in Kalamazoo, JNIich., thence removed to 
Galien, and from there came to Paw Paw in 1877. 
He has made a fair fortune in his profession and 
has a splendid lil)rary. During the fire, in 1888, 
he lost $800 worth of medical works, besides office 
fixtures valued in all at $1,350. In his politics 
he is a Republican, and although not old enough to 
vote for John C. Fremont at the time of his candi- 
dacy for the Presidential Chair, yet he spoke for 
him at many meetings. He is now a member and 
a Trustee in the Baptist Church, in Paw Paw, 
and was initiated into masonry in Batavia, 111., 
although he is not identified with the order here. 

The Doctor and his estimable wife are the par- 
ents of the following-named children: Ella Fran- 
cetta; Wayland Alexander, who died when nine 



years old; Howard. E. and Byron C, who passed 
away in infancy; Edith A., who was born Decem- 
ber 9, 1879, and Eugenia Paulina, August 17, 
1882. Ella F. married W. E. AYoodard, a farmer 
of Kalamazoo County, and they have one child. 
Success is the true test of merit, and those who 
know Dr. Hendrick will bear witness to his being 
an honorable, conscientious ph\'sician, who has 
become thoroughlj' conversant with the details of 
his profession b}' hard stud}' and indomitable 
energy. An enterprising citizen, he is always 
ready to advance any truly meritorious project 
that will promote the prospgrity of the commu- 
nit}', and during his residence in Paw Paw has 
won a host of friends. 



^RRIN PARKP>R, deceased. Among the prom- 
inent pioneers of Keeler Township, Van 
Buren County, stands the name of the gen- 
tleman of whom we write, and although he has 
passed away to enjoy the recompense due his long 
and useful life, his memory still lives among those 
who knew him. He was born in New York State 
in June, 1788, and was one in a family of ten chil- 
dren born to Timothy and Eunice Parker. They 
were named: Anson, Orrin, Parley, Chauncy, 
Fannie, Orson, Laura, Harvey, Russell and Polly. 
All grew to mature years. 

Our subject was married to Jemima Day, in No- 
vember, 1809, and reared a famil}' of ten children: 
Emery, Laura, Abigail, Sampson, Fannie, Amos A., 
Russell, Orson F., Milla M. and Calvin D. Mr. 
and Mrs. Parker came to AVashtenaw County, Mich., 
in 1836, and from there moved to Van Buren 
County, in 1838, and settled in the woods. They 
developed a farm of forty acres, where his wife 
died in 1849, and he passed from this life in 1867. 
One daughter, Milla, married John W. Abbott, in 
1854, and they established themselves on a farm 
in the dense woods and cleared a place of two hun- 
dred and forty-six acres before Mr. Abbott's death, 
which occurred in 1870. He and his worthy wife 
had born to them one child, Helen M., now the 
wife of Frank Tuttle. Mr. Al)bott was born in 
Onondaga County, N. Y., in May, 1826. His par- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



229 



puts were Osem and Annie (Olden) Abbott, the 
t'allier born in 1707, and the mother in 1802. Tliey 
were both natives of New York. Mrs. Abbott 
erected a beautiful l)rick residence on her farm in 
tlie summer of l.s.'^l.and has conducted her own 
business affairs in which she has been very success- 
ful. .She is one of liic most respected ladies of the 
counnunilv. 



-^. I LKS II. IIII,L„wli(> has a iilcasanl home i^n 
- section !'.», Allegan Townsliip,is a rei)resen- 

Jl(\ tative farmer and inHuential resident of 
Allegan County. He is now retired from active 
farming oi)erations, although he still maintains 
the supervision of this pl.ace of one hundred and 
thirty acres. A native of Richl.and Townshij), 
Oswego County, N. Y., he was born November 11, 
IKK), and is tlie son of Arre3'', and Polly (Lind- 
man) Hill, natives of New York. The father, 
who was a shi)) builder, came to Michig;in in 1827, 
and, locating in Detioit. sojourned there for a 
period of two years. 

From there Mr. Hill removed to a small village 
called Plymouth Corners, where he built several 
mills and other buildings duiing his residence in 
the place of about three years. Afterward, he re- 
sided for a time in Grand Rapids, then a small 
handet, and thence proceeded toCirandville, where 
he remained about fifteen years. In 1852, he came 
to -Mlegan County and settled on section 21, Pine 
Plains Townshi[), where he remained until 1851. 
Wlii'ii on his w.av to Grandville he was taken sick 
at Hradley's Corners and there die<l. The mother 
of our suliject died at Grandville, Ai)ril 10, 1881, 
at the good old .age of eighty-four. 

The family to which our subject belongs con- 
sisted of nine children, three of whom are now 
living, nanu'ly: (liles II., Arrey J. and 15ef.sy. 
Our subject was about seventeen years old when 
he came to Michigan, and at the early age of 
eightfuM, liugan trading with the Indians at 
Grand l{apiil>. He l>ecanie fluent in the use of 
Indian language and spent the winter seasons for 
a niiinlH'r of vears on the Kast shore of Miehigan. 



buying furs and exchanging goods for the same. 
For three and one half yeai-s he earrieil the mail 
from (irand Rapids to Kalamazoo, lirst making the 
tri[) on liorst'l)ack for three months, and then trav- 
eling in a buggy and carrying passengers. In 
company with Orlando Pierce, he later carried the 
mail and conveyed |)assengers in a stagi; coach the 
entire distance of sixtj'-five miles. 

Afterward, Mr. Hill worked for William Lewis 
in the hotel business at Yankee Springs and was 
thus engaged for two years. Afterward he was in 
the employ of T.15. Pierce at Otsego.. Mlegan County, 
in an hotel, and when at the expiration of ten 
months. Mi: Pierce sold out to C. D. Parkhurst, 
oui subject remained with the latter gentleman 
.some four years. Mr. Parkhiust later came to 
Allegan and bought the Allegan House, which Mr. 
Hill |)urcliased of him, after (illingthe [losition of 
clerk for some years. During the time he was 
proprietor of the hotel, he was also interested in 
the lumber business, and after selling the hotel, he 
removed to section 21, Pine Plains Township, where 
he had four hundred acres of uniuiproveil land. 

In order to reach his purchase, Mr. Hill w.as 
compelled to cut a road through the woods, and 
afterward cleared a place for his house, which 
was a small board shanty, made of lumber he had 
brought down the Kalamazoo River to Fox Springs 
on a raft and afterw.ard carried up the hill on his 
back. For more than two years he was engaged 
in clearing and improving the place, and at the 
expiration of that time was induced by Hon. F. 1$. 
Stoekbridge to remove to Singapoor and Ud<e 
charge of his hotel. Prior to leaving the farm, he 
carried the mail for two years between .\llegan 
and Saugatuck, and during llial time was stricken 
with the small i)Ox which his wife and child caught 
from lum. Fortunately it ilid not i)rove fatal to 
them. 

While Mr. Hill was at Singapoor he boardc<l lic- 
tween fifty and one hundred men who were in the 
luml)er business and at the same time superin- 
tended the erection of .a large hotel on his farm 
on the Kalamazoo River, of which he was pro- 
prietor from Decendier. 1857, until 1877. In 18o'.i. 
leaving his wife to manage the hotel, he crossed 
the plains to California with a span of line htu'ses. 



230 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and reraainefi on the Pacific Slope for one year, 
managing a restaurant in tlie winter and locating 
mines during the summer. After a visit of three 
months at home, be again went West and for three 
years was superintendent of a mine in California, 
receiving $10 per day. Atone time he could have 
sold his mine and returned liome with 1100,000, 
but he refused to do so. 

On his return, after spending nine years in Cali- 
fornia, Mr. Hill farmed until about 1879, when he 
removed to his present place. He is well-to-do 
and the owner of about two thousand acres of land 
in Allegan County, besides considerable live stock. 
He has held the ottice of .Justice of the Peace, Sup- 
ervisor, Town Clerk and Pathmaster, and as a 
member of the Democratic party, is one of the 
prominent and iufluential citizens of the county. 
He was married, November 2, 1846, to Matilda M. 
Muma, and four of the six children born of this 
union are now living, namely: Julia H., who is the 
wife of Walter Ingham and the mother of one 
child, Ray; C^'nthia A., now Mrs. Simmonds, and 
the mother of two children, Marcia and .Jesse; Ada 
C, who married George St. Germain, has one 
child, Bessie; and Charles E. Mrs. Matilda M. Hill 
died September 4, 1871. 

Mr. Hill was afterward married to Olive C. Muma, 
sister of liis first wife, and daughter of George and 
Sally (Goodhue) Munia,natives respectively of New 
York and Canada. Mr. JMuma, who was a farmer 
by calling, came to this State as early as 1838, set- 
tling in the village of Allegan and there spending 
his remaining years. Mr. Hill and his estimable 
wife have a large circle of warm friends and enjoy 
the conlldence of all to whom they are known. 



^•{••{•♦♦i 



4..^.^.;.i_ 



=l.}"5'**'^^****l 




IHLIP NICHOLAS, a retired farmer re- 
siding in Lawrence, Van Buren Count}', is 
a native of Cambridgeshire, England, 
wiiere he was born March 26, 1829. He 
is a son of Richard and Mary (Stephens) Nicholas. 
The father was a farmer, and our subject grew to 
manhood learning all the pursuits of agriculture. 
As soon as he was able, he had tu assist on the 
farm, and thus obtained but little education, lie 



commenced for himself at the age of eighteen, 
working by the month and day at farming. 

Philip Nicholas was married March 26, 1852, to 
Miss Hannah Payne, a daughter of George and 
Mary (Porter) Paj-ne. She was born in Little Port, 
Cambridgeshire, England, October 11, 1833. The 
day after their marriage, the}' started for America 
on a sailing vessel, and were five weeks on the 
brinj' deep. They landed in New York Cit}', and 
from there went direct to Brownsville, Pa. Having 
but II left, Mr. Nicholas immediately commenced 
work in a foundry for seventy-five cents a day. 
He worked there seven months and then started for i 
Medina County, Ohio, where he worked on a farm | 
one 3'ear and seven months. He then came to 
Van Buren Count}- and located in Arlington Town- 
ship, where he bought eighty acres of land, iiaying 
$75 down. This he immediately began to improve, 
while his good wife and helpmate kept house for 
her brother for her board and that of her children. 
He cleai'ed about three acres and sold the entire 
tract for quite an increase in value. He then pur- 
chased another eighty acres, which he still owns in 
addition to other land, making him the possessor 
of one hundred and forty broad and fertile acres. 

Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas have become the i)arents 
of nine children, namely: George P., who was born 
in Brownsville, Pa., March 23, 1853, and lives in 
Lawrence with his wife and two children; Ellen, 
who was born in Medina County, Ohio, October 29, 
1854; she married Edward Hogmire and lives in 
Bangor with her five children. Ann, born in Ar- 
lington Township, this county, November 10, 
1856, is the wife of Samuel Hogmire and the 
mother of four children. Wesley, born in Arling- 
ton Township, Ma}' 22, 1858, is a farmer; he is 
married and the father of two children. Mary 
Jane, born April 9, 1860, married John Alien and 
is the mother of four children. Herbert R. was 
born September 5, 1862, and is at home with his 
parents. Charles Sherman, born January 14, 1865, 
is married .and lives in Arlington Township with 
his wife .and two children. Alfred Alonzo, born 
May 29, 1868, lives on the old homestead, is mar- 
ried and the father of one tliild. ^Villiam Ells- 
worth, biini November 10, 1,S70, lives at home 
with his parents. All these children have received 



'" "SS:;- 



1 



.#-■ 





/-^ 




•»!j~v. 



J.P.WQODBURY. 



PORTILUT AND BlOGll^VPIIICAL RECORD. 



233 



good coinnioii-scliool pdiications, and llorbcrt R. 
Iijis Iteeu a loai'licr fur two yi>ars, Imt liad to alian- 
(Idli it on arciuiiit cif ill hcallli. 

Mr. Nicliolas contimiod to live on lii.s farm until 
IX'.H, wlien lie moved to liis present lieautifiil 
home in Lawrence, which lie has hut recently 
built. He was drafted to serxe in the late Reliel- 
lion. but paid ^^l.dOO (d a substitute. He was nat- 
uralized as a cili/eii of the liiited States, while 
living in Arlino;t(in Township, and vt)ted on the 
Republican ticket till his views elianged to the 
Democracy. Since llie formation of the Prohibi- 
tion jiarty, he h.is given his inlluenee to that body. 
He and his wife are earnest members of the L'nited 
Brethien t'luirch and have paid the greater part of 
the expense of the church, which is built on their 
farm. Mr. Nicholas has served as .Street Commis- 
sioner and also on the School Hoard of his town- 
ship. Herbert R.. his son. has also served as .School 
Duector in Arlington Township. 

ERKMI.VIl IMJAir WOODBrRY. Prob- 
ably no man did more to advance the Inter- 
est* of Kalamazoo than the subject of this 
biographical notice, whose portrait is pre- 
sented on the opposite page, and who lias gone to 
his final rest. Every enter])rise he took hold of 
was impelled by his great vigor and enthusiasm, 
and it became a maxim that what .1. 1'. Woodbury 
took an active interest in was sure of success. A 
man of keen intellect, always ready to gras|) the 
dillicidt questions that puzzled others, liis clear 
mind would soon unravel the dilticnltiesand make 
smooth sailing. His ju<ignicnt was linal in all 
questions of financial policy, and no institution 
gtiided l)y his brain was ever in danger of the 
rocks. 

Born in Charlton, Mass., February 7, 1805, our 
subject was the son of Caleb and Silence (King) 
Woodbury, natives of Sutton, Worcester County, 
.Mass. His father was a man of public importance 
anil upright character, whose family comprised his 
wife and ten .sons. The fourth child, .Jeremiah P., 
was reared by his uncle, Jeremiah Pratt, the hus- 
band of his father's sister, who adopted him when 
be was a mere infant. He was reared in JLassachu- 



setts, and accompanied his uncle to New Yf>rk, set- 
tling in Tompkins and remaining on a farm there 
until aliont l,s;ill. In the meantime he lcarne<l the 
trade of a carpenter, his uncle being a millwright. 

When about twenty-four years old, our subject 
entered the mercantile business at Peruville, 
Tomjjkins County, in connection with his younger 
brother, Caleb. He followed merchandising from 
l.s.'i2 until IX.'id, and in the meantime was married, 
.March 12, IH.'il.at Lansing, Tompkins County, to 
Miss .Malinda Knettles. Mi-s. AVoodbury was born 
in Tompkins County, November 27, 1813, and is 
the daughter of .Tosepli aiul Catherine (Tichenor) 
Knettles. Her father was of (ierman parentage, 
being the son of inie (Jcoi'ge Knettles, who emi- 
gr.'ited from (iermany and established a home in 
I'liiladelphia County, Pa., Inter removing to Car- 
lisle, the same State. .Joseph w.as married the first 
time in New York, when about thirty-three years 
old, and settled in Tompkins County, and after the 
de.atli of his first wife, he married Miss Catherine 
Ticlicnor, being then about forty-three years of age. 

In 18;3(;, Mr. Woodbuiy, .accompanied by his 
wife, came to Michigan and located in Bellevue, 
Eaton County, a little town just started. He there 
opened a store and engaged in the tanning of hides, 
and the manufacture of boots, shoes, saleratus, etc.; 
he .also engaged in the real-estate busint'ss. Ills 
brother Caleb, who had been his partner in New 
York, came with him to this Slate an<l engaged in 
business with him until the s|)ring of 1817. when 
he disposed of his interest.s in Bellevue. and went 
to Adrian. 

Eighteen months luior to his removal to Kala- 
mazoo, our subject started a branch store here, and, 
upon removing his family hither, engaged in the 
manufacture of pig-iron, the ore being found on 
the river banks. A few years before, a furnace 
had been erected but the enterprise proved a fail- 
ure. Mr. Woodbury purcha.sed the property and 
made a success of the business. .Soon afterward he 
started a stove manufactory in the village, mak- 
ing stf)ves and selling them througlK>ut the coun- 
try. In addition he built a llouring mill, two miles 
south of the village, and operated it with consid- 
erable succe.-vs. He w.as one of the original ownei-s 
of the gas works in the cit3\ 



234 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArfflCAL RECORD. 



After his flouring mill wns liurnod, Mr. Woml 
l)ury liecame couuected with the Kalaiuazou Paper 
Mill, and also gave considerable attention to the 
Michigan National Bank, of which he was a Di- 
rector. He was an extensive property owner, in- 
vesting in property in Eaton County, and also in 
the pine lands of Jlinnesota. His home was at No. 
405 Main Street for thirty-nine years, and about 
eleven years before his death he erected the 
present residence which now adorns that part of 
the city. His death, which occurred November 5, 
1887, was the result of being thrown from a car- 
riage, while returning from a fishing excursion 
with a party of gentlemen. It was a great shock 
to the communitj', and especially to those who 
most tenderl}' loved him — his wife and children. 

Mr. and Mrs. Woodbury were the parents of five 
children, one of whom died in infancy; Caroline 
married C4eorge Trask, a son of Luther Tr.ask, of 
Kalamazoo, and resided in New York until the 
death of her husband, since which her home has 
been with Mrs. Woodbury. Catherine is the widow 
of Col. Fred W. Curtcnius; Emma married Ira A. 
Ransom, and resides in Kalamazoo; Edward also 
resides in this city, and is an .active business man. 

Foud of life and society, Mr. Woodbury was a 
most genial and companionable man, and his ex- 
tensive travels throughout the United States and 
Europe gave him a fund of information which 
contributed to his popularit3'. His temperament 
was nervous, his disposition generous, .and his 
charities best known by the poor and destitute, to 
whom he never refused a helping hand. 



•5'='5'='5' 



.y 



r 



~x 




\ OBERT HILTON. This owner and resident 
located upon the fine farm on section 11, 
Lee Township, Allegan County, is a prom- 
I inent gentleman in tliis region. He was 
born in Lincolnshire, England, April 16, 1830, and 
is the son of Robert and Mary (Smith) Hilton. 
The father died while our subject was a l)abe, he 
being the youngest of four children, all of whom 
died when young. 

Robert Hilton, Sr., was a farmer by occupation. 



and after his decease his wife marriecl Baker Mal- 
lett, and to them was born a daughter, Sarah. 
After Mr. Mallett's death, our subject's mother 
became the wife of AVilliam Smith. Slie passed 
from this life about 1870. Mr. Hilton, of this 
sketch, remained with his mother until reaching 
his m.ajorit3'. His early life was spent in the vil- 
lage of Alnwick, but as he was obliged to earn his 
own living from the age of ten years, his educa- 
tional advantages were very limited. 

Wiicn attaining his twenty-second year, Bobert 
Hilton was married to Mary A., daughter of James 
N. and Charlotte (Loveday) Edwards. The cere- 
mony which made them one was celebrated in 
England, May 16, 1856, and the next morning 
they set sail for the United States. Their first lo- 
cation was at East Meiidon, Monroe County, N.Y., 
where Mr. Hilton engaged to work on a farm for 
two years. In 1859, however, he came to Michigan 
with his family and located in Battle Creek, which 
they made their home for a twelvemonth, when 
thej- came to Allegan County. They settled in 
what was then Pinplains, but is now Lee Town- 
ship, being among the first white people to locate 
there. 

Our subject, when making a permanent settle- 
ment in Allegan County, purchased one hundred 
and twenty acres where he now makes his home, 
pa3'ing for the same fiftj- cents per acre. The 
property was in its primitive condition, and, erect- 
ins a loo; cabin 14x20 feet in dimensions, he com- 
menced the work of clearing. His wife's parents 
lived with them until they could build a cabin of 
their own. Mr. Hilton began working in the pine 
woods at f 12 per month in order to support his 
family in their new home, and the first winter, the 
weather being extremely severe, froze his feet. 
AVith the coming of the spring, he commenced 
felling the timber on his land, working at a great 
disadvantage, however, as lie owned neither farm 
implements nor team. He worked two days out of 
the week for a neighbor for the use of his team one 
day. Ilis industry and perseverance were rewarded, 
and, at the end of the second j'ear, he had harv- 
ested six acres of wheat. 

Mr. Hilton was very ingenious and seldom went 
in debt for any of his farm machinery'. His first 



PORTRAIT AND TJIOORAPinCAL RECORD. 



235 



harrow he eonstniftod himself, using wooden pins 
for tectli. In tlie iioiit and convenient buildings 
wliicli now adorn liis [ilace, wc see the same spirit 
of economy manilested, for Mr. Hilton never lie- 
gan any worlv unless he had the money to carry it 
thruuirh. He is now the proud possessor of two 
liundred acres of excellent land, which have been 
accumulated solely through his own eflforts, as lie 
came to the new- State with no other means of sup- 
port than his strong and willing hands. He has 
been more than ordinarily successful in his farming 
iipcrations, and now ranks among the well-to-do 
and intelligent agriculturists of Lee Township. 
Mrs. Hilton was one of a family of seven children, 
six of whom are yet living: Mary A. (Mrs. Hilton). 
Eliza, John, Albert, Joseph, Elizabeth (deceiused) 
and James. Our subject and his wife have not 
been blessed with children. In {)olitics, ]Mr. Hilton 
is a strong Democrat, and greatly respected in this 
locality. 



♦^^ ^ Is '@® ! ^ i^ 



^^Pi MBROSE IMIIJIAJI, an old settler of Kal.a- 
WiUx mazoo County, and one of its wealthiest 
A farmers and stock-raisers, belonging to 
one of its best-known pioneer families, 
occupies a leading place among the agriculturist.s 
who have had the making of Pavilion Township, 
so far as redeeming the land from the wildei-ness 
and transforming it into smiling and highl_v 
productive farms is concerned. His farming inter- 
ests, which centre there on section 6, are very val- 
uable, his farm being one of the best in point of 
improvement and one of the best stocked in this 
locality. 

Mr. Milham was born in the town of Chatham, 
N. Y., September 25, 1827. His father, John Mil- 
ham, w.as also a native of New York, his birtli|)hu'e 
in Columbia County. He was a son of Mathias 
Milham, a native of Germany. He h.ad come to 
New York in Colonial times, and was engaged 
there as a farmer for many years. He died when 
about ninety- years old. John Miliiam grew up to 
the life of a farmer in his native .Stale, and in due 
course of time had a good farm of two hundred 
acres in his possession. He was a man of more 



than ordinary push and executive ability, and he 
was not only prominent in public life in New 
York, representing his district in the State Legis- 
lature and holding other impcjrtant otliccs, but he 
was conspicuous in the pulilic and business life of 
this county, after he settled here in 1845. He 
located in Kalamazoo Township, where he devel- 
oped a large farm, and at one time he owned be- 
tween (ifteen hundred and sixteen hundred .icres 
of land, aiidwas one of the richest men of tiie 
county. He was a Democrat in politics, and ever 
loyal to his party. He was nominated for Sheriff bv 
his i)arty at one time, but was defeated, as the odds 
were too great against his party. He was a Luth- 
eran in his religious belief. He p.assed aw.ay at 
the ripe age of seventy -two, and his niemoiy is 
cherished as that of one of our noblest pioneers. 
He was four times married. The mother of our 
subject, Eva Milham, a native of the State of New 
York, died in middle life. She bore four children: 
AYilliam, Richard, .Vmlirose and .lames. 

Our subject's education was obtained in the dis- 
trict schools as far as book learning was concerned, 
and on his father's farm he acquired a thorough, 
practical knowledge of farming in all its branches. 
He came here in his nineteenth year, making the 
journey liy the Erie Canal to liiiffalo, thence by 
water to Detroit, from there to Marshall by rail- 
way, and a team bought at that place conveyed 
him and the other members of the family accom- 
panying him to this point. At the age of twenty- 
one, young Milham began farming for himself, and 
thus entered upon his career as a pioneer. The 
country roundabout was then iiearlj- as wild 
as when the Indians held it, for the white settlers 
were few in number. Kalamazoo was but a small 
village, with no indications of its present size and 
importance. Deer were abundant, and used to 
come into the field where our subject was plowing. 
He lirst bought two hundred .icres of land in Por- 
tage Township with his brother William, and he 
lived there some five yeai-s prior to coming to 
Pavilion Township. He has here three hundred anil 
twenty acres of land, of which two hundred are 
cleared and well tilled. Mr. Milham has made all 
the improvements on the pl.ace, and the}- are of a 
sul)stantial class, of modern build and well aranged. 



236 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



He lias tliree \avfxe barns, a large shecl, and a commo- 
dious frame residence that is beautifully situated 
in a natural grove of oaks. He carries on mixed 
farming, and has raised some fine Durham cattle 
and many Sliroi)shire sheep. 

Mr. Milliam was married May 18, 1824, to Miss 
Lydia Turner, who w.-is a true and tender wife to 
him and devoted motlier to their children, and their 
neighbors foun<l in iier a kind and sympathizing 
friend. She w.as liorn near Rochester, N. Y., De- 
cember 29, 1829, and came to Michigan with her 
parents in 1843. vShe died June 29, 1885, after a 
happj- married life of thirty -one years. Our sub- 
ject has six children living, namely: Ella; Will- 
iam 15., who m.arried Miss Cora Pike in 1885; Eva 
v., wlio married William Turner, .Tan nary .30, 1889, 
and died August 21. 1891; Louis R.; .Tennie, who 
married William Collins, October 15, 1885, and 
Oliver. One son, Jerome A., is dead. 

Our subject has witnessed the development of 
Pavilion Township and tlie county at large, and 
he has been potent in bringing about the great 
change that makes this section so prosperous. He 
is a valued citizen, who is thoroughly identified 
with the interests of his community and in him the 
Democratic party has one of its most faithful adher- 
ents. His career shows him to be a live and sagacious 
business man, and his many friends and .all who 
liave occasion to deal with liim feel that he is just 
and fair-minded in all his transactions. 



""?^®' 



i>^^<i 



?2>— 



ALVIN H. FLETCHER is a prominent 
,, hardware merchant in South Haven. The 

?^^ Fletcher family is an old one m the United 
States, its members being descend.ants of Robert 
Fletclier, who w.as Itorn in P-ngland, in 1592. The 
latter-n.amed gentleman came to America in 10.30, 
and settled at Concord, M.ass., where he became a 
wealthy and influential man. His death occurred 
in that city, April 3, 1677. Tiie direct line of an- 
cestry of our subject then jiassed to William 
Fletcher, who was born in P^ngland. in 1622. He 
came to America with his father in 1630, and in 
1653 became one of the first settlers of Chelmsford, 
Mass., where he died November 6, 1677. 



Tiie son of \\illiani Fletcher, Josliua, was horn 
in Chelmsford, Mass., March 30, 1648, and died 
November 21, 1713. His son, Josepli, was born 
June 10, 1689, in Chelmsford, Mass., and died in 
Westford, Mass., October 4, 1772. His son, I'cla- 
tiah Fletcher, was born in Westford, Mass., May 13, ji 
1727, and died in the same town, February 23, ' 
1807. Ilis son, also named Pelatiah Fletclier, was 
born in Westford, Mass., April 4, 1767, and died 
May 7, 1811. His son, Joel Fletclier, was born in 
Westford, Mass., February 23, 1786, and removed to 
Anson, Me., where he married and reared a family 
of .seven children. His second son, Calvin Fletcher, 
who w.as the father of our subject, was bc>rn in 
North Anson, Me., October 2, 1814, and before he 
attained his majority, learned the blacksmith's ■ 
trade. 

The maiden name of our subject's motlier, was 
Catherine Hall, a daughter of James Hall. She was 
liorn in ISloomfield (now Skowhegan), Me. The 
father w.as eng.aged in general mercantile business 
in his native town until 1852, when he removed to 
Cape Mncent, Jefferson County, N. Y., and con- 
tinued a like business until 1861. He then came 
to Michigan and established a hardware trade 
in Plainwell, Allegan County, remaining there un- 
til 1863, the date of his removal to South Haven. 
Since locating here, he associated his son, our suli- 
ject, in business with him, Lhey operating under the 
firm name of Calvin B'letcher & Son, until the 
death of the father. He wasa very influential citi- 
zen, and although a stanch Democrat in a Repub- 
lican town, was frequently elected to public office. 
He was at one time Justice of the Peace for twenty- 
two years, and a member of the School Board for 
many years. 

In his church relations, the senior Calvin Fletcher 
was an Episcopalian being one of the founders of 
that denomination in South Haven. He was a 
Royal Arch Mason, being a charter memlier of 
Star of the Lake Lodge, No. 158, A. F. <k A. M., 
of which lodge he was .Senior Warden and was 
for many years its Treasurer. Financially-, he was 
successful, but, his health being very poor, the 
last three years of his life were spent in the san- 
itarium at Battle Creek, where his death occurred 
February 4, 1887. His wife died at South Haven, 




T^^-^ 



PORTRAIT AND HIOORAPII'CAL RECORD. 



239 



Noveinlipr 2i>. 1S84. Ttioy woro l.lip puronts of 

fniir fliildiH'ii : (':il\ in 1 1.. Nuiiiiaii. K:dio ;iii<l Kv:i 
(twins); the hittor-nanu'd ihinuiiti'r i;* (Icci'iiscd. 

Calvin II. Kletclier, of tliis sketcli, was born in 
Somerset County, Me., August 28, 1840. lie was 
I'ducated in Fairliold Seminjuy, :it Faii'liold. N. ^'.. 
hul, lit'foie coiiiiili'tinu' his course, lie yavi' iii) liis 
studies, and for a (icriod of two and uni'-liaH' 
years was a sailor on the ,\tlantie Ocean. Keliirn- 
ing home, he accompanied his family to .Michiuan. 
and when his father established in business at 
South Haven, he became his jiartnei-. Since his 
father's death, he has carried on the business in the 
name of Calvin Fletcher's Son. lie is the oldest 
hardware merchant in South Haven, and docs ;i 
splendid business. 

Mr. Fletcher was married to >lrs. Clara (Church) 
Mc(!innis. .lannarv 27.1887. In polities, he is a 
Democrat. His stock of goods was destroyed by 
lire in September, 1890, and in .Inly, 1891, his resi- 
dence and some goods in storage were also burned. 
He hiis since, however, erected a handsome l)ric-k 
residence, which is supplied with all the tnoilcrn 
comf(Ht.s and conveniences. In addition to the 
business already mentioned, Mr. Fletcher owns a 
good fruit farm near the village, which is undei' 
splendid cultivation. 



ITHER II. TRASK. Michigan owes much 
1)) to those men who in early days came from 
,'*— '^ New England to establish their homes 
within her borders, bringing with them the sturdy 
independence, the good sense, the i)iety and the 
love for education which characterized the Puri- 
tan fathers and their descendants. The Tr.ask 
family is said to have descen<led from three brothers 
who came to this country from England in the 
Colonial days, .and one of them, Capt. Trask. who 
settled at Salem, was the ance-stor of our subject. 
His jiarents were Aaron and Betsey (Ooodell) 
Tr.ask, and he was born in Millbury. Worcester 
County, Mass., F'ebruary \i), 1807. His <lcath, 
Novemlier 14, 1888, in Kalamazoo, w.as a cause of 
sincere grief and mourning, not only in his family 



liut in cliureh, society and business circles. He 
was one who lilled a large and varied Held of use- 
fulness, having posscs>ccl a strong physi(|ue. capa- 
ble of supporting unlimited hardships, keen good 
sense, a strong will, profound moral sense, and a 
deeply religious nature. 

The coiiimon schools alTordcd o|)porluiiities for 
the education of Luther Trask in his boyhood, 
and at sixteen he engaged in inanufacturing luir- 
snits, continuing thus fi>r five years, and then car- 
rying on farming until he came to Michigan. His 
marriage, which took place in October, 1828, 
united him with .Miss Louisa Fay, of Southboro, 
Mass., by whom he had two cliildren, George, who 
died ill 187."), and Ilaiiiiah I... who is now Mrs. 
Cornell, of this cit\\ 

In 1834, Mr. Trask maile an exploring trip into 
the wilds of Michigan, and. being pleased with the 
country, brought his famil}' hither. The lirst set- 
tlement was made in .Iiinc, 1835, in the vill.age of 
Kalamazoo, where ;\Ir. Trask pursued the calling of 
surveyor and civil engineer for several years. He 
was a natural mechanic, and built a inunber of 
houses and stores in Kalamazoo, which he sold; be- 
sides his family residence which was the first lirick 
houseerectedthere, but which is now demolished. In 
those early days the pioneers found abundant op- 
portunitj' for exercising their abilities in every 
direction, and Mr. Trask was most useful in pro- 
moting Christian worsiiip, and in teaching in the 
first Sunda3-scliool which was established in the 
village. He supported the services of the pioneer 
Methodist minister. Mr. Robe, and later, those of 
the Rev. .Sil.as AVoodberry, who was the first Presby- 
terian minister at Kalamazoo. 

In the spring of 183(), efforts were made 
which resulted in the building of the first church 
edifice, and in this enterprise Mr. Trask joined 
most heartily, and became a memlier of the session 
of the Presbyterian Church, serving as an Folder for 
more than forty years. The stock company which 
built the first church was composed of the follow- 
ing pioneei-s: .lohn Winslow, Luther H. Trask 
Clark Kellogg, Abram F>dwards Alexander H. 
Edwards and Martin Heydenburk. and the 
church edifice was their individual property 
for many years. His strong good sense, ear- 



240 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



nest Christian character and independent spirit, 
gave him the good-will and confldeuce of all 
all who knew him, and his ever-open hand and 
heart were ready to aid in every good cause. Al- 
tiiough frank and outspoken in his opinions when 
occasion called for expression, jNIr. Trask was really 
a man of reserve and of tact, keeping his own af- 
fairs to himself, and declining to be forced to ex- 
press himself until the proper time arrived for an- 
nouncing his plans and views. His firm will thus 
cf>unterpoiscd his impulsive nature, and gave him 
a reputation for strict lionesty and good judgment. 
He hated shams and falsehood more than all else, 
for he feared God rather than man, and fearlessl.y 
obeyed his conscience, even though it cost him 
dear. 

Mr. Trask was Clerk of the Circuit Court of 
Kalamazoo County, during 1839 and 1840; in 
1842-t3, he was made Receiver of the United 
States Land Office, and Inspector of the State Prison 
from 1855 to 1860. In 1858 he was appointed a 
member of the Board of Trustees of the Michigan 
Insane Asylum, and was President of the Board 
until 1878. His New England training and 
heredity gave him a constant interest in educa- 
tional matters, and in the early days he was active 
in public school work. He was one of the founders 
and a member of the Executive Board of the 
Michigan Female Seminar}', which was developed 
on the plan of Mt. Holyoke. In political mat- 
ters he was originally a Whig, and, upon the for- 
mation of the Republican party, joined its ranks. 
His work as a [jioneer of Kalamazoo, and as a 
friend of all public institutions, added greatl}- to 
the development of the city, and to its beauty and 
strength. 

George L. Trask, the son of our subject, was grad- 
ated at Union College in 1852, after having taken 
a partial course of study in the Michigan State 
University. He was in mercantile pursuits in New 
York until his death, wliich took place in 1875. 
While traveling in California in 1852, he under- 
took the task of taking the bark from one of the 
mammoth trees, and in 1856 carried this treasure 
to Sydenham Palace at the London Exposition, 
where it was exhibited and sold. His death oc- 
curred ,Iune 4, 1875, at New Orleans, he having left 



his home on a business trip to Mexico. His wife, 
Caroline, daughter of the late J. P. Woodbury, of 
Kalamazoo, survives him. His sister, Hannah L. 
Trask, became the wife of Joseph B. Cornell, a 
sketch of whose life work can be found elsewhere 
in this volume. Luther H. Trask was among the 
men who were active in developing the summer 
resort at Little Traverse Bay, where the family 
have a cottage. His faithful and self-sacrificing 
helpmate, who survived him more than two years, 
passed from life, February 7, 1891. 

In connection with this biographical notice may 
be found a lithograph portrait of Mr. Trask. 



i OBERT ORR. The name of Orr is familiar 
in Southern Michigan as that of one of its 
Ji \\\ pioneer families, of which our subject is a 
*^^ member, and he is entitled to all honor 
and respect for his worthy life record as a man 
and citizen, who has been a valuable factor in 
opening up the section of the country comprised 
in Van Buren County, of which he has been a 
resident for more than forty years, clearing and 
improving a farm on section 28, Paw Paw Town- 
ship, which is classed among the best estates in 
the vicinity. 

Mr. Orr is the sou of Hugh and Rebecca (Whit- 
ney) Orr, and was born in their home in Daven- 
port Township, Delaware County, N. Y., September 
14, 1816. His father was a native of Dutchess 
County, N. Y., born April 8, 1777, and was of 
Scotch ancestry. He owned a farm in his native 
state, but he was an engineer on a steamer that 
plied on the Hudson River and on Chesapeake 
Bay. At the age of fifty-five, he abandoned his 
life on the river, and, with his wife and our sub- 
ject and his wife, started for Michigan in 1844. 
The little company embarked with their team on a 
vessel on the lake bound for Detroit, where they 
landed, and then drove across the rough, wild 
country to Climax Prairie, Kalamazoo County, 
where a son had already settled, and there the 
family located, and became identified with the 
pioneers of that vicinitj'. 

Our subject had been brought up on a farm. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPIIICAL RIXORD. 



241 



I 



ruiil had a iroo'l cxi)pnciu'e of fnrmina: crc he tried 
it 1)11 llic \ iiLiiii soil 111' Micliiu;:!!!. His education 
had hccil condiiclcil in the cDiimioli si'liools uf his 
iiali\o town, lie lioiian life for himself tlio sprini; 
lifforc III' was lwi'nl\ yonis olil. and. hi'iiiL; a 
stroiiy-, activo,''(a|i.al)lo youth, lie did well, lie 
worked at linnherini^ for one man four years, re- 
eeivin.o *l HMhe lirst year, ¥12.') the second year. 
^I.'!.'> the third year, and *lll the fourth year. 
Out of this not very large amount of money, he 
managed to save the astonishing sum of ^slun, as 
he liad an eye for the future, and had wisely laid 
liy his earnings that he might become independ- 
ent, lie put that money out at inleivst. and pro- 
ceeded to gather together more. He went rlown 
the Delaware Rivei', and, taking a joh at logging. 
in two years had s.ived another ^400. Ilis next 
venture was to invest in seventy .acres of land in 
Delaware County in 1842, which, sonic years after. 
he-traded for a quarter of a section of land in Van 
Hnren (Vninty, Mich., without coming to see it. 
lie was to have the second clu)ice out of seventeen 
hundred acres of land, and he selected the tract 
on which he now lives in Paw Paw Townshiii. his 
homestead now comprising but one hundied .and 
ten acres, as he disposed of a part of his (luarter- 
section. 

When he first came to Michigan, Mr. ()ir leased 
land of his brother on Climax Prairie, and worked 
that two years prior to making the exchange of 
his property in New York for land in A'an Uuren 
County, which we have just noted. He moved to 
his present home the first w-eek in ^I.ay, 1817. 
His first work on his place was to build a log 
house, hauling the lumber for a lloor from Climax 
Prairie. He h.as cleared the laiid himself, and has 
a farm well worth having, with its neat buildings, 
well-lilled, highly productive soil, and idcvsant 
surrouinlings. He is a sober-minded, imlustrious 
man, of sterling principles and kindly nature, his 
neighboi"s, and other friends of man3' j'eare' stand- 
ing, finding him accommodating and heli>ful, and 
he is highly regarded by the entire community. 
He is a representative Democrat of this section, 
and has assisted at the councils of his party as a 
delegate to county conventions. He has served 
as Road Commissioner three years, and is always 



in fa\(ir of :ill feasible plans for improving the 
township in any direction. 

Shortly before coming to Michigan, Mr. Orr 
took unto himself a wife, in the person of Miss 
Aliig.'iil Ann ( uinmings, to whimi he was we<lded 
.\pril 21. 1>^I I, and he thereby secured a helpmate 
to assist him in founding a home in the forest 
wihls where he afterwards settled. Mrs. Orr was 
born in Delaw.-ire County. N. Y., January (!, 182(1, 
a daughter of William and Sabie (IJedlield) Cuin- 
mings. Three children have been born to her and 
our subject, t>f whom one is spared to bless their 
di'clining years, their son, Samuel Hugh. Their 
daughter Sabie, born in Kalamazoo County, Feb- 
ruary 1. IHK;. died .September 211. 1863. Their 
youngest child, .Sabrina .V., born April 8, IMKI. 
married Albert Hinckley and died March 13, 187r>, 
without issue. .Samuel Hugh Orr was born on the 
home faini, November (!. 1817. He received a 
good common school-education, and a thorough 
training in all that goes to make a practical, wide- 
awake farmer, and has attained a solid i)l.ace 
among the men of enterprise who are carrying on 
the large agricultural interests of this his native 
county. He is a stalwart Democrat, and h.as the 
welfare of his jiarty at heart. He was married 
Xovember 3, 1X7."). to Miss Eva A., daughter of 
Iriel and Margaret (Shcrrod) Lee. She is a 
native of Paw Paw Township, and was born here 
.June 1, 18i)2. The following is recorded of the 
live children that complete the household of her- 
self and husband: Daisy, who was born October 3, 
187(1, is a student at the High School at Paw Paw; 
Dayton Wellington was born April 10, 1878; 
(irove Robert, September 21, 1880; Grace Rose, 
.August 8, 1882. and Ivy Roselia. February 15. 
1X81. 



KRRY MARION YOUNG, an extensive grain 
dealer of Decatur, has engaged in business 
in this line since 1888. A native of Klk- 
hart County, Ind., he w.as born on the 7th 
of November, 1848, and is one of seven children 
whose parents were Samuel Hryaut and Elizabeth 
A. (Stubbs) Young. His father w.as born near the 



242 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



city of Toledo, Ohio, and llii-niiglioiil liis life fol- 
lowed tlie oeeuiwtion of fanning. Wlien a lad 
of ten years, lie went to Indiana, where he remained 
until 1853, and during that time met and married 
Miss Stubbs, a native of the Iloosicr State. Re- 
moving to Michigan, he settled in Decatur Town- 
ship, Van IJiuon County, where he carried on agri- 
cultural pursuits until his death, in 1881. His 
first wife died in 1866. They w^ere the parents of 
seven children, six of whom grew to mature years, 
namely: Mercy Elizabeth, wife of George W.Hall, 
of Manistee County, Mich.; Caroline Ann, wife of 
James R. Jewell, of Decatur Township; Dorcas, 
who married Allister IJall, their home being in 
Manistee County; Eli Bryant, who is engaged in 
the hardware business in Dowagiac, Cass County; 
Fora Belle, wife of Charles E. Ball, also a resident 
of Manistee County, and Perry of this sketch. In 
1869 S. B. Young w.as again married, his second 
union being with Mrs. Maria A. Henderson, who 
was born near Niles, Berrien County, Mich. The}* 
had a family of five children, all yet living: William, 
of Decatur; Nellie, his twin sister, now the wife of 
Martin lost, of Tennessee; Blanche, who lives with 
her sister in Tennessee; Albert, of Decatur, and 
Maud, whose home is also in Decatur, living with 
her mother, who still survives. Mr. Young was a 
man widely known throughout this community, 
and had a host of warm friends, who esteemed him 
highly for his many excellencies of character. He 
w.as very energetic and industrious, and in early 
life was ver^y successful in his business career. The 
Republican party found in him a stanch advocate, 
and he took an active interest in political affairs. 
Since he w.as five years old, our subject has been 
a resident of Van Burcn County, and has therefore 
been an eye-witness to the greater part of its 
growth and development. His educational privi- 
leges were only such as the common schools afforded, 
but by leading and observation he has become a 
well-informed man. At the age of seventeen, he 
liegan farming for himself in Decatur Tov,-nship, 
and continued the cultivation of his land for .about 
ten years. In the meantime he chose as a com- 
panion and helpmeet on life's journey, Miss Jennie 
Ball, their union being celebrated November 24. 
1870. The lady is a native of Butler County, Ohio, 



and a daiighter of Daniel R. Ball, a well-known 
and inlluenlial farmer, now residing in Manistee 
County, Mich. Two children grace their union: 
Minnie Dell and Claude. 

On selling his farm, Mr. Young removed to De- 
catur, where, in connection with Mr. Rawson, he 
engaged in the grain business for some time. After 
their partnership was dissolved, he continued to 
carry on that line of trade, and also to handle pro- 
duce, and is now doing a fine paying business, be- 
ing the most extensive grain dealer in Decatur. He 
is a man of good business ability, and his well- 
directed efforts are winning him a signal success. 
In politics, he is a stanch Republican, and has held 
the olHce of Township Clerk, being the present 
incumbent. He is also a member of the Village 
Board. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity 
and has held the otfices of Junior Warden and 
Junior Deacon. Both in business and social circles 
Mr. Young ranks high and is deservedly popular, 
having won his way upward by merit. 



UAHREN H. CORY owns eighty acres of 
fine land on section 20, Lawrence Town- 
\)^/ ship, Van Buren County, where he is en- 
gaged as a farmer and stock-raiser. He was born 
in Springfield, Otsego County, N. Y., September 
11, 1840, and is the son of Marsena and Lucinda 
(Hardy) Cory, natives of New York. The father 
was a farmer and came to Cass Count}', this State, 
when our subject was a lad of eleven j'ears. 

Warren II. Cory was reared on a farm in the 
above-named county, and received a limited 
education. He was married February 25, 1863, 
when about twenty-two ^-ears of age, to Miss Cath- 
erine, daughter of Bentley and Maria (Walker) 
Rageu, the father a native of Dublin, Ireland, and 
the mother of New Lebanon, N. J. Mr. Ragen 
died when Mrs. Cory was an infant of fifteen 
months. She was born February 20, 1841, in Her 
kimer County, N. Y. 

After his marriage, our subject made his home 
with his father for a number of years and then pur- 
chased eighty acres of land adjoining the home 
fiirm, on which he continued to reside for ten or 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



243 



eleven years. After disposing of his property 
there, in 187fi, he purchased liis present home in 
Lawrt'iu'C 'I'owiishii), A'aii Biireii County, thirty 
acres of wliii'h were under tiie plow. His fai in is 
now under llie very best cultivation and ranks 
niiionn the llncstin the county. Alllioiii;li having 
lieen very successful in his fanning ojiciations, 
INIr. Cory has suffered many losses, at one time 
having his harn liurned by lightning when full of 
iiiacliinerv. lie soon replaced it, however, and 
at the present writing has a good dwelling on his 
estate, which was erected in 1H81. 

Mr. and Jlrs. Cory have had born to them two 
children: Frank M., who was born in Cass County, 
this Stale, .lanuary It, 1861, is married and has 
one child, and Carrie M., who was also born in Cass 
County, October 11, 1868, is a teacher in the home 
schools and has met with a high degree of success. 

Our subject is a Kcpiiblicaii in politics, having 
cust his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, in 1864. 
lioth he and his wife are members of the Method- 
ist E|)isco|)ai Cliuicli, in which bod^' Mr. Cory has 
held man}- ollici.-il positions. He has a brother, 
Charles Cory, who is a farmer in Dowagiac, this 
State. His father lived to be about seventy- years 
of age and died in December, 188.i; his mother is 
still living, her birth occurring in 1819. 



"J^EV. RODNEY .SANFORD DEAN, proprietor 
jlWi? and editor of the South Haven ^Iflxsenr/er, was 
di fl^ born in Volney, Oswego County, N. Y.,]Ma3- 
13, 1817, being a son of Orrin and Alcena 
(Merry) Dean. His early life was passed upon a 
farm until tlicagc of eighteen years, when he went 
into a printing-olllce, where he spent eleven years, 
working in Oswego and Syracuse. He then p.asscd 
live years on a farm, and in 18.53 entered the min- 
istry of theRai)tist Church, being ordained at Feii- 
ncr, Madison County, N. Y., and then locating at 
Burlington Green, Otsego County, where he re- 
mained for four ycai-s. He afterward had charge 
of cliurehes at the following [il.accs: Monte/,uiii:i. 
three years; South I5iilh-r, four years; Walworth, 
thi-ueyeai-s; aud Middlesex, two years, lu 1861), 



he came to Michigan, first locating at Keeler, where 
he lived for two years. Me was afterward at 
Dowagiac two years, liloomingdale eight 3'ears 
and Evansville, Wis., three years. In March, 1884, 
he came to .South Haven and purchased the Mes- 
si'iigar, of which he is sole proprietor. This paper 
is an eight-column folio, is Republican in politics 
and is ably edited. 

Mr. Dean was married in May, 1812, to MaiT S. 
Parker, daughter of Amasa and Celestia (Curtis) 
Parker. She was born in Madison County, N. Y., 
November 28, 1821. Tiiree children have been 
born of this union, two of whom are living: Orau 
A., a physician of South Haven, of whom a fuller 
notice is given later, and Theodore S., an attorney 
residing in Rrockjjort, N. Y. 

Oran A. Dean, M. D., was l>orn in S3-racusc, 
N. Y., JIarcli 17, 1813, remaining with his parents, 
attending sch()ol, until the age of eighteen. Soon 
after the breaking out of the Civil War, he enlisted 
as a jirivatc soldier and w.as mustered into the ser- 
vice, October 1, as a member of Company F, Seven- 
ty-fifth New York Infantry, at Auburn, this State. 
In December of the same year, they went to F't. 
Pickens, Fla.,and in May, 1862, to Pensacola, from 
which place thej' were sent to New Orleans the fol- 
lowing September. In ,Iunc, 1863, our subject was 
physically disabled for field service and was de- 
tailed on detached duty as hospital attendant and 
clerk, at New Orleans. In May, 18C4, lie w.as sent 
to Alexandria, \'a., where he acted in the same ca- 
pacity, and received his discharge November 24, of 
that year. He then returned to New York and in 
the spring of 18,55 commenced the study of medi- 
cine under a physician at Walworth. He afterward 
became a student in the medical deitarlmcnl of the 
rnivorsity at lUilTalo, l>eing giaduatcd from there 
in 1868. He settled ill Hamlin, N. Y.. where he 
practiced for six years and the ensuing six years 
at Charlotte. He was also for one year in Albion. 
Ill 18.S1, lu' went to Stoughton, Wis., two 3-ears, 
also residing for four and one-half yeai's at Beloit. 
In June, 1888. he came to .South Haven, which he 
has since made his home. 

Dr. Dean was married, in 186'J, at Rochester, to 
.Marian D'.Mlon. She was born in IIiiidost;in, her 
father being au ollicer in the linglish Army sta- 



244 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tioned there. The}' h.ave become the p.arents of 
three children: Lillian ^L, Elsie M., and Alice A. 
In politics, Dr. Dean atUliates with the Republi- 
cans and is a member of the Grand Army of the 
Rcpulilic. He is a meml)er of tlie Baptist Church. 










|r>ILLIAM WETHERALL. Few of the citi- 
zens of Allegan County are more widely 



known, and none are more highly es- 
teemed, than Mr. Wctherall, who owns a fertile farm 
on section 25, Watson Township. He is engaged in 
general farming upon his two hundred and thirty 
acres of finely improved land, and also devotes 
considerable attention to stock-raising, keeping a 
good grade of cattle and horses, and owning al)out 
one hundred head of sheep. In all his business 
transactions, he displays good judgment, and, as he 
is practical and energetic, he has become well-to- 
do. As a veteran of the late war and a public- 
spirited citizen, lie has [jroved his patriotism by 
liis life. 

The house in which Mv. AVethorall first saw the 
light of day was situated eight miles from York, 
in Yorkshire, England, and there he was born 
^larcli 8, 1824. His father died when he was an 
infant, and his motiier, whose maiden name was 
Elizabeth Wilson, was also a native of Yorkshire, 
who afterward married Thomas Jefferson. William 
was taken in his infancy into the home of his uncle, 
Richard Wetherall, witii whom he remained until 
he was fourteen years of age. Then, with no 
moneyed capital, but an abundance of energy and 
determination, he started out in life for himself. 
Vtiv three years he was employed on a farm, re- 
ceiving 140 the lirst year and 145 the third. 

After working by the month for six years in 
England, Mr. Wetherall came to America in 1845, 
and from New York City proceeded to Livingston, 
N. Y., wliere he worked for two years on a farm. 
Afterward he was employed near Rochester for 
two and (me-half years, and thence came direct 
to Allegan County, where he bought the farm in 
Watson Township, which is still his home. lie 
w.as married, in 1851, to Ciiarlotte Gouchcr, who 
was liorn in New York in 1834, and the}' becanio 



the parents of seven children: William married 
Mary Horning, who died leaving four children: 
Stephen, Dicie, Morris and Claude; Helen married 
William Hunt, now deceased, and is the mother 
of two children: AUie and Emma; Mary is the 
wife of Reuben Deyo, of Otsego, and the mother 
of four children: Altha, Edna, Grant and Lula; 
Lottie, now Mrs. Frank Gilger, of Martin Town- 
ship, has three children: Willie, Hattie and Mil- 
dred; Mattie is the wife of John Frost, of Otsego, 
and has one daughter, Louise; Stephen and Alice 
are deceased. 

In his i)olitical affiliations, Mr. Wetherall was 
formerly an active Republican, but now votes for 
the best man, regardless of party ties. He has 
served efficiently as Pathmaster and School Di- 
rector. In the Methodist Episcopal Church, to 
which he lielongs, he serves as Class-leader, and 
is a teacher in the Sunday-school. He was for- 
merly Steward in the Otsego charge, but is now 
in the Martin charge, taking an active part in 
religious work, and contributing liberally to all 
good causes. During the late war, he enlisted in 
the first Michigan Engineers and Mechanics' Infan- 
try, and served with Gen. Slicrman ten months. 



-^3. 



"S] 



^■^ 



OSIAII C. MILLER, the ex-Mayor of the 
city of Bangor, who is sagacious in looking 
after the interests of the city and township, 
' also takes a great degree of interest in see- 
ing to what extent Mother Earth will yield an in- 
crease. He owns an excellent farm of two liun- 
dred and forty broad and fertile acres, and also 
carries on the hardware business in the city. He 
was born in Monroe County, Mich., February 3, 
1833, where he grew to mature j'ears and received 
a common-school education, surrounded by the 
impediments and difficulties usually attending the 
settlement of a new country. Losing his mother 
when only thirteen years of age, necessity com- 
pelled him to depend upon his own efforts for a 
livelihood, and he began his career under adverse 
tircuinstances. He made maniy efforts toward 
securing what education he could, and engaged for 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



245 



two winters in sawinsr wood, this affovdin!; him 
tlie 0|)poitiinity of attending school. 

Tlie father and mother of our subject, John and 
Fannie (Woodruff) Miller, were both natives of 
New York, the former having been born in 
1806. lie w.os one in a family of Seven children; 
Ilirain, Alnieda, John, James, Klniira, Hannah and 
Stephen, and the parents of tliis famil}' were lin- 
eally descended from the Dutch. John and Fannie 
Miller came to Michigan as early as 1831, and here 
commenced the experiences of pioneer life, which 
were not different from those of most who 
came to the State in tlie early days. Our 
subject spent seven summers of his life as an em- 
ploj'e on the Wabash and Miami Canal, where he 
made his first 8100. In 1858 he came to Van 
Bureii County with a team and wagon which he 
had purchased, and which he exchanged for forty 
acres of land. He immediately returned to Monroe 
County, securing a situation in a brickyard. In the 
fall, he purchased a horse and buggy and drove to 
Bangor, where he purchased the farm now owned 
by him, giving in payment $100, his first purchase 
of forty .acres, and his horse and buggy. In 1860, 
he followed his trade, that of a carpenter and 
joiner, and worked in a sawmill as an emploj-e of 
.1. H. Nvman. In the spring of 1861, he returned 
to his trade, working at it until September 25, 
1861, when he w.as united in marri.age with Eveline 
Watkins. They began their married life with a 
farm paid for and ^'-W in cash. 

Thomas Watkins, the father of .Airs. Jliller, came 
herein 1857 from Ohio. Mrs. Katie (.Spauglin) 
W.atkins, tlie second wife of Thomas Watkins .and 
the mother of Mrs. Miller, died in Hancock County, 
Ohio, to which ])l.ace they removed in 1857. 
After Mr. and Mrs. IMiller's marriage, they passed 
eleven years on the farm, where their three chil- 
dren were born, namely: Ida, born .Inly 10, 
1H()2, died in 1872; Omar, born Se[)tember 6, 
1865, IS a resident of Bangor, and .h)lm J., who 
was Ixirn December 26, 186<J. In 1872, Mr. Miller 
bought a small stock of hardware and has con- 
ducted this business in connection with farming 
since. He has added to his farm fi-oiii time to 
time until he now has a splendid estate of two 
hundred and forty acres to which he gives his [ier- 



sonal attention and has it all under excellent cul- 
tivation. He has been identified with all the 
interests tending to promote the township and 
countj- and he is considered a gentleman whose 
word is as good as his bond. In 1891, he was 
elected honorable Maj'or of the citj' of Bangf)r 
and filled the oflicc not only with credit to himself 
but with great satisfaction to his constituents. 
He has been more than half the time since his resi- 
dence here a member of the School Board. 

Mr. Miller's life w.as begun as a poor boy. B\- 
energy and persever.ance, united with economy 
and good business qualifications, he has secured a 
competencj^ and is now living in the enjoyment 
of the comforts and luxuries wealth affords. The 
records show him to be one of the heaviest tax- 
payers in his school district and township. Politic- 
ally, he is a stanch Democrat and socially, is a 
leading member of the .Alasonic fratcrnitv. 



V^ 



*=S*^H' 



_y 



<^ iklLLI.VM PEET, a retired farmer and cap- 
\/\/// '^l'*'' <^f .\llegan, Allegan County, w.t.s 
W4 horn April 15, 1827, in Deerfield Town- 
ship, Oneida County, N. Y. His parents were John 
and Mary (Davis) Pect, natives of England and 
AVales, respectively. They were married in Liver- 
l)ool, England, before coming to America. On 
landing in New A'oik, they immediately settled in 
Deerfield Township, Oneida County, where Mr. 
Pcet purchased a small farm and erected a log 
house, where he resided for some twenty years. 
He then sold and moved to Cattaraugus County, 
where he purch.osed one hundred acres. This he 
improved, and erected good, substantial liuiUlings, 
but after a residence there of a few years, he sold 
to his eldest son, Thomas, purch.asing one hundred 
and thirty-five .acres adjoining. He likewise im- 
proved thistr.act, and here spent the remainder of 
his days, dying April 10, 1873, at the age of 
seventy-seven years. Sometime previous to his 
death, he sold the farm to his son John, with whom 
he made his home. His good wife p.a.ssed away 
July 17, I87.'i. at the age of scvenly-iiino years. 
•She was a valued member of the Baptist Church, 



246 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



of which her husband was an attendant. Mr. 
Peet was a stalwart Democrat. He was a hard 
worker and an honest man, and was the father of 
a family of eight children, live of whom survive 
Thomas died April 1, 1850, aged thirty-one years; 
Griffith died when four years old, and Edward 
on the 27th of August, 1890. Those living arc: 
(leorge, Evau, William, David and .John. 

The subject of this sketch was educated in the 
district school of Deertield Township, his native 
county, afterward attending school in Cattaraugus 
County in the winters, and working on the farm 
in the summer months, until he reached his ma- 
jority. He then left the parental roof, and started 
out in life with nothing but a strong hand and 
willing heart. He hired out to a farmer in the 
neighborhood, receiving ^13 per month. The 
same fall, he went on the Alleghany River, and 
worked on a sawmill, remaining there eighteen 
months, having the sole charge of the mill. He 
then journeyed to Genesee County, the same .State, 
and worked eight months on a farm. Having 
learned the trade of a carpenter at odd times, he 
worked at this the ensuing two years. Octo- 
ber 5, 18.54, he came to Michigan and settled 
in Heath Township, Allegan Count3', which is now 
known by the name of Pine Plains. Purchasing 
eighty acres of wild timber land, he set about in 
true pioneer style, erecting a crude frame house, 
11x21 feet, into which he moved three weeks 
after. He ran in debt for the farm, which cost 1480) 
onl_y paying down $170. AVith ax in hand, he 
commenced to chop and clear his land, l)ut after 
two years' time, he plainly saw he could not meet 
his payments and took a small farm, which had 
been partly cleared, to work for one year. In the 
winter he chopped and hauled cord wood to Alle- 
gan at night, si)endiug the entire day in preparing 
it. The following spring he had his land all paid 
for, with the excei)tion of *30, which he employed 
an agent to borrow for him without giving any 
security whatever. 

William Peet has brought his farm to a splendid 
state of cultivation, and by subse(pient purchases, 
now owns one hundred and seventy-live broad and 
fertile acres, on which he has erected a handsome 
and commodious house, costing $2,000. He also 



has a fine barn, with all the conveniences wished 
for, besides a tenement house on his place. A fine 
apple orchard adorns the place, which gives him 
a profitable income, and general farming is carried 
on. In 1888, he decided to move to the cit3' of 
Allegan, and now lives on North Street, where he 
has a tine home. 

The subject of this sketch was hapi)ily married 
to Phidelia L. Vahue, February 11, 1852. She is 
a native of Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., 
where she was born February 4, 1835, and is the 
daughter of Philip and Arminta (Giliett) A'aliue, 
natives of Clinton County, N. Y., and Chitteudon 
County, Vt., respectively, the father having been 
born March 6, 1810, and the mother February 
18, 1811. Mr. Vahue was a farmer in Allegany 
County, N. Y., and came West in 1854, settling in 
Allegan Township, this county. He still carried 
on farming here, on forty acres, to which he added, 
until at the time of his death he owned one 
hundred and ninety-two acres. He moved to the 
city of Allegan two years before his death, which 
occurred in 187'J,the mother passing away in 1882. 
He was a Republican in i)olitics, and a wealthy 
man of the township. He and his wife belonged 
to the Baptist Church. They were the parents -of 
seven children, three of whom grew to maturity': 
Mrs. Peet, Charles A., and Orson G. The others 
were: Sherman D., Miles, Mary .J. and Emily M. 

The estimable wife of our subject is the mother 
of six children: .Tudson A. married Mary 
Durand, bj' whom he had one child, Claud; he was 
divorced from this wife, and afterward married 
Bliss Roby Butler; the\- reside on the old home- 
stead, and are the parents of one child. Minnie M., 
Mrs. J. Bills, a resident of Allegan Township, and 
the mother of four children: AVilli.am, Adelliert, 
Merua, and Maud. IMary, Mrs. George E. Kings- 
ley, a farmer in Pine Plains Township, has one 
child, Fred; Edward C, a farmer; Flora M., now 
Mrs. Maurice Thorp, to whom one child has been 
born, Cleo; and John P., a student in the High 
School at Allegan. Mr. Peet is an adherent of the 
Democratic part^', and is one of the prominent men 
of the county. He has been honored by his fellow- 
citizens by the gift of the otllce of .luslicc of the 
Peace, which position he held for the long period 




€"t-^ 




<3^^ /S^ ^Js^JtL-A^^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RIX'ORD. 



249 



of tliirty years, and to tlie satisfaction of all eon- 
c'Ci'iied. The ollii'o of Towusliip Treasurer was his 
for two years, and also various other miliar dllices 
of tiiC township. He and liis family are held in 
liigh repute hy all in the vicinity. 

ON. FRANCIS 15. ST0CKI5KIDGE, United 
.States Senator from Jliehigan. ".Some men 
arc horn great, some achieve greatness, 
some have greatness thrust upon them." 
The subject of our sketch, although well-linrn, 
achieved his position by labor and assiduity, aided 
by a strong will and au indomitable purpose; and, 
wiien at length honors were thrust upon him, he 
was found well-litted to sustiun Ihein, and he bore 
them meekly as sacred trusts. ' 

Mr. Stockbridge was born at Bath, Me., April 9, 
182G. He is descended from honest, sturd3- New 
England stock, eminent for its high sense of honor 
and unswerving integrity. Any man liorn in 
New Kngland nei'd never blush at the mention of 
his liirtliplace, for her sons have tiaversed the 
globe, and the odor of her good name h;us been 
transmitted and leavened the earth. His father, 
Dr. John Stockbridge, was a phj'sician of promi- 
nence in Hath, and practiced his profession there 
for nearly half a century. His mother, I^liza 
Stockbridge, w!i^ the daughter of John Hiissell, the 
veteran editor of the ISostcm Gazette. 

Francis 15. Stockbridge received his education in 
the common schools and academy of his native 
place, until he reached the age of sixteen, when he 
accepted a clerksliip in a dry -goods store in lioston. 
While there he saw, or became acquainted with, 
many of the noted men of New England, whose 
memory still lingei-s vividly in his mind. He re- 
mained there until 1817, when he came West to 
Ciiicago, which in those carl\- days showed no 
prophecy of being the future site of the wonder of 
the centuries, the World's Fair. In connection with 
another gentleman, he there opened a lumber yard, 
under the (inn name of Carter it Stockbridge. 

In making that move, Mr. Stockbridge evinced 
the rare foresight and sagacity displayed in all 
the after tmnsactions of his successful career. From 
11 



a clerk in a dry-goods liouse in Boston, lie became 
a lumber merchant in Chicago, and from that lime 
onward his interests rapidlj' widened until lie be- 
came one of the most prominent and extensive 
lumber dealers in the Northwest. In 1853, he re- 
moved from Chicago to Allegan County, Mich., 
wheie he had a number of sawmills. Locating at 
Saugatuck, he remained there until 1871, when he 
removed to Kalamazoo, where he has since resided. 
Shortly after his removal to Kalamazoo, Mr. 
Stockbridge became connected with O. R. Johnson 
&! Co., whose mills then turned out about twentj-- 
live million feet of lumber annually. Soon after- 
ward he became a member of the Mackinac Lum- 
ber Company, whose mills were of about the same 
cai>.acity, and in 1875, was elected President of 
the company. Three 3-ears afterward he founded 
and became President of the Black River Lumber 
Company. He led a busy life. In 1887 he or- 
ganized the Kalamazoo Spring A- Axle Companj-, 
of which he is also President. He is a member 
of the Ft. Bragg Lumber Company, of California, 
and is a large owner of Mississippi pine lands; a 
leading stockholder in Menominee iron mines and 
the IMenominee River Lumber Company, of the 
I'piier Peninsula of Michigan, and largely inter- 
ested in the famous S. A. Brown ife Co. stock- 
I)rceding farm, near Kalamazoo. During the war, 
though not in active service, he was on the stalT 
of (Jov. Blair, and gained the rank of Colonel. 

In 1869, Mr. Stockbridge was elected to repre- 
sent Allegan County in the State Legislature, and 
after completing his term, was elected to the State 
Senate, where he served most acce|)tably until 
lH7;i. In both Houses he was distinguished for 
his tact as an organizer, his calm insight and pru- 
dence .as a manager, and his great ability in com- 
mittee work in every form. He has been engaged 
in several political campaigns, in which his reputa- 
tion as a statesman and as a man of keen business, 
as well as political, foresight h.as been clearly dem- 
onstrated, thus adding year by year to his reputa- 
tion and the esteem in which he is held by his col- 
leagues and constituenUs. His course seems to have 
been steadily progressive, both politically and m 
his I)usiness. "Confidence is a plant of but slow 
growth," but the people had tried him and he had 



250 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



then' eiinMilrncc, and in 1.S87 lliey clcotcil liiiii ki 
suecet'd Hon. Oniai' I). Coiigor in tlio Senate of the 
United Stales. 

Ill tliat time-lioiiored cliaiiilicr, tilled witli tlie 
sacred nieniorics of departed L;ieatnoss. where the 
god-like Webster tlmndered, where still linger tlie 
echoes of tlie voices of Clay. Sumner, Everett, 
Conkling, Blaine, and a host of mighty ones, not 
dead, hut living evermore — here, as elsewhere, 
his practical ability has made itself apparent. lie 
served with marked ability on several Senate com- 
mittees; on the Committee on Fisheries, which was 
of great importance as affecting the food sujiply of 
the people. Of this committee he was Chairman. 
Me served on the Census Committee, on the Com- 
mittee on Epidemic Diseases, the Committee on 
Indian Affairs, the Committee on Railroads and 
Naval Affairs. Though perhaps less known as a 
politician, much less as a mere politician, he is a 
Republican of the most pronounced type, one who 
has ever labored for the best interests of his party. 
As a legislator, he has shown marked ability and 
discretion in considering and deciding grave ques- 
tions of National politj' and i)racticality, and has 
preserved his equanimity' among the many clash- 
ing and discordant elements that beset a man in 
political life. 

The Senator was married, in 18(33, to Miss Betsey 
Arnold, of Gun Plain, Allegan County, Mich., the 
estimable daughter of Daniel Arnold, Esq., one of 
the pioneers of the State. Their social and domes- 
tie relations have ever been most pleasant. At the 
federal capital thej' have moved in the higliest 
and most select circles, and have been noted for the 
munificence and royalty of their entertainments 
and receptions, as also at their elegant Michigan 
home, one of the finest in the State. Here the 
Senator comes at times, and, throwing off for a 
short season the oppressive cares of State and busi- 
ness, he enjo.ys the beauties of his extensive 
grounds, and gives himself to restfulness and 
the indulgence of his natural tastes for all that is 
choice and elegant in literature and art, in the full 
enjoyment of all that an ample competence can 
gratify, the sure result of wise and well-directed 
commercial enterprises. Like the California Crcesus, 
Senator Stanford, he is a great lover of the horse. 



his keen eye taking in with admiration tlie 
points and l)eauties of a well-bred animal, and in 
the raising of fine stock he perha[)s finds one of his 
greatest sources of pleasure. 

Notliwithstanding the niulti|)licity of his busi- 
ness interests, the time and attention devoted to 
|)olitical and (iovernmental affairs, and the de- 
mands of social life, we find the Senator not un- 
mindful of the sober and more imiiortant duties 
and promptings of the higher life, for as a member 
of the Protestant Episcoiial Church, he is one of 
the Yestiymen, and prominently and actively con- 
nected with all church and charitable matters. He 
is President of the Kalamazoo C'liildren's Home, a 
most worthy charity. He bought and gave the 
site and paid liberally toward the building of the 
lieautiful edifice of the Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation, which n'ow stands a monument to his 
munificence, that donation alone amounting to 
!i!l 0,000. lie also subscribed liberally toward the 
building of the Academy of Music, and is a munif- 
icent patron of a hospital in Chicago. 

In October, 1887, we find the Senator one of 
three gentlemen who gave 5^13,000 toward carrying 
on the work of Kalamazoo College, and to causes 
such as these he has given freely of his means, 
keeping ever in view the prosperity and best inter- 
ests of the city of his residence. He is a man of 
majestic and courtly presence, yet affable and easilj' 
approached. He is poi)ular with all classes and 
with none more so than with his own employes. 
There is a gentle humor in his nature, that 
relaxes at times his seeming gravity of demeanor 
and renders him a pleasant and genial compan- 
ion, and, like Blaine, he enjoys a good story. 
and can tell one, too. He has done much for 
Kalamazoo, as well as for the other localities in the 
lumber districts, where he has interests, and later, 
for the great State in which they formed a part. 

In connection with his biogra|)hy may be found 
a portrait of Senator Stockbridge. An open- 
hearted, free and whole-souled man, doing from 
day to day some generous deed for others, high 
rank or station counting little in his eyes, he val- 
ues a man for what he is and what he has accom- 
plished, and there is no one more open to the ap- 
proaches of the jioor or humblest. Although he 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



251 



lias been of great hpiiefit to tlic coiniminilics in 
wliic'li III' has li\crl, he is now of equal or greater 
benelit to the State which he represents in the 
highest legislative body of the world. Personal 
interests are not allowerl to encroach upon his 
higher duties to the public. Patiently he listens to 
every argument advanced for or against a meas- 
ure, which ma}' affect his constituency or the pub- 
lie good, tearing down the web of political sophis- 
tries and getting at the true bearing and merits of 
any bill under discussion; and when at hist his de- 
cision is reached, his judgment is fixed, and he 
stands imnif)vable as a rock, and the persuasions 
or entreaties of his wannest friends liave no effect 
upon his judicial mind, wlien he feels that he is in 
the right. A self-poised, level-headed man, his 
adopted State is proud of him and he of her, and 
he stands high ranked among the sons of Mich- 
igan. 

The writer thankfully acknowledges the valu- 
able aid in statistical and other matter from that 
rare and invaluable book, '"The History of Emi- 
nent Men of Michigan." 



m>^^<m^ 



""^=5Q), 



-5- 



|7 DWELL A. NEWCOMR. It is with i)leas- 
(f§i ure that the biographer presents to the 
_5^^ readers of this volume the sketch of this 
enterprising \-oung farmer, whose fine tract of 
land is on section 6, Waverlj- Township, "\'an 
Huren County. He is a native of this county, his 
birth occurring in Waverlj- Township, July 9, 
1856, hence he takes a great interest in the wel- 
fare of this section. He is the son of Orlando and 
Elizabeth (Austin) Newcomb. 

Our subject traces his ancestry back many gen- 
erations, his father being Orlando Newcomb, his 
grandfather Willard, his great-grandfather David, 
his father James, his father Hezekiah ami his 
father Simon Newcomb, who was born in 
Marj'land. The family originally came from the 
West of England. His son, Willard Newcomb, 
l)orn in Stephen tow n, N. Y., April C, 178«, was 
in the War of 1812, and a pioneer of Orleans 
County, N. Y. Ky profession, he was a minister 
in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He came to 



Almena Township, VanBuren County, this State, 
in 18.'55, whore he made his home until his death, 
January ."51, 1862. The maiden name of his wife, 
the grandmother of our suljject, was Clarissa 
Heath, who bore him ten children, six sons and 
four daughters. 

The father of our subject was born in Livings- 
ton, N. Y., June 15, 1821, and, accompanying his 
parents on their removal to Michigan, was engaged 
in farming and Itnnbcring in rjloomingdale Town- 
ship, N'au Buren Country. In 1850, he located on 
section 12, Waverly Township, whei-e he purchased 
one hundred an<l twenty acres of land, which he 
set about industriously to clear and improve. He 
died in 1873, having been twice married. His first 
wife was ^Litilda Armstrong and his second Eliza- 
beth Austin. The latter-named lady was born in 
Lyons, N. Y., and bj- her union with Mr. Newcomb 
became the parent of eight children, six of whom 
grew to maturity: Lowell A.; Etta M., wife of H. 
M. Stout; Perry O., Travers O., Pert J., and 
Crace O. 

Lowell A. Newcomb w.as educated in the com- 
mon schools and remained with his mother until 
twenty-four j-ears of age, when he began farming 
on liisowu account. In 1882, he located where he 
now resides, having purchased thirtj'-two acres of 
land. He now has in his possession one hundred 
and fifteen acres, which he cultivates in the most 
intelligent manner. He has upon his estate all the 
needful buildings and farm machinery and ranks 
among the prominent agriculturists of AVaverly 
Township. 

The maiden name of our subject's first wife was 
Laurania Hill, who only lived three months after 
her marriage, her death occurring April 19, 1882. 
Mr. Newcomb was later married to Betsey E. Scott, 
who was born on the farm where our subject at 
present resides, Eebruarj- 20, 1860, his estate being 
a part of Mr. Scott's old homestead. Mrs. New- 
comb is a daughter of John and Isabella (Car- 
ulhei-s) .Scott, natives of Scotland. Her father w.as 
a son of George .Scott, who reared a large family 
of children. Mr. and Jlrs. John Scott came to the 
United States in 1840 and settled at Amsterdam, 
N. Y., removing later to Rochester, same State. In 
the fall of 1844, they made Michigan iheir home. 



252 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



anil loeatod uii a tract of one luindred and ninet\'- 
six acres on section G, Waverly Townsliip, winch 
lie cleared and improved, and later added forty 
acres to his original tract. In addition to the 
proiierty already mentioned, he owned eighty acres 
ill Allegan County. In politics, Mr. Scott was a 
Republican. He passed from this life June I.S, 
188(1. His wife still survives and makes her home 
with her son. She was born October .'5, 181l>, and 
is the daughter of Thomas and Helen (Hamilton) 
Caruthers. 

Our worthy subject and his estimable wife are 
consistent members of the Methodist Ei)iscopal 
Church and are greatly esteemed wherever they 
are known. 



"llJOHN SEP.RING, a gentleman-farmer, resid- 
ing in Gobleville, lilooiningdale Township, 
Van Buren County, is a native of Xew York 
State, having been born August 4, 1818. 
His father was John 11. Sebring, a native of Hol- 
land, who came to America when a young man. 
The mother was Maria Drake, a daughter of Richard 
Drake, of Ovid, N. Y., a prominent man of that 
place. The parents of our subject were married in 
New York and settled on a piece of land on the 
Holland purchase. The father died in 1820, at the 
age of forty-six years, having been born November 
19 1773. By this marriage, three children were born, 
our subject being the onl3- survivor. The mother 
was again married, this time to a Mr. Coleman and 
became the mother of four children, only one now 
living. She died near Rochester, N. Y. 

John Sebring started out in life for himself 
when fifteen and wfuked at the cooper business. 
Ho was married, February 4, 1838, to Betsey A. 
West, a native of Oneida County, N. Y., where she 
was born September 19, 1818. He made his home 
at Waterloo, N. Y., for a numlier of years and then 
went to Wayne County, where he lived until 1857, 
in which year he came to Michigan and settled in 
Kalamazoo. Soon after his marriage, he took up 
the carpenter's trade and followed it for many 
years. His good wife died July 23, 1864. at the 



age of forty-five. They became the parents of nine 
children, six of whom are living: James Deroy is 
married to Julia Sweet and lives in Kalamazoo, 
where he is a prominent grain dealer; Emma L. is 
the wife of Chauncy Strong, eng.iged in the insur- 
ance business at Kalamazoo and the former cashier 
of the bank at that place. Mary T. is the wife of 
William IT. Kellogg, and lives in Antwerp Town- 
sliii), this county; they have five children. Adella 
I!, married AVilliam A. Forbes, the jiresent County 
Clerk of Kalamazoo County; they are the parents 
of two children. M. Odell married Eva Oriswold, 
and is the father of two children; he is the chief 
clerk in the elevator at Kalamazoo: Theroii Y. 
married Harriet C. McPherson, a daughter of Dr. 
J. B. McPherson, of Manistee, and is the ca.shier in 
the Kalamazoo National Bank. 

Our subject was again united in the bonds of 
wedlock, choosing for his second wife Clarissa S. 
Hall, a daughter of Amos and Anna (Southvvorth) 
Hall, natives of Connecticut and New York, res- 
pectively. The ceremony took place in February, 
1865. Mr. Hall died in 1865, at the age of eighty- 
three years, at Kalamazoo. Mrs. Hall passed away 
three years previous, at the age of seventy-five 
years. They had born to them twelve children, 
two now living: Mrs. Sebring and Beach Hall, a 
resident of Kalamazoo. The wife of our subject 
was born September 8, 1821, in Chenango Count}', 
N. Y., and received a good education, teaching 
school twelve years. Mr. and ]Mrs. Sebring have 
had no children born to them. 

The original of this sketch did teaming from 
Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids for five years, and 
then he and his eldest son carried on the grocery 
business at the former place. But in 18G6 he 
came to this county and bought a farm of one 
hundred and forty acres, which was partially im- 
proved. He cleared forty acres more and finely 
improved it but, selling out, came to Gobleville, 
in 1877. Here he has a tract of seventy-six acres 
and has splendid buildings upon it. Mrs. Sebring 
attended the acadeni}' at Pitcher Springs, N. Y., 
and came to Michigan in 1853. She taught school 
a good deal in New York, and took care of her 
parents during their declining years. Our subject 
and his amiable wife are members of the Regular 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



255 



liaptist Church and are active in church work. 
'I'hi' former is a De.icon and has been Superinten- 
dent of tlie Smiday-si'iiool at Lawton, wiiile his 
wife was a teacher in tiie san)e Politically, Mr. 
Si'liring is a Republican, and he and his wife are 
Ihith temperance people and work for the ;idv:uKe- 
iiieiit of that cause. 



•i^ 



OSKIMI Sll.I.. M. I). The -cntlcinan whose 
portrait is presented on the opposite pafjfc 
was l)orn in Buffalo, X. Y., October i), 1821. 
and is the son of Joseph and Kliza (Berry) 
sill, the father a native of Lyme. Conn., and the 
mother, of Saratoga County, N. Y. The family is 
of Knglish ancestry, the great-grandfather of our 
subject, Josei)h, Sr., euiigrating to this country 
with .a brother and settling in L^'me, Conn. His 
son, the grandfather of our subject, located at an 
early d.ay in Saratoga County, N. Y. His son, 
.loseph, removed alxiut 1806 to Buffalo and in the 
spring of 1835 came AVest to Oberlin, Ohio. In 
the fMJl of 1836, he came to Jonesville, Ilillsd.ale 
County, this State, where he passed his last days, 
dying .Tune 30, 1843. His wife died the day fol- 
lowing. They left a family of four sons and one 
daughter, one son and two daughters having died 
previous to that time. The father followed the 
occui)ation of a general merchant in Oi)erlin and 
farmer at .lonesville. 

The original of this sketch was the eldest but 
'>nc in the parental family. His elder brother, 
<;iles K., went to California in 18.57, and died 
there about two years ago. Sidney B. is a dentist 
in ,\urora. 111., and Prof. .1. M. B. is Superintend- 
ent of the YpMlanli Normal School and ffirmerly 
oi'cupu'd the position of Superintendent of Schools 
in Detroit. The widowed si.ster of our subject was 
the wlfv of Wdliam B. Clai-k. a merchant of Kala- 
mazoo, wli(» died here about ten years ago. 

.Iosi>p|i Sill commenced the study of medicine 
prior to his father's death, and in the fall of 1«I3 
attended his lirst course of lectures at the Ceneva 
Medical College, in New York. In 1845-16 he 
opiMied a dental ollice in Kalama/.oo, which was the 
lii-st of jt.s kind in the city, and thus earned the 



money which enabled him to complete his studies 
in the medical department of the University of 
New York. He received his degree of Doctor of 
Medicine in March, 1847, and immediately com- 
menced the jjr.actice of his (irofession at.Ionesville. 
N. Y., where he remained until 1851. 

A graduate of the regular school of nieditinc. 
Dr. Sill practiced its doctrines until unable to 
check a malignant disease which was prevalent at 
that time. Cpon adopting the principles of 
Homeopathy he was successful with almost every 
case. In the winter of 1850-5 1, he took a jjost- 
gr.aduate course at the Cleveland H.>meoi)athic 
Medical College, and in the si)ring of 1851 located 
at Kalamazoo. He has been a constant resident 
here since that time, with the exccptif)n of a year 
spent in California and the winter of 1867-68, 
when he visited medical institutions in Kurope. 
Traveling evidently agrees with the Doctor, for 
while on the ocean trip to the Golden State via 
the Isthmus, he gained tifleen pounds en route, ten 
pounds on the return trip, and twenty pounds on 
his visit to Europe. 

Dr. Sill is the only physician in Kalamazoo wIk> 
has been in active pr.actice here since 1851, and 
the oldest practicing IIomeoi)alliist in the State,there 
being only two ph3'sicians of that school within its 
bounds at that time — one at (irand Rapids, who is 
now deceased, and Dr. Ellis, of Detroit, who has 
retired from practice. Dr. King Ijccanie a [lartner 
of our subject in 1858, and carried on his pr.actiec 
while he was in Europe. 

He t>f whom we write entered his tii"st school 
when ten years of age. but when fifteen w.as pre- 
pared to enter college. The following year ended 
his school life, after which lie was engaged as a 
teacher for three years. In politics, he votes the 
Republican ticket, but is not otherwise interested 
in politics. In 1H(>1 Dr. Sill, Intending to be |)res- 
ent at the inaugural of President Lincoln, reached 
Pennsylvania (hiring the oil excitement and be- 
came interested in developing wells which netted 
him a handsome profit. Later he became an ex- 
tensive stockholder in the old Telegraph Mine In 
Utah, which proved a good investment. He Is still 
the proprietor of mines there, some of which are 
being worked. He gives his Western interests 



256 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



considerable attention and makes frequent visits 
to Utah, his healtli not being able to stand the 
strain of constant practice. 

Dr. Sill was at one time part owner of a glucose 
factorj' at Leavenworth, Kan., which promised 
large returns, but was unfortunately burned, while 
the Doctor was en route from Utah to make it his 
fli'st visit. He has done much toward building up 
the city of Kalamazoo and is jiart proprietor of 
Rose Street Terrace. His office is in a handsome 
block, as are also his residence apartments. 

September 28, 1847, our subject was married at 
Jonesville, Mich., to Miss Ann Eliza Cliaraplin, a 
native of Ithaca, N. Y. She is one of the Trustees 
of the Ladies' Library, and, with her husband, is a 
member of the First Presbyterian Church. Although 
the Doctor has met with financial reverses, he now 
stands among the substantial citizens of the cit3^ 
He holds views of his own on many subjects and 
does not consider tlie State Medical Department 
necessary ,thinks there are too many doctors already. 
He is very conservative on educational methods, 
believing there is too much mechanical education 
and not enough individual development. He is 
an interesting conversationalist and genial com- 
panion and in tiie city and surrounding country 
his friends are legion. 



- I h , 1 p > p h , t m 



^ILLIAM FORD, of Climax Township, who 
\\\ „ /// m.nv lie denominatod a Jiioneer of Kal^- 



\/\li/ "^'"^y ^^ denominated a 
W^ mazoo County, thougli 



but a boy when he 
came here over forty years ago, has risen to promi- 
nence as a farmer and as a leading politician in 
this section of the State, being active in the in- 
terests of the Democratic party. Huron C'ount3', 
in the neighlioring State of Ohio, is the birthplace 
of our subject, and September 14, 1831, the date 
of his birth into the pioneer home of George and 
Anna (Lyons) Ford, who were natives of New 
York. Tlie father was born April 1.3, 1802, and 
the mother April 28, 1809, she being of Yankee 
blood. The father was of Scottish antecedents, 
his father, James Ford, having been born in Scot- 
land and reared in Ireland. Shortly after the 
American Revolution, he emigrated to this country 



with a brother, who went South and was never 
heard from again. The grandfather of our subject 
married Hannah Davenport, of Dutch parentage, 
and reared a large family. His career as a farmer 
in New York State was cut short by his untimely 
death at the age of forty j-ears. 

The father of our subject was a tailor by trade, 
and engaged at that several years in New York 
and somewhat in Ohio after his removal thither 
in 1829. He had settled in the wilderness of 
Huron County with his wife and two children, 
and at different tunes owned three farms there, 
doing a great deal of improving. He finally 
traded a farm there for land in Alamo Township, 
this county, and removed thitlier in the spring of 
184C, with an ox-team, being two weeks on the 
way, which led through the famous Cottonwood 
.Swamp, near Toledo, where in one place they 
were six hours going four miles, and then had to 
pay toll to get further. About this time, the fa- 
ther was severelj' injured by the falling of a tree, 
and was never able to work much after that. He 
and his son, our subject, developed the farm, 
building first a large tamarack log house, and be- 
ginning pioneer life. In 18.55. Mr. Ford left 
his farm in Alamo Township, and, settling on a 
farm in Climax Township, dwelt there until his 
death, April 1, 1872. He was a stanch Democrat 
in politics, in which he alwaj's manifested a good 
degree of interest. As one of the pioneers of 
Kalamazoo Count}', his memory is held in rever- 
ence. The mother of our subject was yet a young 
woin.iu when she died, February 20, 18.34. Three 
out of her four children grew to maturity: Betsy, 
Elma and William. 

It is of the latter we write. He obtained his 
early schooling in his native county, the first school 
that he attended being two miles from his home, 
and conducted under the rate-bill system. The 
sehoolhouse was a typical pioneer educational in- 
stitution, built of logs, heated by an open lire- 
place, and furnished with rude slab benches. 
When our suljject was fifteen years old, he came 
with his parents to their new home in Alamo 
Townsliip, where he attended school for awhile. 
l)Ut tlie most of his time was employed in farm 
work, in clearing the land and tilling the soil. He 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



257 



was but two years old when bis motliei- died, and 
iit the time the faiiiily eamo to Miehigau his sister 
iiad married, and, bis father beii\g a crii)|)le, lie bad 
to liegin life m earneal to help support tlie fam- 
ily and attend to the wants of the household, the 
eajiable lad doing the most of the cooking for 
live years after eoming to this county. He was 
fond of llic hunt, and as wild game was plenti- 
ful, t)eeasionally found time to indulge in the 
pleasures of the chase, killing a deer now and 
then, and among his trophies are the antlers of 
two, which are well mounted and ornament the 
walls of his parlor. 

When he entered u|)on liis indepenilent career 
a> a farmer, IMr. Ford bought eighty acres of 
land in Alamo Township, but after clearing some 
of it, he sold it at a good advance and Iwught 
fortv .acres on section 3*2, of which only ten acres 
had lieen cleared. He felled tlic rest of the tim- 
ber, and in ten years sold that [ilace in order to 
liuy ninety-three .acres of his i)resent farm on sec- 
tion 'ix. Climax Township. Thirty-live acres of it 
li.-iil been cleared, but there were no buildings on 
the place worth mentioning, except a Ijoard house. 
Mr. Fori) h.as worked unceasingly to liring about 
the change that makes it one of the finest farms 
in the locality, with line modern improvements 
and all the appliances for carrying on agriculture 
profitably. He luis erected a good set of build- 
ings, putting up a large frame barn in IK7.'5.aiid 
building a commodious and neatly-appointed frame 
residence in 1870. He has also increased the size 
of his farm to one hundred and thirty-three acres, 
of which one hundred acres arc cleared and under 
line cultivation. lie raises both grain and stock. 
and has cattle, horses and swine of high grades. 

Jlr. Ford was married, .\pril "ii), IHo!), to Jliss 
Flora K. Root. She, too, is a native of Ohio, lM>rn 
in Lorain Coiinly .lanuary 21, 1831). She came to 
Mich., in .Vpril, IH.")!), with her parents, who be- 
came residents of Climax Township. Her mar- 
riage with our subject has brought them nine 
children, seven sons and two daughters, tlii' latter 
(Birdie and liia) dying in infancy. The names of 
the boys are .\slitoii F.. .Vrthiir II., Ozias C., 
(ieorge. Van Fvry. Charles and Deo, respectively. 

( (ur subject li.T." shown hims»df in various ways 



a public-spirited citizen, who is thoroughly alive 
to the interests of township and count}', and he 
is noted as a leader among the Democrats of this 
l)art of the State, one who wields more power in pol- 
itical matters than anyone else in his coniinu- 
uity, and is regarded .as one of our shrewdest and 
most acute politicians. He is thoroughly posted 
on natiijiial issues, in which he is greatly interested, 
and he understands well the best mode of con- 
ducting a local political cain|)aign. At the Last 
call for soldiers during the late war, Mr. Ford 
was drafted, and, it being impossible for him to g(j, 
he sent a substitute, for which he paid jiGOO. 



-^^^j^H-^-i^ll^iH 



# 



"^(ACOB Mi LIN. This gentleman is a resi- 
dent of section 35, Texas Townshii), Kalama- 
zw) County, where he is successfully cariy- 
ing on tiie pursuits of agriculture. Ills 
l)arents were Thomas and Mary (Jackson) McLin, 
natives of Tennessee. The maternal grandfather 
was a eoiisin of Andrew Jackson. The parents 
came from Clinton County, Ohio, to Kalamazofi 
Count}', in September, 183(1, and settled on section 
36, Texas Townshi|), where they spent the re- 
mainder of their days. 

Eleven children were born to the father and 
mother of our subject, his birth occurring Novem- 
ber 20, 1817, in Clint(m County, Ohio, where he 
l).asscd his Iwyhood days and in tlie fall of 1830 
came to this county with his parents. He here 
continued to live with his father until he was mar- 
ried October 23, 1812, to Miss Adelia (Jage in 
Texas Township, this county. Mrs. McLin is a 
daughter of Isaac and Polly (Howard) Ciagc, na- 
tives of Vermont and New York State, respectively. 
The mother died in Chautauiiiia County, N. V., 
and the father came to Kalamazoo County in 18.3;'), 
settling in the northern part of Texas Township, 
where he lived until his deatii. lie w.as the father 
of seven children, of whom .Mrs. McLin is the 
fourth-born, she having had her birth in Chautaii- 
(pia County, N. Y., .luly 22, 1823. 

After his niariiage, Mr. McLin settled on sectir)n 
3.'). of Tex.Ms Township, on the farm where he now 
lives. It (oiiipriscs fifty-(.)iie .acres and on it he 



258 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



has made the very best improvements. This couple 
have become the parents of three children: George 
H., Mary 11. and Luther I. Mary is the wife of 
R. II. Gibbs, of Three Rivers, Mich. Mr. McLin 
has held the offices of Constable of Ins township, 
Justice of the Peace for seventeen years and Town- 
ship Collector, the duties of which offices he dis- 
charged faithfully and conscientiously. He has 
taken in former days quite an active part in 
politics and lias held all the offices of liis township. 
He is a stanch member of the Republican party 
and has been since its organization. Religiously, 
he belongs to the Methodist p]piscopal Church. 
The son, George II., is a physician at Huntington, 
Ind., and is a graduate of the Cleveland and the 
Philadelphia IMcdical Colleges,and has also attended 
college in Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, Eng- 
land. Luther I. is a graduate of the medical de- 
partment of the Michigan University and also of 
Detroit and is now practicing at St. .Joseph, Mich. 
The gentleman of whom we write this brief record 
is with his good wife held in esteem by the 
entire community in which they are spending the 
evening of their lives. 



OHN McBRIDE, a respected and prominent 
farmer, located on section .35, Hopkins 
,^^ . Township, Allegan County, is a son of 
(^f/ James and Polly (Wolf) McBride, natives 
of Pennsylvania. They there resided on a farm 
in Venango County, and tlie mother passed away 
in 1838. The father is still living, and makes his 
home with his children. He was twice married, 
the mother of our subject being his Brst wife, and 
by her ho had three children. The second mar- 
riage was fruitful of nine children. 

Our subject was bom December 24, 1833, in 
Center County, Pa., and lost his mother when five 
years old. He began life for himself at ten by farm- 
ing by the month. He came to Jackson County, this 
State, in 1855, and the following year came to this 
county, and worked on farms in summers, and in 
the sawmills in the winters. 



In August, 1861, Mr. McBride enlisted in Com- 
pany G, Sixth Michigan Infantry, and was sent to 
Baltimore, Newport News. Ship Island, and then, 
under Gen. B. F. Butler, on the expedition to New 
Orleans, Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, wintering in 
various places in tlie South. He re-enlisted, and 
then came liome on a furlough. He .again returned 
Soutli, and w.as on duty at numerous places, fight- 
ing in the battles at Baton Rouge, and siege of Port 
Hudson, and also doing some lively skirmishing. 

This brave soldier returned home after four 
years of faithful fighting in September, 1865, and 
settled on a farm on section 16, Hopkins Township, 
which was partly improved. In September, 1866, 
he was married to INIary M. (Gregor.y) Brewer, a 
daughter of James H. and Lydia J. (Daniels) 
Gregory, both natives of Massachusetts, the former 
lieing born in 1820, and the latter, who died in 
1889, in 1824. They moved to Ohio in 1848, 
and came to j\Iichigan in 1852, settling in Watson 
Township, this county, on section 2, taking up 
one hundred and sixty acres of land. During the 
Civil War, the father moved to this township .and 
settled on section 15, where he now lives. They 
had five children born to them: Mrs. McBride, 
Edwin E., Flora A., Mrs. Frank Ilofmaster, of Kal- 
am.azoo, being the ones living. The wife of our 
subject was born .January 17, 1843, in Berkshire 
County, Mass., and w.as married, in 1860, to Fred 
A. Brewer, a soldier in the Fourth Michigan Cav- 
alry, lie w.as captured and held in rebel prisons 
five months, and died soon after being exclianged. 
He was the father of one child, Edwin A., wlio 
married Lil)liie McCliiitock, and lives in tliis town- 
ship with his wife and three children. 

After his marriage, our subject lived on section 
16, this township, three years, when he moved to 
section 28. In 1869, he located on his present 
farm, wliere he has one hundred and twenty acres 
in all, and sevent3'-five highly improved. He has 
cleared it all himself, and is a sagacious and in- 
dustrious farmer. He lost his barn by fire in 1876, 
and soon erected .another and Ijetter one in its 
place. He and his wife are the [)arents of tlirce 
children: Gertie Adella, the wife of William Bost- 
wick, of Kalaniazao City, and the mother of two 
children : Jesse Lee, and Alice A. These cliildrea 




0,.-p^~^^. 






if/y--^ 







t! 



I'ORTRAIT AND UIOGRAPIIICAL RKCORD 



261 



have received the best educational advantages of 
liie day, and Mrs. Bostwiek was engaged in teaeli- 
ing school before lier marriage. Mrs. MfBiido is 
a mcnihor of the Congregational C'hiuvli, and she 
and lici- husband both belong to tlie (Jrange, of 
wiiic'li she was Assistant Steward and Lady .Assist- 
ant. She is also a member of the Woman's Relief 
Corps at Hopkins Station, and has been Outside 
(luard. In polities, ]\Ir. McBride is a Republican, 
and always lias been, and is one of tlic leaiiing 
meinbcisof the (Jrand Army of the Rei)ulilic, where 
he loves to meet witii his old comrades. 



d-H" •!•*,< 



^^.^.{..^.{.r- 



l****^^ •J"i'**l= 



n~^RIAlI riMOIIN. M. 1). This family ori- 
ginated in Sliaftesliury, Dorsetshire, Eng- 
land. The Rev. William rpjohn, faliier of 
the subject of this biography, belonged to the In- 
dependents of England, and preached in Shaftes- 
bury for forty ^ears witht)ut remuneration, believ- 
ing it to be his duty to lead the sinner to the Re- 
deemer without money and without price; he at 
the sanie time followed his legitimate business as a 
civil engineer. He was a man of acknowledged 
ability and of good lineaj;e. The Doctor's mother, 
Mary (Standard) Ipjoim, was the third daughter 
of Mr. Standard, of Sherborne, and belongs to the 
great Devon family of Xortlicote, the present head 
of which is the Earl of Iddesleigh. Her grand- 
father, Thomas L:iwrence, was the second son of 
.lohn Lawrence, of .\shton Hall. Lancashire. Her 
grandmother was Mary Xortlicote, who married 
Thomas Lawrence, (X-tober 6, 172.i. 

Our subject is the ninth of twelve children and 
was born September 7. IhoH, in (llamorgan, near 
Cardiff, Monmouthshire, South Wales, where his 
parents were temporarily residing. To a.scertain 
the true worth of a man, it is necessary to know 
the influences to which he was exposed in his early 
days, the associations of his youth, the manner of 
his education. These things have niiicli U> do with 
the career which follow.s. We lind in I'riah's early 
life evident traces of a boy who was s|K'lling and 
reading his way to a fully-develo[ied man. He re- 
ceived the benelit of the elemeuUiry training of 



the English schools of his day and was then placed 
in the lleytesbury and Castle Carrj' schools, where 
he went through a fidl academic course. He re- 
members that his father look him fiom school for 
a time to aid liim in makinga railroad survey from 
London to Exeter, the first survey of the kind in 
England. 

Amid the corrective influences of an excellent 
home and the discipline and thorough training of 
good schools, ITrhih passed from cliildhood to man- 
hood. He remained at home until 1828, when he 
and his next older brother, William, bade goodbye 
to the inmates of the old home in ''Merrie Eng- 
land," and taking passage in an ocean ves.sel, em- 
barked with their effects and fortunes for the 
United States. After a prosperous voyage across 
the .\tlantic, they arrived in X'ew York City in 
June, and si)ent the summer traveling and pros- 
pecting through some of the Eastern and Soulliern 
States. 

Tiie following winter, our subject pl.ayed the 
"English Schoolmaster Abroad" for the people of 
East Hamburg, Erie County, N. Y. Early in the 
spring of 18.30 he returned to England for"ihe pur- 
pose of assisting his parents in their preparations 
for removing to America. Arrangements being 
comi)leted, he, with his father's family, once more 
set sail for the New AVorld, landing at New York in 
July the same year. The family settled in Green- 
bush (East Allianv). X. Y., and it was while living 
there with iiis parents that he commenced the 
study of medicine in the oflice of Dr. Hale. Mr. 
Upjohn had while living in England given some 
attention to tiie stud^'. Dr. Hale w.as a man of 
learning and an able physician, a graduate of 
Jefferson ^Medical College, of Philadelphia, and a 
man of liigli social standing, having married the 
granddaughter of Gov. George Clinton. 

After going through the full course of studies in 
the College <>t l'h3sieiaiis and Siirgu(ms in New 
York City, Dr. Upjohn graduated on March 25, 
ISIIL He had also attended the jnactice fif I'hysies 
and Surgery in tlie Xew York llos|)ital during tiie 
two sessions of 18.33-31; and ii.ad found time dur- 
ing his summer vacations to attend two full courses 
on surgery and analuny under Prof. Alden 
March, of Albany. The following recommenda- 



262 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tioii, which our graduate bore with his diploma 
from college, needs no word of comment: 

To whom it may concern : 

Be it known that Dr. Upjohn received his de- 
gree in our university yesterdaj'. It affords me 
great pleasure to bear testimon3' to the great dili- 
gence with which lie has pursued his studies, and 
to the uncommon proficiency wliich he evinced in 
his examination Ijefore the professors. My best 
wishes attend liim in his career in life, and it is my 
opinion that wherever he may locate, he will be a 
valuable acquisition to his professional brethren 
and the community. 

Valentine Mott, M. D. 
New York, April 2, 18.34. 

Dr. Upjohn commenced the practice of medicine 
at Brighton, Monroe County, N. Y., immediately 
after his graduation. His parents had removed to 
Pittsford, in the same county, where the father 
died in 1847 and the motlier in 1852. In June, 
1835, he and his brother William started out to 
seek their fortunes in the far West, crossing Lake 
Erie by steamer. From Detroit, on horseback, they 
took up their line of march westward through the 
wooded territory and reaching Kalamazoo County, 
pitched their tent on the northwest quarter of 
section 31, in that i)art of the township of Rich- 
land since called Koss. Having erected a log house 
here on their new land among the early settlers of 
this region, tlie two brothers commenced the prac- 
tice of medicine. The Doctor had not been long 
in Michigan wlien he learned that the law required 
physicians to liave a license, making it necessary 
for him to go to Detroit to present his credentials. 
Tliis lie did and i-cceived his papers. 

On Scpleniher 15, 1837, Dr. Ujtjohn was married 
to Maria Mills, youngest daughter of Deacon 
Simeon Mills, one of the pioneers of Gull Prairie. 
Our subject's i)ractice has been very extensive. 
His ride on horseback for more than twenty years, 
until roads were made and luiggies could be had, 
extended among the sparse stUllemeuts and solitary 
log cabins scattered over the territory of five 
counties. To visit his patients, he rode by a pio- 
neer's new-made track, or by the Lidian trail or 
blazed trees, or tiirough the trackless woods, "by 
routes obscure and lonely." Kindly, patiently, he 
went on his errand of mercy in all seasons of the 
year, and througli all kinds of weather, rendering 



his services as cheerfully to the poor, who could 
not pa.v, as to those who could. At one time, while 
attending the sick in a north settlement, as Dr. 
Upjohn was about to leave he was informed that 
around the lake there was a log cabin, whose in- 
mates were all sick. After a round-.about ride, he 
came to the cabin, knocked at the door again and 
again, and at last heard a faint "come in." Enter- 
ing he found the entire family of seven or eight 
peisons prostrate with fever, .and the first word 
uttered was a request for water. Filling a large 
pitcher with w.ater from the lake near by he gave 
to each one a drink. Finding that some of them 
were very sick, he dealt out medicine .as each case 
required, built a fire, chopped wood, brought it in 
and made them as comfortable as he could, gave 
them words of cheer and bade them good-night, 
promising to come again. He then rode three or 
four miles out of his way to find a neighbor who 
would stay with them for one night. 

Dr. Upjohn at that time was obliged to use a 
large amount of quinine and h.as more than once 
used an entire bottle in one day's ride of not more 
than forty miles. During his early experience, 
many of the virtues of quinine, not then adopted 
by the medical profession, that are well estab- 
lished in the present time, were recognized by him. 
Prof. Palmer, of the Medical University, gives liini 
the credit of first using it as a cure for pneumonia. 
We give a few incidents illustrative of the trials 
and adventures of tlie physicians in the early set- 
tlement of this country. C)ur subject once made a 
trip of sixt3' miles, and at one place where he 
visited they had only a crust of johnny-cake to 
.satisfx' his hunger, and but a wisp of straw, that 
was taken from the bed of his patient, to feed his 
liorse. 

A number of years ago, Dr. Upjolm related this 
incident of his early practice: "1 had Ijeen gone 
from home two or three days, visiting the sick at 
almost every house, and staying at night wherever 
I happened to be. Tired and exhausted, 1 was 
making my w.ay home, walking and leading my 
horse, when within one mile of home I heard sonic 
one riding rapidly ))eliiud me, and my first impulse 
was to dodge behind the lu'ushes and let him pass. 
'Hallo there' said some one, and on coming up 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



263 



he hurriedly asked, 'Is this Dr. Upjolin?' 'Yes.' 
'Well, you're waiilcd.' -Wliere?' 'Six miles be- 
yond Yiuiki'c Springs.' 'Who is sick?' 'A 
woninn." Tlu' distance beinf; twenty-six miles I 
liesilalcd. I aslicd if she was veiy sick. 'Yes, 
\cry,' said the man, 'and very iioor; .you may 
never get your p.ay.' I wrote a note to my wife 
for some medicine to be sent liack liy the man and 
1 made my way l>ack, arriving there at three 
o'clock the next morning. I found my patient in 
a ciudc log house and very sick indeed, and in a 
log liarn nothing hut straw for my horse." 

Tlie wants uf a growing family often pressed so 
keenly ui)on him that the Doctor sometimes felt 
the need of i)rompt collection of his fees. Yet the 
writer has heard him say, that, driven by necessity, 
he has often entered with reluctance the settler's 
lif)nie to collect his bill, but the [)resence of destitu- 
tion and lack of the veiw necessaries of life were 
so evident that he has left tlic house without pre- 
senting his l)ill. A large part of liis early practice 
was of an imremunerative character, and on a close 
estimate liy himself, it would be safe to say that in 
his extensive [Mactice of sixty years he has given 
one-half of his services to the destitute and poor. 

Dr. (). F. liunoughs, of Galesburg, Mich., has 
written amusing incidents of our subject's stop- 
ping liis horse as they were riding together and 
getting out of the buggy to procure sonic plant 
that grew by the road side, then giving an inter- 
esting lecture upon it as they rode along. It was 
the same with geology — the fossils did not escape 
his notice. Fording the Kalamazoo River at one 
time on horseliack, wlieii on a visit to a patient, lie 
saw a large rock in the stream, and exclaimed, "I 
have found it after two year's search; I have found 
it at lasll Here is the bed-rock, tiie carlioniferous 
limestone," bul liiuiied on to attend to his pro- 
fessional duties. Returning, he dismounted and 
thougii the river was full of ice he stood knee-deep 
in the water and examined tlie rock. An incident 
in his l)oyliood days will illustrate a sterling trait 
of his character. When a boy of thirteen, he .and 
a schoolmate started on horseback to visit Netlej- 
Aliliey, f>n Soullianiplon l>:iy. by mooiilighl. Ar- 
riving at till! \<:\\, lliev left their horses and look a 
row boat for the Abljey, Here they had a deliglit- 



ful time, viewing its splendor by the light of the 
moon. Some time before, they had made a pledge 
to each other that they would never drink or play 
cards, and they betlK)uglil themselves that this 
stood them in good stead at this time, as there was 
much drinking and card-playing in the inns they 
passed by. Rowing l)ack they mounted tlu^r 
horses for home and Uriah's mate said, "Ta-I us try 
the speed of our animals." A little experience of 
this kind cost tlieiii dearly for after the race his 
mate's honse drojjped dead. Frightened, they 
rolled the animal out of the way and both rode 
home on one horse. The schoolmate thus si)oken 
of was llie late Sir Robert Lush, one of England's 
twelve judges. 

Dr. U|)jolin's ancestors on both sides have been 
mostly* Quakers and he in his gentle manners and 
unostentatious life h.as evinced the Quaker, al- 
though he has never worn the garb. In 18.34, 
while living in Brighton, N. Y., he joined the ,\nti- 
Slavery .Society, and afterwards joined the Repub- 
lican i)arty on its formation. While he and his 
lirother William were in the midst of their profes- 
sional life, they sent a petition willi many names 
attached to the Legislature, which resulted in that 
very important Act known as the Homestead 
E.xemption Law. In ^Michigan in 181,5, Dr. V\>- 
john was nominated for Congress on the Free-.Soil 
ticket. His liiotlier William was for many years 
locatedat Hastings, Mich., where he was lucratively 
engaged in the pr.actice of medicine, and where he 
died. In August, 1887, the lirother Er.ostus went .as 
a iiionetr to Nebraska, settled at Bclievue and 
printed tlie lirst pajior in that Territory; he was a 
surgeon in the army during the war, and practiced 
medicine in that State up to the time of his death. 
The youngest sister, Helen, married Judge Fenner 
Furgerson, a former resident of Albion, Mich., who 
was appointed l)y President Pierce the (irst Chief 
.Fuslice of Nebraska Territory. Our sul)jecl is the 
only surviving member of the famil3-. 

Twelve children have been l)Orn to Dr. and Mrs. 
I'lijohn, eleven of whom grew to mature years. 
Six arc graduates of the medical and pharmaceut- 
ical departments of .Michigan I'liiversity, namely: 
Helen, the wife of Iliigli Kirkland, a proini- 
ueiil pliy.sieian at Kahimai^oo; Mary N., wife 



264 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of W. P. Sidnaiu, of Kalamazoo; Amelia, formeil}' 
the wife of Dr. Caini)liell, but now decea(>ed; 
Menry U., William W., and .Tanc T. Mary and 
Amelia were the lirst lady graduates in the de- 
partment of pharmacy, and Frederick took a 
course in |)harmacy at Philadelphia. Tiie spirit of 
Galen that inspired the father has thus manifested 
itself in the love of the profession among his chil- 
dren. His daughter Alice received her early edu- 
cation at Gull IVairie Seminary, afterward attend- 
ing for a time the Normal School at Ypsilauti and 
later the Ladies' College at Kvanston, III. She 
married the Rev. AVriglit Barrett, a graduate 
of Garrett Biblical Institute. Virginia, at an 
early age, evinced a rare talent for music and was 
given a musical education at Detroit. She became 
a successful teacher and while thus engaged in 
Hastings, was taken ill and died, July 8, 1870, at 
her father's home in Galesburgh. Sara attended 
the public .school at Ann Arbor and married Rev- 
John Redpath, a graduate of the Union Thcok>gi- 
cal Seminary of New York. Ida (now deceased), 
the youngest of seven daughters, graduated at the 
High School in Ann Arbor, and married James 
Ila^'ward, a graduate from Michigan University in 
the literary and civil engineering departments. 
He was einplo3ed by the Government in making 
surveys in IMississippi and Texas, and was drowned 
in tiic Gulf of Mexico. 

The Doctor lived on (4ull Prairie from the time 
lie came to this county until 1868, with the ex- 
ception of two years which he spent with his fam- 
ily in Iowa. He then removed to Galesburgh, this 
county, where he remained until 1871, at which 
time he changed his residence to Kalamazoo. In 
tiie spring of that year he retired to a farm pur- 
chased of Charles Hrown, his brother-in-law, near 
Richland village, his old home. He is now past 
eighty-three years of age and still (pute robust. 
Sixty 3'ears of his life have been faithfully and 
conscientiously spent in his i)rofession and in pro- 
viding for and educating his eleven children. He 
is an affectionate and considerate husband and fa- 
ther, unselfish to a fault, studying the comforts of 
tlio.se around him rather than his own, always im- 
parting some valuable instruction to his children 
when gathered around iiimathoiue or while riding 



with him as he went about the country. Being a 
great reader and a man of original thought and 
wonderful memory, he was prepared for any 
emergency. For the past ten or lifteen jears 
his practice has been that of a consulting pliy- 
sician, and while not in active practice in the last 
few years he yet cherishes great interest in the 
advancement of medicine and the well-being of 
his fellow-men, cheerfully giving counsel where it 
is needed, pointing out dangers to life and health, 
with a kindl}' feeling to all humanity. In his re 
ligious views he believes that a well-spent life is 
the best preparation for future happiness, regard- 
less of religious creeds. Mrs. Upjoiin was the faith- 
ful and loving wife of our subject for the long 
period of forty-live years, sustaining him liy words 
of cheer and comfort when he wasalxmt to despair, 
and in all he has accomplished in securing a good 
home and a competency she deserves a full share 
of credit. She was called to her heavenly home 
February 1 7, 1882, when in her sixtieth year, loved 
and respected by all who knew her. 

A lithographic portrait of Dr. Ui)john accom- 
panies this biographical notice. 



-^ 



^-!-^§ 



^\ IH:STER a. putney. The older members 
III of a cominunit}' are doubly entitled to the 



>^ respect and esteem of their neighljors when 
their long lives have been replete with act.s of 
kindness, and their whole career marked b}- in- 
tegrity and uprightness. The time-honored and 
respected gentleman whose name appears at the 
head of this sketch makes liis home in Hartford, 
\'an Buren County. His native home was in 
Middlesex, Yates County, N. Y., where he was 
I)orn July 11, 1821. His father, Aaron Putney, 
was born in 1769, in Massachusetts, and the mother, 
Eleanor (Adams) Putney, w.as a native of New 
York. Our subject's grandfather. Jedediah Putney, 
served in the Revolutionary War and was a .son of 
John Putney, a native of England, who came to 
America when a young man and ligurcd conspic- 
uously in the early history of the countiy. The 
Putncys have l)een tillers of the soil at all times 
and have always been very succe.ssful. 



J 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



2G7 



Our suhjoct omigratcd to Oliio wlipii a \'oiing 

man and tlu'ic iiiairit'd Miss Klizalictli Parker, in 
IS It. Mrs. I'liUun- (lii'd in Ni'w York vviicncc our 
sulijcel liail nuived and wliere he lost two cliildicn. 
He was afterward married to Miss Mary A. Pratt, 
daughter of Ira and C'larisa J. (Oillette) Pratt, 
nativesof Jl'issachnseltsand New York State, resi)ec- 
ti vely, born in Uusliville,( )ntario C'onnty. Is'. Y., who 
liore him .seven eliiidren, live of wiioniaro still liv- 
ing: Orville C, Isaheilc A., William C, Katherine 
.1. and M. Josephine. 

In the spring of 1HG;5, AFr. Putney came to \'an 
Huren County, where he has ever since made his 
home. He found it new and undeveloped and at 
once rented a farm. Suhscipicntly he [nu'cha.spd 
land of his own and now has a nice farm of two 
hundred and thirtj' acres, on which his son Orvill 
resides. In the fall of 1890, he erected a beautiful 
modern residence in Hartford, whicli is not sur- 
passed by any in the village. Here he now resides, 
having l)een retired from manual labor since IHH'J. 
This honored gentleman has always been held in 
highest repute by all his friends and numerous 
ae(iuaintances for his honesty and uprightness. He 
is a true-blue Reiniblican politically, buth.asnever 
been an ollice-seeker, preferring the quietude of 
flomestii- life to the turmoil of public ollice. 



V. 



y 



(« felLLIAM MOTFRAM, M. I). Tliog(-ntlc- 
\/\l/l '"■^" ^^'''Osc poitiait appears on the oppo- 
]^^ site page deserves great credit for the pos- 
ition he won, not only as a ph3-sician and sur- 
geon, but in securing the confidence of the people 
whom he served. Dr. Mottiam wa.s born in 
the Stiite of New York, January 30, IS 10, and 
p.ossed from this life at his home in Kalamazoo, 
July 2, 1891. 

The father of our subject, William Motti'am, 
was a native of England, while his mother, whose 
maiden name was Mary I'rfMlient, was born in \'or- 
mont. The Doctor w:us married January 2U, 18.'5"), 
at Schoolcraft, this State, to Miss Gillian Marguer- 
ite, daughter of George E. and Ruth (Duncan) 
]..loyd, natives of Virginia, where they were 



among the first families, 
tram, on her father's 
one liundri'd years old. 



An aunt of Mrs. Mot- 

<ide. lived to he over 
One of the Lloyds 



became liiilcd Stiites Senator. Mrs. .Mottram 
came to Schoolcraft, this .State, as earl^' as 1832, 
one of a party of thirty-six, only two of whom arc 
living at the present time, namelj': Mrs. Mottram 
and her sister, Mrs. D. CJ. Kendall, who is at pres- 
ent residing in San Antonio, Tex. 

The Doctor and his wife arc the parents of 
three cliildrcn: Mary K.. William K. and Alice. 
The eldest daughter is the wife of Maj. W. C. Han- 
som, whose biography will appear on another page 
in this volume; William K. is residing in Ottawa, 
Kan.; and .Mice is the widow of Sidney Cook, late 
of Flat Rock, this Slate. The Doctor represented 
St. Joseph County in the Lower House of the 
Legislature of 1843, where he took an active i)art 
in organizing the public scliool library .system, 
which has become one of the most prominent and 
useful features of the great educational system 
of the State. Our subject located on the site of 
the present beautiful residence of the family in 
18")0, and in 1869, a modern dwelling was erected, 
which now adorns the place. 

The following is an extract of the speech of 
Charles S. May delivered .\ugust 13, 1891, at the 
pioneers' reunion of Kalamazoo County: 

The death-roll re.ad bj- your .Secretary shows that 
during the past year, some of the best known and 
most honored of your members have been suni- 
iiioned across the dark river. Alany of those I 
knew as we all knew them. Some of them were 
my friends, known and tried for many years. 
One of them, and the most prominent name on the 
list, w.is, for more thirty- years, my friend and phy- 
sician — a man whom I greatly honored and re- 
spected — the late Dr. William Mottram. 

This man, who, as a pituieer. citizen and physi- 
cian, was so well and widely known, may jusll\ 
claim the passing tribute at my hand. His life 
work, and it was a most grand and useful one, 
w.as done here in our midst. The lirst part of his 
career passed just across the line in St. Joseph 
County. As pioneer, physician and legislator, and 
one of the pioncei-s of our own city of Kalamazoo, 
the wide practice of liis profession brought him 
into relation with thousands of our citizens. His 
line and imiiosing iiresence. his courtly bearing, 
his highbred and polished courtesy of manner, 
his gentle and reassuring voice iu the sick room, 



268 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



wliicli \v;is itself a rcniody, will 1)0 long rpinein- 
bered among' us, and I may as well say that the 
removal of such a figure from our midst, though 
his years were ripe, is a great public toss. Men 
like Dr. Mottram were such ttne specimens and 
t3pes of manhood and manners of the Old School, 
that their removal leaves us doubly sensible of the 
great change winch has come upon us. May we, 
their survivors, long cherish their memories and 
strive to cultivate llieir virtues." 



\m 



•t? 



3M^ 



y 



f/OHN B. TOMKINS, who is engaged in 
general farming and stock-raising on sec- 
tion 2G, Decatur Township, Van Buren 
C'ouiit3', was born in Bradford County, Pa., 
on the 30th of June, 1853, but has spent almost his 
entire life in this eommunit}\ His parents were 
John and Rebecca Torakins. His father was born 
In New Jersey, June 18, 1813, and his ancestors 
for several generations past have resided in that 
State. With his parents he removed to Pennsyl- 
vania, the family locating in Bradford Countj^, 
where he engaged in farming and also carried on 
a sawmill. He first came to Michigan in 1840, and 
purchased forty acres of land in Hamilton Town- 
ship, Van Buren Country. Only a few acres had 
been cleared and the arduous task of its develop- 
ment fell to his lot. As his financial resources in- 
creased, he added to his possessions from time to 
time until he had one hundred and twenty acres, 
but after a few years' residence in Hamilton Town- 
ship, he removed with bis family to Decatur 
Township, locating on a farm of forty acres which 
he made his home for about twelve years. His next 
place of residence was in Hancock County, Iowa, 
but after a few months spent there, he traded that 
farm for land adjoining — that which he owned be- 
fore his removal from Michigan. Another trade 
he made, exchanging forty acres for one hundred 
and twenty acres in Kalamazoo County, upon 
which he made his home for two years, afterward 
operating the farm a mile and three-quarters north 
of Decatur, where he made his home until his 
death, which occurred on the 7th of June, 1886. 
Mr. Tomkins was twice married. After the death 
of his first wife, he married Rebecca Barnum, a na- 
tive of Bradford County, Pa. B}^ the first union 



were born eight children, by the second three, and 
all grew to manhood and womanhood, but only six 
arc now living. 

Our subject is the j^oungest of the family. He 
was only a year and a half old when his father first 
came to Michigan, and amid the wild scenes of 
frontier life w.as reared to m.inhood, his education 
being acquired in the district schools. He worked 
upon his father's farm until after his death, and 
cared for his parents in their declining years. He 
continued to operate the old homestead farm un- 
til the 18th of February, 1891, when the house was 
burned down. He then sold the land and removed 
to the farm which is now his home — a forty-acre 
tract of highly cultivated land on section 26, De- 
catur Township. 

On the 30th of June, 1874, Mr. Tomkins w.as 
united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Secord, and 
unto them have been born three children: Lottie, 
born July 3, 1876; Harry, September 3, 1878, and 
Johnnie, September 12, 1886. The p.arents are 
members of the Methodist Church of Decatur, and 
give libcrallj- to its support. Mr. Tomkins has 
taken an active part in Sunday-school and church 
work and has done much for the upbuilding of 
the church, thus increasing its powers of useful- 
ness. Socially, he is a member of the Odd Fellows 
society. To farming and stock-raising, he devotes 
his attention and is making a specialty of the rais- 
ing of good horses. He is recognized as a leading 
agriculturist of the neighborhood, a practical and 
progressive farmer and a valued citizen. 

'^ OHN M. LAY, a prominent citizen of Gales- 
burgh, was born in Chenango County, N. Y., 
Februaiy 18, 1815. His father, Daniel, was 
a native of Connecticut, .and when a young 
man came to the Empire State, where he was mar- 
ried to Anna Brown. The young couple then lo- 
cated on a farm in Chenaugt) County, removing 
later to Steuben County and afterward to Ni- 
agara Count}^, the same State. 

In 1835, Mr. Lay, Sr., accompanied bj^ his fam- 
ily, came to Michigan, where he settled in Kala- 
mazoo Countj^ and a few years later moved to 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPIIICAL RF.CORD. 



269 



Calhoun Couiily and tliorp died at the ago of 
st'vcnty-scvon years. The niotlicr survived him ;i 
few years, pa.ssiiiij away when ci<jlity-one. They 
were the parents of eiglit ehiidreu, all of whom 
i;re\v to iiianliood and wonianliood, and seven now 
siu'vive, namely: Charles; John M., of this sketch; 
Hulda, widow of Alex. Farmer, of Battle Creek; 
William; Darius W.; Adaline, who heeanie the wife 
of R. Turner: and D:irwin. Mrs. Louise Dimoml is 
deceased. 

The subject of this notice was reared under the 
parental roof and accompanied his parents in their 
various removals, rcmainiiis with them until he 
was of age. His schooling w.as completed in Ni- 
agara Countj', N. Y., after which he learned the 
trade of a carpenter and joiner. He came to Com- 
stock Townshi|), Kalamazoo County, in 1837, and 
worked at his trade, assisting in building the first 
sawmills in the county. lie erected other struc- 
tures, and assisted in putting in the gearing in the 
lirst gristmill in Comstock. 

After continuing as a cari)enter for six years in 
Comstock Townshi|), Mr. Lay embarked in the dr}'- 
goods business in the village of Galesburgh and suc- 
cessfully carried on a large trade for four years. He 
then sold out and was for seven years iu the drug- 
business, lie was married, June 21, 1840, to Sophia 
lieckwitli, who was born in Otsego County, N. Y., 
Sci>teniber 22, 1818, and thej- arc the parents of 
three children, namely: Alexis M., who was born 
October 2(5, 1811, and resides in New York City; 
Rosa A.,born Novemi)er 17, 1842, married K. G. 
Curtis, of Chicago, and died in California, Maj- 9, 
18!)0, leaving one son, Charles O., who now resides 
with his grandfather; William F., who was born 
April 29, 1847, is now in New York City. Mr. Lay 
was deeply bereaved, l-'cln-uary 2(), 1889, by the 
death of his devoted wife, whose mortal remains 
lie buried in Oak Grove Cemetery. 

For more than twenty years, Mr. Lay has been 
retired from active business, but he still tjikes great 
interest in all affaii-s of importance and is a public- 
spirited man. Until the nomination of John C. 
Fremont to the I'residency, he was a I)emf)Crat, 
but since that time he has Ijcen a Republican. He 
was Justice of the Peace in Comstock Township, 
also Assessor and Treasurer for two vcars, and Una 




held the \:iri<in> mIiooI olliees. He was appf)inted 
Abijiii of llie MiililiM uiidrr (iov. liingliam in this 
State during the ({eliellion. At various times he 
has been identified with the Village Board and 
has pro)noted the interests of the place in every 
way possible. Socially, he is connecteil with (ialcs- 
l)urgii Lodge, No. !»2, A. F. X' A. M. Mr. l>ay 
moved to Chicago in ISII'.t, and was one of tiiesuf- 
ferers in the great lire. :ifler which he returnc(i to 
CialesbiH'srh. 



AMUF.L liKiF.I.OW. A conspieiiuus posi- 
ts" lion among the farmers of \'an I'.iiicn 
! County is held liy this gentleman, who 
has gained iiilluence and standing l)y years 
of well-directed efforts, and an intelligent appre- 
ciation of the duties of citizenship. He occupies 
a valual)le estate in Arlington Township, where he 
h.as placed improvements that make the place one 
of the best in the community. The i)le.asant ap- 
pearance of the residence without is but an index 
to the comfort that rules within, and without m.ak- 
ing any pretensions to elegance, the dwelling at- 
tr.acts the admiration of ever}' passer-by. There 
are few citizens now surviving who have resided 
in this county for a longer period than Mr. Bige- 
low, and his upright life will cause him to be lov- 
ingly remembered, long after he shall have ex- 
changed the things of time for tiioseof the eternal 
world. 

Avon, Livingston Count}-, N. Y., was the birth- 
place of 'Mv. Bigelow, and April 20, 1827, the date 
thereof. His father, Calvin, was born in Connect- 
icut in 1780, and his mother, Sarah (Hall) Bige- 
low, was likewise a native of Connecticut. The 
parents reared eleven children out of a family of 
thirteen born to them. The paternal gramlfather 
was Josei)h, wliose native place was in the State of 
Connecticut, and who was probably descended 
from iMiglish ancestors. Our subject resided in 
Livingston County until the fall of 184;j, wiien he 
came to \'an Buren County, and h.as since made 
his home m Arlington Township. 

In 18.53, Mr. Bigelow was married to Miss Eunice, 
daughter of (ieorgc and F.unice (Harvey) Me.acham, 



270 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and a lady of refined tastos and tijreat kindness of 
heart. The farm which Mr. IJigelow still occu- 
l)ies was pnrchased liy hiiii in 1H48, when it was 
covered with a dense growth of forest trees, and 
surrounded bj' uncultivated tracts of land, (irad- 
ually he developed and improved the place, erect- 
ing good buildings .as occasion offered and replac- 
ing the forests with cultivated fields. Ills family' 
consisted of his wife and six children, whose 
lecords are as follows: P^va, the wife of Alexander 
Fhilli|)s; .Jerome, a resident of Bangor; Nellie, 
now tiie wife of Martin Bigelow; Herbert; Eunice, 
who m.arried D. Tall)t)t; and Jane. 

Until 1876, Mr. Bigelow devoted his energies ex- 
clusively to farming, but at that time he began 
breeding blooded stock. He purchased the horse 
well known .IS "Robert Whale}', "and has since added 
to bis stock until he now has a fine stock farm. 
His political belief brings him into affiliation with 
the Democratic party, and his first vote w.as cast 
for Gen. Cass in 1848. As a representative and 
pioneer citizen of Van Buren County, he well mer- 
its having his name perpetuated through the me- 
dium of the Re(01!1>, and as long as there will ex- 
ist in tjjis county a love for those who have 
developed its resources, so long will the account of 
his life work be read with pleasure by generations 
yet to come. 



E^^ 




RANK FREEMAN is a resident farmer and 
fj> stock-raiser on section 15, Pine Grove 
Township. He is a son of .John Freeman 
and .Julia (Muloany) P'reeman, the father a native 
of New York and the mother of Ireland who came 
to New York when quite young. Thej- were mar- 
ried in New York and came to Michigan in 1856, 
settling in Prairieville, Barry County, where be 
worked for others. He then went to Kalamazoo 
County and settled on a partly improved farm and 
lived iheie ten years. In 1865, he sold out and re- 
moved to this county and settled upon a farm of 
wild laud consisting of eighty .acres. Here he lived 
twelve years and then went to Kansas and located 
in Crawford County three years. At the expir.a- 
tioii of that time, he again came to Michigan and 



operated his farm in Kalamazoo County on which 
he resided until a))()ul three years ago, since when 
he has lived in the city of Kalamazoo. His good 
wife and helpmate died in 1869. She bore her 
husband five children, our subject being the eldest 
born. 

The birth of Frank Freeman took place in Lewis 
County, N. Y., May 10, 1848, and became to Michi- 
gan with his parents when a mere lad. He re- 
ceived a good education, and when fifteen years 
old had a great desire to become a soldier, so en- 
listed in April, 1864, in Company F, Eighth Michi- 
gan Cavaliy, and joined his regiment at Chatta- 
nooga, Ten u., ill the late war. He took part in the 
battle of Franklin under Gen. Thomas, and also in 
a number of skirmishes. He was never off duty 
and served with his regiment until September, 
1865, being engaged in hunting down guerrillas 
from the previous April. 

After being honorabl}' discharged from the armj', 
our subject returned home and took charge of the 
farm. He now has eighty acres of land, Mty-dve 
of which are all cleared and in a good state of culti- 
vation and he carries on mixed farming successfully. 
His horses are splendid roadsters and of the "Mor- 
gan Messenger" breed. 

Mr. Freeman was married in January, 1869, to 
Am.anda A. Tower, a native of Ohio. She bore her 
husband five children: Albert, Grace, Pearl, Edith 
.and Leo. The older children have good educations 
and Miss Grace is a teacher. The beloved wife 
and mother was called to the better land, April 17, 
1891, aged forty-two years. Mrs. Freeman when a 
babe lost her mother and was taken to Illinois, and 
lived there until eighteen years old when she came 
to Michigan. Mr. Freeman is a member of the 
Grand Army of the Republic Post at Kendall and 
is the Treasurer of the same. He is also a member 
of the Free and Accepted Masons of Goble and 
the Knights of the Maccabees of Kendall, and is 
Treasurer of the School Board of district No. 8. 
In politics, he affiliates with the Republican party 
and has been a believer of that platform all his 
life. He lives on his farm with three of his chil- 
dren who are his consolation and joy. He is held 
in the highest repute by all his neighbors and 
friends. 



I 




(v^ ^5 ^cUy^.^^^ 






PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIIIC^VL RECORD. 



273 



ON. TIIEODATUS TIMOTHY LYON, 
Vice-president of the American Horticul- 
tiiral Society, and President of the Michi- 
ff:m State Horticultural Society, was born 
.laiiunry 13, 1813, in Lima, N. Y. He comes of 
sturdy pioneer ancestry, bis grandfather, Thomas 
l>yon, being- a farmer of Connecticut, while his 
father, Timothy, emigrated at an early day 
from that State to Western Massachusetts, and 
in the early settlement of the "Genesee Country" 
settled at Lima. Timothy Lyon owned and oper- 
ated a farm, l)ut devoted his attention mostly to 
architecture and millwrigiiting. He married !Miss 
JTary, the daughter oi .Tunah Davis, a farmer 
who early emigrated to Lima from Delaware 
County, N. Y. 

Four children were born to the parents of our 
subject: Theodatus T., of this sketch; Marinda 
()., wlio married ^Matthew Lochhead, and resides at 
South na\en; Oscar, deceased; and Phidelia, the 
wife of W. II. Craig, of Buena Vista, Colo. The 
parents died in Plymouth, Wayne County, Mich. 
From the age of about twelve j'cars our subject 
devoted his summers partly to farming and 
partly to mechanical work, having developed a 
consulerable liking for machinery. Aside from 
such employments his time was passed in the dis- 
trict school, with a few terms in a select vill.age 
school. In the spring of 1828 his school privi- 
leges were brought to a permanent close by his re- 
moval, with his father, to the then remote and 
wild Territory of Michigan. 

Ml-. Lj'on well remembers hearing the report of 
the cannon used to telegrapli from Buffalo to Al- 
bany tiie fact that the water had been admitted 
into the western end of Erie Canal. This was 
about 1820, and tlie ceremonies were signalized b)' 
the presence of Gen. La Fayette, then on iiis last 
visit to this country. About tliis tiiiu', visiting 
the orchard of a neighbor, Mr. Lyon found him in 
the top of an apple tree, inserting buds in the 
smaller branches. He watched the process with 
the closest attention, and on his return home, pro- 
cured and sharpened a case knife (the best imple- 
ment available for the purpose). He then pro- 
ceeded to cut buds from his favorite apple tree 
and insert them in other trees in the orchard, as 
12 



an earnest of his fii-st lesson in practical pomol- 

ogy- 

The removal of Mr. Lyon to Michigan, which 
was made in May, 1828, was by way of the then 
now Erie Canal to Buffalo, thence to Detroit via 
Lake Erie. At that time, the first steamer upon 
the lake. '-Walk-in-tiic- Water," had been recently- 
wrecked, and the onlj' steamers remaining were 
the "Henry Cl.iy" and the "Michigan," each mak- 
ing weekly trips between Buffalo and Detroit. 
The latter was then a small, remote, frontier town; 
its chief veliicles, one-horse carts, often without 
tires on the wheels, while the inhabitants were 
largely French-Canadian. In traveling to Ply- 
mouth, then but three years settled, the family 
p.assed the Bucklin Woods, three miles without a 
clearing; also the Schwartzburg Woods, four 
miles of continuous forest. The first frame resi- 
dence in Plymouth, that of John Tibbits, was 
raised the summer after the arrival of the Lyon 
family. 

The first year !Mr. L^on spent in Michigan was 
employed in tending a small country store, estab- 
lished and managed by his father at Plymouth. 
His emplovment was afterward for a time diversi- 
fied b}' carr^'ing the mail on horseback, the route 
extending from Tccumseh to Maumec, on the one 
hand, and Ponti.ac on the otiier, with a weekly trip 
to Monroe, then little more than a French village. 
In compliance with the desire of his father, our 
subject spent the greater portion of the ^-ears 
1830-31 in an effort to accjuaint himself with the 
business of manufacturing leather, at an establish- 
ment owned and managed by Phiue.TS Davis, a 
prominent merchant of Detroit. But the business 
proved too uncongenial and w.is abandoned. 

Intlie meantime, his fatiier having embarked in 
the business of milling, Mr. Lyon was supplied 
with employment until the summer of 1834. He 
then returned to his former home in Lima, N. Y., 
where he taught a district school two winters and, 
during the one summer spent there, devoted about 
six weeks to study under the instruction of a 
former teacher. At the end of that time he re- 
ceived his linal "graduation," so far as school priv- 
ileges were concerned, although, even at his 
I present advanced age, he has not ceased to be a 



274 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



student. In oberliencc to the earnest wish of his 
parents, he, in the spring of 1836, concluded quite 
reluctant! 3' to forego his purpose of pursuing a 
course of study, and returning to Michigan, re- 
sumed the mercantile business. He also followed 
the profession of a teacher and finally commenced 
to operate as a farmer and manufacturer of lumber, 
occasionallj' filling the positions of Township 
Clerk and School Inspector. 

December 6, 1838, Mr. Lyon was married to Miss 
Marilla, daughter of William II. Gregory, a promi- 
nent farmer of Plymouth and at one time member 
of the Legislature of this State. After a long ill- 
ness, during which she patiently bore great suffer- 
ing, Mrs. Lyon died iu March, 1891, leaving her 
bereaved husband and a large circle of friends to 
mourn her loss. A few years after his marriage, 
Mr. Lyon removed to the Wayne County Poor 
House, where he spent one year in charge of the 
establishment as Superintendent and farmer. The 
number of inmates increased during the winter to 
above eighty, and the accommodations consisted of 
a double log house, formerly a "tavern," with a 
small frame addition answering as a kitclieu. The 
Whig party having lost control of the appointing 
board, Mr. Lyon was superseded at the close of 
the year 1842, and then returned to Plymouth. 

About 1844 Mr. Lyon commenced a small nur- 
sery at Plymouth, mainly for the purpose of grow- 
ing a supply of trees for his own planting. He 
collected the varieties for the nursery from the 
surrounding orchards, accepting the names by 
which thej' were commonly known. He soon 
learned that he had in so doing incorrect and local 
names for many varieties, and iu some cases the 
same fruit under a variety of names. This put 
him u]wn the work of correction and identification, 
in which labor he derived much aid and encour- 
agement from Jabez Warner, then of Plymouth, 
and for many j'cars the champion "grafter," as well 
as the conservator of varieties of fruits in a laro-e 
number of the orchards of that region. He also 
received aid from Thomas Thomas, an enthusiastic 
fruit-grower of Salem, Washtenaw County. 

Such a work is very likely to grow upon a person, 
and the case of Mr. Lyon proved no exception to 
the rule. He soon saw the need of a broader 



knowledge; and amid the toil and care of business, 
entered upon the study of the limited pomology of 
thirty years ago. A series of articles in the Michi- 
gan Farmer, describing the apples known and valued 
in Waj'ne Counts' and vicinity, drew the atten- 
tion of Charles Downing, of Newburg, N. Y., and 
made Mr. L3'on acquainted M'ith him. From his 
trial grounds at Newburg, our subject was enabled 
to obtain numerous varieties of new and compara- 
tively untested fruits, and having a decided pen- 
chant that way, and his recentlj'-planted orchard 
being in a condition for that purpose, he indulged 
extensively in testing novelties as a matter of per- 
sonal and public satisfaction, but with little regard 
to the question of profit. The test orchards of 
Plymouth are the outcome of those experiments. 

From 1861 until 1865, under a Republican 
County administration, Mr. Lyon held the position 
of member and Secretary of the Board of Super- 
intendents of the Poor of Wayne County; and 
quite to his surprise was continued a year in the» 
place by the succeeding Board of Democratic 
County Auditors. His associates were Alanson 
Sheley, of Detroit, and S. W. Walker, of Waj'ne. 
Under tliat administration, the first adequate sup- 
ply of good water w\as secured for the establish- 
ment, important improvements of the farm were 
devised, the entire buildings throughly renovated, 
and the present keeper's residence built. Those 
undertakings, together with the keeping of the 
books of the establishment, compelled Mr. Lyon to 
devote to it a very considerable portion of his 
time for several years. 

.June 17, 1864, the Detroit & Howell Railroad 
Company was organized with Mr. Lyon as Presi- 
dent; this was followed April 13, 1867, by the or- 
ganization of the Howell <fe Lansing Railroad Com- 
pany, both being parts of the same line. Mr. Lj'on 
was chosen President of the latter company. He 
held that position until, in 1871-72, the road was 
turned over to an association of Boston citizens, 
represented by James F. Joy, of Detroit. During 
the six years devoted to this work, our subject had 
to secure nearly the whole of the large amount of 
pledges along the line, both by individuals and 
townships, together witli the entire "right of 
wav," except a small portion near Detroit. As a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAnnCAL RECORD. 



275 



consequence, liis attention was diverted from the 
subject of pomology and tlie care of lils orchards 
was largely delegated to otiier hanrls. I'artially 
on account of the ill health of his wife's i)arents, 
and tlieir final death, Mr. Lyon removed to the 
village of Plymouth. 

On the com]>letion and opening of the Detroit 
& Lansing Railroad and its cousolidatiou with the 
line to Ionia, Mr. Lyon's connection with it ceased, 
leaving him without special employment. At this 
juncture strong inducements were offered him to 
remove to Western Michigan and resume his 
former pursuits, which he did in 1874, I)ecoming 
.associated with the Michigan Lake Shore xS'ursery 
Association as its President. That enterprise was 
inaugurated at an inauspicious time; and, .as acon- 
se(jueiicc of the subsequent shrinkage of values, 
together with the failure of a large number of 
subscribers to the capital stock to fulfill their en- 
gagements, it was thought best to dissolve the cor- 
porate organization. The nursery is now con- 
ducted under private auspices. 

In December, 1876, Mr. Lyon was elected Presi- 
dent of the Michigan State Pomological Societj', 
now the ^Michigan Horticultural Society, to which 
position he has been annually re-elected up to the 
present time (1891). For two years he was a mem- 
ber of the Kxecutive Committee of the State Agri- 
cultural Society, and at three different times dele- 
gate of that societj' to the sessions of the American 
Pomological Society, besides being a representa- 
tive of our State Pomological Society to a meet- 
ing of that societ}', held in Rochester, N. Y. These 
and varied minor positions of similar character, to- 
gether with the supplying of occasional matter 
for the press, have conspired to entail upon him a 
voluminous correspondence, drawing largely upon 
his time and energies, with but little direct advan- 
tage to himself. In 1889, he closed out his nursery 
business to take charge of the South Haven sub- 
experiment station under the State Hoard of Agri- 
culture, and agent of the National Division of Pom- 
ology ,whicli is under control of the National Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, and tests various varieties of 
fruits, insects and bugs. Mr. Lyon was for four 
years First Vice-president of the American Pomo- 
logical Society. lu 1888, he wrote a history of 



"Horticulture in ^Michigan," wliich is published in 
tiio reports of the society; he has also been a fre- 
<iufiit ciiiitiiliutor to journals and niagaziiies, 
among them the Rural New Yorker and The Michi- 
gan Farmer. 

A lithographic portrait of Mr. Lyon accompanies 
his biograi)liical notice. 



1 



AMES M. M( ALPINK. In the career of 
this gentleman, who has for many years 
been a successful farmer in Allegan Countj-, 
and is now living in retirement at Monterey 
Centre, where he has ten acres of fine property-, 
may be found an illustration of the worth of good 
principles and habits of industry and prudence. 
He had not inherited the wealth that falls to some 
men, but has fought his way through life, provided 
only with the advantages that a beneficent Nature 
has granted him. In addition to the property 
mentioned above, Mr. McAlpine is the proprietor 
of a tract of two hundred acres in Jlonterey 
Township, which bears excellent improvements 
and nets him a handsome income. 

James JIcAlpine of this sketch is the son of 
William .and Lydia (Souls) McAlpine, natives of 
New York. The father being a farmer, young 
James was reared to that calling and remained un- 
der the parental roof onlj- until reaching his 
eleventh year, when, ambitious to begin life for 
himself, he hired out as a farm hand. In 1841 he 
was happily married to Miss Luc}' D. M., daughter 
of Noble Granger, who was a native of New York 
and a pioneer of Allegan Count}', this State. 

After his marriage our subject rented a piece of 
land which he farmed four years, then deciding to 
tr}' his fortunes in the new State of Michigan, he 
came hither in October, 1845. On landing here 
his possessions consisted of a wife, one child and 
$30 in mone}-. His persistent industiy has been 
rewarded and he is now enabled to p.ass his declin- 
ing years in peace and ((uict, enjoying the fruits 
of his earl}' struggles. 

To !Mr. and Mrs. McAlpine were born a family 
of three children: Martin ^'an Biiren, who married 
Ellen Kibbv and is lesiding in Jlonterev Town- 



276 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ship, Allegan County, for a fuller sketch of 
whom the reader is referred to his biograplu' to be 
found on another page; Willie died at the inter- 
esting age of four j'ears, and Lizzie, now Mrs. 
Knoblock, resides in Monterey- Township. 

Coming here at such an earl}' da^-, our subject 
h.as been an eye-witness to the wonderful develop- 
ment of this section of country and by his thrift 
and energy has done no little helping to bring 
about the transformation. lie is now living on a 
beautiful tract of ten acres in Jlonterey Centre, 
which homestead adds greatly to the beauty of the 
surrounding landscape. His father was born in 
1792 and died in 1867. His mother, who was born 
in 1790, passed away in 18G9. Mr. McAlpine is a 
stanch Democrat in politics and has been honored 
with all the various offices within the gift of the 
people, having served for man_y j'ears as Super- 
visor and Justice of the Peace. We are very much 
pleased to be able to present to our readers a sketch 
of Mr. McAlpine, who is widely known and greatly 
respected throughout Allegan Count}- where he has 
resided for so many years. 



kEVI LOOMIS. This old pioneer of Allegan 
County is at present residing on section 11, 
Ganges Township. He was born in 3Iadi- 
son County, N. Y., September 16, 1810, and was 
the son of Josi.ah and Rebecca S. Loomis. The 
father was born in Blanford, Conn., where he was 
reared upcm a farm. He received a limited edu- 
cation and, when (attaining his majorit_v, married 
Rebecca Slieeu, also of Connecticut. 

After their marriage, the parents of our subject 
moved to New York, where they bought a farm in 
Hamilton County, upon which they resided the re- 
mainder of their days. To tlicm were born five 
children, of whom Levi is the only memlier livimj. 
They bore the names of William S., Lyman ; Emil}-, 
now Mrs. William G. Butler; our subject and 
Josiah J. Mrs. Rebecca Loomis died when our 
subject was but twelve years of age, and his father 
was married a second time, to Polly Newton, and 
to them was born a daughter, Harriet. The sen- 



ior Mr. Loomis fought in the War of 1812, and 
voted the Whig ticket. His father, Alexander 
Loomis, took up arms against the Mother Country 
during the Revolutionary War. 

Levi Loomis spent !iis carh' life on the farm and 
attended school until reaching liis twelfth year, 
when, his mother dying, he was thrown upon his 
own resources. IIis first work on his own account 
was for a Dr. Foote, with whom he remained two 
years and then spent the same lengtli of time on a 
farm. Later, he went to Pennsjlvania, and after 
making a short sta}- there, emigrated to Oneida 
County, N. Y., where he learned the carpenter's 
trade and continued to work thus for five years. 
Li 1835, he came West to Michigan, and for five 
years worked at his trade in different parts of 
Allegan Count}'. Mr. Loomis erected the first 
sawmill on Pine Creek, and in 1840 located on his 
present farm on section 11, Ganges Township, Al- 
legan County. 

The original of this sketch was married in 1837 
to Miss Sally A. Skinner, who was born July 16, 
1808, and was a daughter of Isaac Skinner. To 
them were born seven children: JMarion D.; 
Charles L., deceased; Flora L., now Mrs. A. C. 
Goodrich ; Ida T., Mrs. D. French ; Effie L., deceased, 
who was the wife of Frank Raymond; Bertrand, 
who died while in the army; and Charley. 

Mr. Loomis was the second settler in Ganges 
Township, coming hither with teams. As there 
were no boats on the river he was obliged to 
build a raft, on which he placed his family and 
floated to the mouth of the Kalamazoo River. 
On locating on the eighty acres of timber laud, 
which our subject had purchased, he immediately 
set about the erection of a house for his family, 
which "shanty" w.as 32x16 feet in dimensions. 
Mr. Loomis lias been very successful in his under- 
takings, .and although he started in life *140 in 
debt, he now is the proud possessor of three 
hundred acres of excellent land, two hundred and 
twenty acres of wiiich is under cultivation and 
sixty acres in fruit. In those early days, when 
markets were far distant, our subject kept his fam- 
ily supplied with choice meats, as he was a good 
huntsman and game was plentiful. He often car- 
ried pro^'jsions from Kalamazoo, forty-five miles 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



277 



distant. His good wife, who departed this life 
March 3, 188'.t, w:is a very capable woman and 
noted for her skill as a liousewifo and caretaker. 
To lier ecouoin}- and irood judgment our subject 
gives all due praise for his present success in life, 
as she proved a helpmate in the truest sense of 
that term. 

In politics, Mr. Loomis is aRepulilican. He was 
formerly a AVhiii:. and cast the only Whig vote 
l)olled in the village of St. Joseph in 18."5."). He 
h.as been active in local affairs and hcli)ed to or- 
ganize Ganges Tiiwnship and all the school dis- 
tricts. He also aided in the building of the Hrst 
schoolhouse in the township, and hired and paid 
the first teacher. He, with the assistance of his es- 
timable wife, made out the first tax-roll of what are 
now Lee, Casco, Ganges, Manlius, Lake, and Sauga- 
tuck Townships. He has held the olfice of .lustice 
of the Peace for four 3'eais, w.as Township Clerk 
for the .same length of time and h.is been honored 
with nearly .all the local ofllces. In religious mat- 
ters, he is a conscientious Baptist. 

ORTIMER McDOAVELLis the owner of 
two hundred and eighty acres of land on 
sections 13 and 18, Casco Township, Alle- 
gan County. His entire tract is under 
most excellent cultivation, and in addition to 
raising the cereals he has forty acres of sugar bush 
and a like amount in fruit. He h.is made as high 
as eighteen hundred jiounds of sugar from his 
bush in one year. Jlr. JIcDowell is greatly 
respected in this locality and ranks among the 
prominent and well-to-do agriculturists of Allegan 
County". 

Our subject was born in Niagara County, N. Y., 
in 1830, and was the son of Timothy and Emeline 
McDowell. The father was born in Oneida County, 
N. Y., in 1801, where he was reared to agricul- 
tural pursuits. He was entirely a self-made man, 
as all his schooling was received tefore he reached 
his eighth year. He remained at home until attain- 
ing mature 3-eiirs and at the age of twenty-four 
was married to our subject's mother, who bore 
the name of Emeline, daughter of Joshua and 




Susan (Burnam) Reynolds. Mrs. McDowell was a 

native of Vermont, and born in 18(17. The j'oung 
couple made their home on the old farm for two 
years. The grandpaients of our subject were 
pioneers of Niagara County, X. Y., and helped 
raise the first house in Lockport. When moving 
to New York they passed through what is now 
the site of Rochester, that city being called in that 
early d.ay Corset Corners. 

Timothy McDowell purchased a tract of unim- 
proved land within six miles of Lockport, upon 
which he resided for a few years. He later re- 
moved with his family to Chautaiuiua Count3-,where 
lie made his home for eleven years. In 1845 he 
came to Michigan and located at once in Casco 
Township, near where our subject now lives, he 
being the first settler in that region. His farm 
included three hundred and twenty .acres of unim- 
proved land. The trip hither was made overland 
with ox-teams and in thai early day the postoHice 
was at S.«iugatuck, where also they obtained the 
most of their suiiplies, although they were com- 
pelled sometimes to drive the slow ox-team to 
Otsego. Mr. ^IcDowell was prominent in local 
affairs, and was the first Postmaster of Casco. In 
politics, he was in early life a Democrat, but in 
later years joined the Kepuldiean |)arty. He was 
widel_v known throughout this section and for a 
number of years was Director in the National 
Bank at South Haven. 

Mortimer McDowell of this sketch was given a 
good common-school education and accompanied 
an uncle to Casco Township, Allegan Countj', 
when 0UI3' fifteen years of age. Tlie^- at once 
began the erection of a cabin, the lumber wliieli 
was used in its construction being rafted down 
the lake ten miles by night. The father and 
family followed in a few months and located in 
the new home, which was 18,x2Gfeet in dimensions, 
and which was made eonifrirtal)Ie for their recep- 
tion. 

Our subject remained under the parental roof 
until reaching his m.ajoritj-, in the meantime work- 
ing industriously in clearing the home farm. When 
starting out for himself he took contr.acts for 
that line of work and has probably cleared over 
five liundred acres of land in Casco Township, 



278 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



His marriage occurred in 1859, when Emilj' E., 
daughter of Richard R. and Nancy Hudson, be- 
came his wife. Mrs. McDowell was born in Port- 
age County, Ohio, which was also the native State 
of her father; her mother hailed from Pennsyl- 
vania. Emily E. was the youngest member of 
her parents' family of four children. Her pater- 
nal grandfather was a very old pioneer of Ohio 
and lived to reach the good old age of ninety 
years. 

To Mr. and Mrs. McDowell have been born two 
sons: Arthur, who married Miss Mary Munger, 
and Ernest. In politics, our subject is non-par- 
tisan, always casting his vote for the best man. 
Together with his wife, he is a member of the 
Township Grange. 

1»? ENRY OVERHISER. This well-to-do resi- 
dent on section 35, Casco Township, Alle- 




gan County, was bom in Steuben County, 
N. Y., in 1835 and is the son of George 
and Elizabeth Overhiser. His father was also a 
native of the Empire State, his birth occurring in 
180-i. He was there reared on a farm and re- 
ceived a good common-school education, remain- 
ing with his parents until he became of age. For 
eleven successive winters he was engaged in log- 
ging on the Chemung River, a distance of three 
hundred miles from his home, which journey he 
made on foot. 

The parents of our subject were married when 
quite young, tlie maiden name of his mother being 
P^lizabeth Storms, a daughter of Peter and Dorcas 
(Ballard) Storms. Her parents were of English 
descent, natives of New York. In 1841 Mr. and 
Mrs. Overhiser came West to Faj'ette County, Ind., 
■where the father was engaged the first winter in 
cutting cord-wood at twenty-cents per cord, walk- 
ing a distance of six miles to his work. He pur- 
chased a small tract of land in Fayette Countj- 
and resided there for the following three j'ears. 
He then removed to Blackford County, also in 
Indiana, becoming the proprietor of one hundred 
and sixty acres of school land. Being pioneers 
in that locality, tlic hardships which they endured 



have made a lasting impression upon the mind of 
our subject, who was one in a family of thirteen 
children, twelve of whom grew to reach mature 
years. 

The brothers and sisters of our subject bore the 
following names: Belinda; John; Mar^', who is 
the wife of W. W. Johnston; Elvira, Mrs. Isaac 
Johnson; Martha, deceased; Henry; Lonson; Anna, 
Mrs. F. Bonham; Charles; Willard; Marion; Sarah, 
Mrs. D. D. Tourtellotte and Katurah, Mrs. Thomas 
Mills. George Overhiser, our subject's father, 
lived to see about one-third of his farm improved, 
and died in 1862, his wife preceding him to the 
land beyond in 1860. He was a son of Casper 
and Ruth (Beals) Overhiser, the father being a 
farmer of Holland descent. He was married 
twice and reared a family of twenty-one children. 

When reaching his nineteenth 3-ear, Henry 
Overheiser's father gave him lil with which to 
commence life on his own account. He at once 
began by chopping wood, which occupation he 
followed only a short time, when he learned the 
carpenter's trade, which, together with his farming 
operations, has been his life work. He came to 
Allegan County in 1860 and has made this county 
his abiding place since that time. His first pur- 
chase of land was on section 10, Casco Township, 
coming to his new home with his wife, three 
children and their early effects in a single wagon. 
He was very successful in his undertaking and in 
a few years was enabled to add forty acres to his 
original tract. Later he added sixty acres and now 
has a farm of one hundred acres. He has erected 
a beautiful residence on his estate and b}' using 
the best methods and improvements in his opera- 
tions is meeting with more than ordinary success. 

In 1855 ovir subject and Miss Sarah, daughter of 
Peter and Riioda McKee, were united in marriage 
and to them were born eight children: Lonson, 
Albert; Olive, Mrs. S. Galbreath; Ida, wife of 
Charles Osborn; Grantdeceased; Charles; Mar}' also 
deceased, and Minnie. Mrs. Overhiser died March 
4, 1884, and our subject was a second time married, 
the lady of his choice bemg Mrs. Henrietta (Fisher) 
Wharficld, the daughter of Henmanand Catherine 
(Uran) Fisher, natives respectivel}- of Ohio and 
Pennsylvania. Mrs. Overhiser was born in Kala- 



PORTRAIT AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



279 



mazoo County, this State, whei-o her parents were 
early pioneers. Her fn^t husband w.is AVilli.ini 
Gouid and upon his death she lieranic the wife of 
Henry Wharlieid. In politieal affairs our subject 
has been quite prominent, having served his 
township as Tax Collector for ten consecutive 
years and Supervisor for two years. He has afso 
represented his fellow-townsmen as a delegate to 
Republican conventions. Together with his wife, 
he is a member of the United Brethren Church and 
is greatly respected in Casco Township. 




^.j'LFRED S. PACKARD, who resides on 
C^Oj section 1, Covert Townsiiip, Van Buren 
is County, is numbered among the prom- 
inent business men of Western ISIich- 
igan, and is a large landowiier of some of the best 
land in the celebrated fruit belt of Michigan, from 
which are obtained the best peaches raised in 
the Nortliwest. He is the son of William and 
Mary (Rude) Packard, for whose historj- see sketch 
of the Hon. W. O. Packard in another p.art of this 
volume. Alfred S. was born in Rens.selaer County, 
>'. Y., September 22, 1834, and was two years old 
when the family removed to Ohio, where lie grew 
uj) on a farm, assisting his father in his various 
duties there and also in the mills. He acquired a 
good common-school education .and taugiit school 
for some time. He removed to Allegan County, 
Mich., in 1859 and was associated in business with 
Ins father and brother until 1877, when he with- 
drew from the firm and has since carried on his 
operations alone. He now owns two sawmills, and 
deals in ■Jumber, wood and bark, both at Covert 
and Soutii Haven. He was the owner at one time 
of twentj'-five hundred acres of land and still 
retains about fifteen hundred acres. 

Mr. Packard has been married tliree times, his 
first wife being Laura A., daughter of I ram and 
Cjnithia P.ackard, to whom ho was united Jl.ay 1, 
1859. She was a native of Plain field, Mass., and 
died April 10, 1870. Thej' were the parents of 
one son, who was bom April 2, 1870, and died 
five months later. On June 22, 1871, Mr. Pack- 



ard was married to Mary E., daughter of Nelson 
T. and Emily C. Burnham, a native of Middle- 
town, Conn., wiio was born April 28, 1846, and 
removed with her parents to Ohio, where she 
resided until her marriage. She died in the spring 
of 1881, leaving nochildrcn. The present wife of 
Mr. Packard was Clara O. Atkinson, to whom he 
was united ^lay 2, 1882. Mr. I'ackard affiliates 
with the Republican i)arty, but takes little interest 
111 political affairs, except to vote for the best men 
on the ticket. He is an active and earnest member 
of tiie Congregational Cliurch, in which he is a 
Deacon and is also Superintendent of the Sabbath- 
school. He was one of the organizers of the 
church at Covert and is numbeied among its most 
liberal supporters. He stands iiigh in the regard 
of his fellow-citizens. Mr. Packard is engaged 
also in growing and shipping choice peaches, 
having three large orchards of one thousand trees 
each, containing twenty-five varieties of this fruit, 
which is shijiped direct from tlie trees, carefully- 
graded and packed, to Cliicago and other large 
markets. He also owns six hundred and eighty 
acres in the counties of Charlevoix and Mecosta. 



-M* 



]i^ARIUS MARI5LE gives his attention to 
I Jj] the cultivation of his farm on section 24, 
(^f^ Cheshire Township, Allegan County. He 
was born in Dunham Township, Canada 
East, November 13, 1830. He is the son of Sid- 
ney Marble, a native of New York, who was taken 
to Vermont when four years of age, and in 1810 
went to Canada. The father was a fanner and 
born in 1790. The maiden name of our subject's 
mother was Parmelia Harvey-, and she was born in 
Vermont in 1795, and accompanied her parents on 
their removal to tlie Dominion wlien young. Her 
father w.as Samuel Harvey. Grandfather JIarble 
was a soldier in the Revolutionary \\av. 

Tlie parents of Darius ^Marble were married in 
Canada in 1815, and on coming to New York 
Slate located on a farm in St. I„awrence County. 
In 1854 the3' came to Illinois and located in Mc- 
Ilenry County, where the father died the next 
year. The mother came to Jlichigan in 1861. 



280 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



The}' reared a famil}- of five cliildren, tliree of 
whom are now living, viz: Mrs. John Smith, our 
subject, and Mrs. Elmer Kidder. One son died in 
Cheshire Township, October 13, 1891, leaving four 
children. Mr. and Mrs. Sidne>' Marble are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in wiiich 
body the father w.as Class-leader. In politics he 
was an Abolitionist. 

Our subject was ten years of age M'hen his 
parents came to New York State. He was given 
a fair education and remained at home assisting 
his father until reaching his majority. He was 
married in 1854 to Jane J. Phelps, a native of 
Vermont, her birth occurring March 10, 1833. 
Her parents later removed to Canada, where she 
was reared to womanhood, but afterward removed 
to St. Lawrence County, N. Y. After his mar- 
riage Mr. ^Marble rented a farm in Mclienry 
County, 111., whence he removed to Kane County, 
and later, December 28, 1861, came to Michigan 
and made his home in Cheshire Township with a 
brother. 

August 2, 18G2, Mr. Marble enlisted in the War 
of the Rebellion, and joined Company B, Nine- 
teenth Michigan Infantry, being mustered in as a 
private. He was later promoted to be Corporal 
and with his regiment was sent to Cincinnati, 
where they remained four weeks, and then went 
to Tennessee under Gen. Granger. He partici- 
pated in the battle of Thompson's Station, where 
he was captured by the enemy. He was confined 
in Libby Prison nine days when he was paroled 
and later exchanged. He joined his regiment in 
June, 1863, and engaged in the fight at Resaca, 
Dallas Wood, and all through the Atlanta cam- 
paign. He was also with Sherman on his 
march to the sea, and was present at the surrender 
of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in North Carolina. 
He participated in the Grand Review at Washing- 
ton, and on that occasion was one of the Color 
Guards. During his service of two years and ten 
months, Mr. Marble was never in the hospital, and 
with the exception of a very few days, was always 
on active duty. He was discharged Maj' 10, 1865, 
and reached home the last of June. 

On returning to his home after the close of the 
war, Mr. Marble located on what is now his excel- 



lent farm, but which was then little more than a 
wilderness. His estate numbers eighty acres, sixty 
of which are under cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Mar- 
ble have three children living: Eveline L., who is 
the wife of M3'ron Beldcn, lives in Trowbridge 
Township, Allegan Countj'^, and has one child; 
Sidney E. married Nora B. Dellinger and lives in 
Cheshire Township, same county, with his father; 
Herbert E. married Mary Curtis and also lives in Al- 
leg.an County. Mrs. Marble died in 1882, firm in the 
faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which 
body her husband is also a member. Their daugh- 
ter, Eveline E., taught ten terms of school, hav- 
ing, with her brothers, been given a good educa- 
tion. 

Mr. Marble has been a member of the School 
Board for three years, and is connected with C. J. 
Bassett Post, at Allegan, of the Grand Army of 
the Republic. In politics he is a Republican. The 
home farm is carried on by his son, Sidney E. 



ARTIN VAN BUREN McALPINE. 

Among the many prominent residents of 
Monterey Township, Allegan County, 
none are more highly esteemed than is Mr. 
McAlpine. He makes his home on section 22, 
where he owns a fine one hundred and tweut}'- 
acre tract, and also eighty acres on section 27. His 
property is all highly improved and under most 
excellent cultivation. He has erected good build- 
ings on his estate, which is thus classed among the 
finest in the township. 

Our subject is the sou of James M. and Lucinda 
(Granger) McAlpine, natives of Wayne County, 
N. Y. Martin was born in Monroe Count}-, the same 
State, June 23, 1843. Two 3-ears later his parents 
removed to Michigan and settled in Allegan 
County where they have since resided. He was 
given a good education and remained under the 
parental roof assisting his father until reaching his 
majority. 

December 23, 1865, Martin McAlpine was joined 
in marriage with the estimable lady who so grace- 
fully presides over his household and who bore the 
maiden name of Ellen M. Kibby. Her parents 




I 




^/^^^[.^^^^ Q/' 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArmCAL RECORD. 



283 



were George and Emily Kibby, natives of Monroe 
County, N. Y., wlio came to Allegan County 
in an early day. Our subject and his wife have 
become the parents of three children: Edna, who 
is married to Frank E. Berry, resides in Monterey 
Township, Allegan County; Martin li., born Ecli- 
ruary 5, 1SG8, received a good education in the 
Allegan schools and is now employed in the 
Crange store in Allegan; Belle !M., Iiorn October 
8, 1875, is attending school. 

Mr. McAlpiue h.as always taken an interest in 
educational matters and taught two terms of 
sdiools. He is President of the Kent, Allegan and 
Ottawa Counties Mutual Fire Insurance Company, 
and a stockholder in the Grange store at Allegan, 
and has been President of the association for four- 
teen yeai's. In politics, he is a stanch Democrat 
and li.as been honored with the ottices of Justice of 
the Peace, Township Treasurer and various other 
positions of responsibility. 

The mother of Mrs. ^IcAlpine resides in the 
same house with her daughter and has attained to 
the ripe age of seventy j-ears. She was the mother 
of twelve children, ten of whom are living; thir- 
ty-one grandchildren and seven great-grandchil- 
dren. Every Christmas she receives a visit from 
her children and their children's children and we 
hope that she may live to enjoy that pleasure for 
manv years to come. 



V_ 



_y 



r *^*i 



l|_.^ENRY GILBERT. Almost every public 
^^"^^ measure of material interest to Kalamazoo 
has received the personal and active co- 
operation of Mr. Gilbert, who is recognized 
as one of the early men of the cit^'. He was born 
in Ontario (now Yates) County, X. Y., April 12, 
1810, and is ason of David and Martha (Sanders) 
Gilbert. The parental family comprised five mem- 
bers, Henry being the eldest. Mary Ann died in 
New York, Simeon, in Steuben County, Ind., and 
Isaac at Salem, Ore. The youngest child, Martha 
N., is now Mi-s. Leslie, of Kalamazoo. 

September 25, 1833, Mr. Gilbert was married to 
Miss Charlotte Case, of Canandaigua, N. Y., who 



died April 14, 1880. Their family consisted of 
Ch<arlotte Isabel, Mary Eliza, David S., Martha 
Sanders, Ilenr}' Goss and Jennie Clark. Two 
children survive: Henry, who is book-keeper for 
the Standard Oil Company, and Jennie, who is 
married and resides in Kalamazoo. l\Iary E. mar- 
ried John Dwight, of Chicago, where she died; 
Charlotte and Martha passed away at the ages of 
ten and five years; David S. died at Leroy, this 
State, wiien forty-two years old. 

The union of Mr. Gilbert with Mrs. Myra Chap- 
man, the widow of Henry Chapman, of Three 
Rivers, took place May 18, 1881. Mr. Gilbert 
came to Kalamazoo (then called Bronson) Septem- 
ber 2, 1835, and wiis employed on the Statesman 
for one year, in connection with Albert Chandler, 
now of Coidwater. In the fall of 1836 the name 
of tlie paper was changed to the Gazette. That 
paper enjoyed the distinction of being the only 
one published between Detroit and Chicage, and 
north of Ft. Wayne, Ind. 

It was through .accident onl}' that Mr. Gilbert 
located in Kalamazoo. In 183-1, he was en route 
for Chicago, and passing through White Pigeon in 
the stage, he looked around the village and among 
other places visited the office of Mr. De Fries, 
w^hom he bought out in a few minutes, and discon- 
tinued his journej-. He staid there a j-ear, then 
came to Kalamazoo. He soon became identified 
with the progress of the i)lace, serving as Township 
Clerk in 1836,Justiceof thePe.ace in 1841, County 
Treasurer and Receiver of Public Jloneys for the 
Western District of Michigan. Tie served at vari- 
ous times .as Trustee and President of the village, 
and for many years was Trustee of the Michigan 
Female Seminary. He had the contract for man- 
ufacturing furniture in the .Slate Prison for twenty 
years, and in that capacity employed seventy-five 
convicts. 

With reference to the establishment of the States- 
man the History of Kalamazoo Country, says: "The 
Michi(jan Statesman and St. Joseph Chronicle was 
I established in White Pigeon in 1833, by John De 
1 Fries. In June, 1831, it w.as puich.ased by Henry 
Gilbert, who continued its publication at White Pig- 
eon until Se]>teinber, 1835, when he brought his 
I printing csUiblishment to Kalamazoo, and the first 



284 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



paper under the name of the Michigan Statesman 
was printed October 2, 1835. In 1836 the material 
was .sold and removed to Indiana. Mr. Gilbert 
went East and purchased a new outfit, and January 
23, 1837, the lirst issue of the Kalamazoo Gazette, 
came from the press. It soon became an important 
factor, under the management of Mr. Gilbert, who 
was assisted at times by Samuel York, at Lee, and 
O. S. Case." 

His first Presidential vote was cast for An- 
drew Jackson, and he has continued to be a 
stanch Democrat ever since, and for more than half 
a century has exercised a potent influence in the 
ranks of his part}' in Michigan. A lithographic 
portrait of Mr. Gilbert appears in this connection. 



^+^ 



[S~ 



WILLIAM M. ROGERS. That persistent 
industry and good judgment almost in- 
variably- bring success is a fact whose 
truth has never been disputed, and upon the posses- 
sor of these traits of character, fortune usually 
showers her blessings. The traveler thiough 
various portions of the township will almost 
always pause to view the pleasant home of Mr. 
Rogers, which is located on section 2, Ganges 
Township, Allegan County. 

William M. Rogers was born in Rochester, N. Y., 
in 1839, and is the son of Ezra and Matilda Rogers. 
The father was born in Connecticut in 1806 and 
passed his l)oyhood days in the village of Carthage. 
When a lad, he, with the assistance of an older 
brother, built a vessel on Lake Ontario. He sailed 
on the lakes for thirty-two years, during that 
period owning and commanding his own vessels. 
He often landed where the city of Detroit now 
stands, when only a few houses marked the site. 
In that early day there were no lighthouses on the 
lakes. Mr. Rogers on one of his voyages lost a 
vessel near the above-named city, and thus was 
compelled to spend the winter with the Indians, 
undergoing many hardshijis from the intense 
cold. 

In 1837 Ezra Rogers met and married Miss 
Matilda, daughter of Annias and Lucretia Duncan, 
and to them was born one child, a son, our sub- 



ject. His good wife died when William M. was an 
infant of twelve months and his father married 
Cordelia Boyce, daughter of David Boyce. Their 
union resulted in the birth of two children, only 
one of whom, Albert, is yet living. After Ezra 
Rogers quit the lakes he removed with his family 
to Rochester, N. Y., where he spent his last days. 
In politics, he was a strong Democrat. 

AYhen our subject was only two years old, he 
was taken into tiie home of his maternal grand- 
parents, where he received a careful training and 
remained there until reaching his twenty-second 
year. In 1862 he went to Rochester, where he 
married Charlotte R., daughter of Thomas and 
Charlotte Baines. They have been granted a 
family of four children: May, Mrs. Charles Cole; 
Anna, wife of Fred Mills; Hattie, wife of W. J. 
Wagner, and Charles. 

In 1863 Mr. Rogers of this sketch was appointed 
express agent at Fennville for the American Ex- 
press Company, remaining with that company for 
three 3'ears. Then in 1866 he came to Ganges 
Townshii^, and the following year purchased his 
present farm of eighty acres. His farm was all 
heavily wooded but has later been improved and 
forty acres .set out in an orchard. In connection 
with his farming interests, our subject built a ves- 
sel, which proved very disastrous financially. He 
has also been engaged in various businesses in 
Fennville, handling fruit and produce for the 
past thirteen j'ears. He erected the first warehouse 
in that village, and otherwise has aided greatly in 
the development of the village. Politically, Mr. 
Rogers is a stanch Democrat. He is prominent in 
his community and has often been called upon to 
hold positions of responsibility and trust in his 
township. 

f^OLLISTER F. MARSH is a dealt r in real 
estate and is also engaged in the insur- 
ance and loan business, which he established 
in Allegan in 1870. He is a native of New 
York City, being born there on the 6tli of March, 
1837, and is the son of Hollister F. and Jennie 
(Moorehouse) Marsh, natives of Massachusetts and 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAnilCAL RECORD 



285 



New York, respectively. His father spent the early 
part of his life in tlu; mcicantile business in Slass- 
acliusetts and New York City, coniing to Micliigiui 
in 1853, where he first located at Allcgau, after- 
ward removing to INIanlius Township, Allegan 
County, where he purchased one hundred and sixty 
acres of land and was engaged in farming until 
his death, which took place in 1881) when he was 
eighty-one years old. lie was a inagniliccnt speci- 
men of manhood, being six feet two inclies high 
and weighing two hundred pounds. He was of 
English descent, tracing liis ancestry to one of 
three brothers, who came over in the -'Ma^'flower" 
and settled in the Eastern States. Two of these 
remained in Mass.acliusetts, wliile the oilier one re- 
turned to England. JNIr. IMarsli was a Presbj-teriau 
and a Deacon in that church for many years. He 
was a prominent nicnil)er of llie ]\Iasonic fraternit}'. 

Tlie present family consisted of three children, 
two of whom are now living, Maria (Mrs. Popper- 
well) of California, and our subject. Tlic latter 
received his education at Rockvillc, Conn., being 
graduated from tlie seminary there when sixteen 
years old. He then went to New York City where 
he clerked for some time, and when nineteen years 
old opened a grocery store which he carried oi^ 
for two j-e.ars; he then sold out and removed to 
Chicago. Here he became interested in the lumber 
business, carrying on sawmills in Michigan where 
he owned a large amount of pine lands. He con- 
tinued in tliis business until 1870, when he sold 
out and removed to Allegan. Since coming to 
Allegan he has erected seven l)rick blocks and has 
done much toward the improvement and develop- 
ment of the place. Mr. ^larsh owns many thous- 
and acres of land in this and other counties in 
Michigan and has aided in establishing many en- 
terprises in the county and State. He does a large 
business in loans, as well as in real estate and is 
looked upon as one of the most substantial and 
enterprisng business men in the county. 

Mr. Marsh was married in October, 1858, to Miss 
Maria E. Regan, of New York, a daughter of the 
Hon. .Tames G. Regan, who was a member of one 
of the nol)le families of England. To our subject 
and his wife has been born one son, .Arthur F.,who 
married Miss Caroline E.Smith, of Rockport, N. Y., 



and is associated with his father in business. Mr. 
1 Jlarsli is a member of tlie Republican party, and 
socially bdongs to tlie Odd Fellows and Knights 
of tlic Maccabees. He and his wife are meml)ors 
of tlie Congregational Cliurch .•uid are higlily re- 
spected in the community. 



H' 



■Q 



Vl 



OIIN 11. MADDEN, editor of the Enterprise 
at Plainwell, Allegan County, was born at 
Wliitehall,Washington County', N. Y., March 
;jO, 1811. He is the sou of John and .lulia 
S. (Closson) Madden, natives of Troy, N. Y., the 
fatiier a carpenter by trade but for maiiv J'cars 
emplo3'cd in the ticket ofllce of the New York 
Central Railroad Company in the State of New 
York. He came to ^Michigan in 1884 and died at 
Plainwell in 1H8G, at the age of sixty-six yeai-s. 
The mother of our suliject departed this life in 
18G2. 

Mr. Madden was the onl}' child of his parents 
and was reared in the city of New York until nine 
years old, attending the public schools in that 
place. At the age of seventeen ho entered the 
employ of the Government and the United States 
Arsenal at West Tro3% N. Y., where he remained for 
one year. He was then employed in the general 
freight ofllce of the Hudson River Railroad Com- 
pany, where he spent one year. The Civil War 
breaking out, Mr. Madden enlisted, in the fall of 
18G4, in the Twenty-flrst New York Cavalry. He 
si)eiit almost a year in the service, receiving his 
discharge at Hart Island, in New York Harbor, in 
May, 1865. He then worked for the National Ex- 
press Company of Troy until 1866, when he re- 
moved to Plainwell, this State, where he h.as re- 
sided ever since. He then engaged in the printing 
business, and in 1886 established the Plainwell 
Enterprise, which is a six-column quarto. This 
paper is admirably conducted, has a large circula- 
tion and has a good reputation as a family and 
local newspaper. Mr. Madden is an intelligent man 
and thoroughly understands the business in which 
he is engaged and is popular with his patrons. 

The marriage of our subject to Miss Emma Hop- 
kins, a native of Troy, N. Y., took place in 1865. 



286 



POKTEAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD^ 



They have become the parents of nine children: 
John S., who is associated with his father in the 
newspaper; Etiie, the wife of Arthur Duncan, a 
farmer in Otsego Township; Francis H., Elizabeth 
S., Russell E., William H., Alfred E., Mary B. and 
Lena G. In politics, our subject is a Republican 
and belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. 
His wife is a member of the Baptist Church. 



■^f? OSEPH LINDSEY, who was at one time in 
the army during the Civil War, is connected 
with the agricultural interests of Allegan 
County as the fortunate propriet(jr of one 
of its man}' valuable farms, the one that he owns 
being pleasantly located in Otsego Townshij). He 
came here without means, but by his persistent and 
well-directed labors has acquired a competency 
ample for all his wants, and is now^ living in re- 
tirement from active business. 

Mr. Lindsey was born in Chemuugo County, N. 
Y., April 14, 1839. His father, Lucius L. Lindsey, 
was a native of ]\Iassacliusetts, but had gone to 
New York when a boy with his parents. He was 
of mingled Scotch and Irish blood. He worked in 
a papermill, rose to be foreman in the same, and 
occupied that responsible position for some time. 
He afterward turned his attention to farming, and 
in 1841 came to Michigan to avail himself of the 
cheap lands and many superior advantages afforded 
to a wide-awake farmer in this then newly-settled 
country. He located at Plainwell, where he took 
up Government land, and he cleared a fine farm 
in Gun Plain Township. In 1853 he purchased a 
farm in Otsego Township, upon which he passed 
the remainder of his life, which was brought to a 
close in March, 1889, in his eightj'-fifth year. His 
memory will be ciierished as one of the early 
pioneers of the county, and as a man and a citizen 
whose long ant.1 honorable life record was worthy 
of respect. His second wife, the mother of our 
subject, died five weeks before he did. They had 
lived together over fifty years, and death did not 
long divide them. Her maiden name was Elizalielh 
Newton, and she was a native of Pennsylvania. 



She was the mother of seven children, all of whom 
are living, as are tlie three children of her hus- 
band's first marriage. 

Our subject is the eldest child born to his mothei , 
and as he was scarcely two years old when the fam- 
ily' came to Michigan, he was reared in Allegan 
County under pioneer influences. He remembers 
well the primitive wilderness of the country in 
his boyhood, and can recall the time when Indians 
were plentiful around his father's pioneer home. 
He obtained his education in the common schools, 
and on the old homestead learned lessons in agri- 
culture that were of benefit to him in after life. 
He continued to be an inmate of the parental 
household uutil he attained his majority, and then 
went out to work by the month. The following 
year the war broke out, and in September, 1861, 
he threw aside his work to enter the ann\', as he 
longed to be of service to his country. His name 
was enrolled as a member of Company I, Second 
Michigan Calvary, and he was sent with his regi- 
ment to Missouri. The following winter he and 
Ills comrades were on duty at St. Louis. He 
finally succumbed to the hardships of army life 
rear ]Madrid, and lay in a hospital suffering from 
a tedious sickness about four months. Even then 
he was incapacitated for duty, and he was honor- 
ably discharged. 

As soon as he was able, after his return to Mich- 
igan, Mr. Lindsey began to fit himself for a car- 
penter, and was engaged at that trade until some 
fifteen j'cars ago, when he took up farming instead. 
He has one hundred and thirty-five acres of choice 
farming land on sections 27 and 3.5, Otsego Town- 
ship, which is a substantially improved farm. He 
lived thereon until April, 1891, and then retired 
to his present comfortable home in the village of 
Otsego. He is now a man of means, but he started 
out iu life empty-handed. He owes his good for- 
tune to the fact that he is well endowed with ten- 
acity of purpose, is possessed of good, roundabout 
common sense and steady judgment, and has the 
faculty of doing whatever he undertakes to do in 
a skillful manner. His fellow-citizens^think highly 
of him as a true, manlj', upright man, and a loyal 
and law-abiding citizen. They have called him to 
public positions, and he has responded by faithful 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 



287 



service. He has been Highway Commissioner and 
a member of the IJoai-d of Review, and he has al- 
waj-s earnestly favored all things that would tend 
in any way to advanee the interests of township 
or county. He luii^ l)ocn a Mason for over twenty 
years, and he is also a member of the Grand Army 
of the Ro|>ublie. 

Mr. Liudsej- was maniod in l^i7;i to Jliss Mary 
Kldridge, of Streetsboro, Ohio, in whom he has 
a most estimable wife. She is a Christian, a woman 
of many lino attrilmtes, and in her the Methodist 
Episcopal Church has one of its most consistent 
members. Her marriage with our subject has 
brought them four cliiidron, whom they have named 
Frederioka, Lucius 1).. i'.tlu'l I>. and George B. 



^>^*^p ^ i 



<a IklLLlAM H. WILCO.X is roiding un .-cc- 

\v\A/if '''*^" "^'^' ^^'"l'' Haven Township, Van 
V^ Buren County. His farm consists of eighty 
acres of improved land, including a peach orch- 
ard of five acres, an a[)plc orchard of twelve acres, 
as well as pears and tlie smaller fruits; l)esidcs 
which he owns a forty-acre tract. He has been 
very prosperous in life and is ranked among the 
well-to-do farmers of the township. 

William H. Wilcox was born in Leinpster, Sulli- 
van County, N. II., November 12, 1840. His 
grandfather, Comfort Wilcox, accompanied by ttvo 
brothers, came from luigland and settled in Con- 
necticut prior to the independence of the Colo- 
nists. He subsequently removed to Lerap.ster, 
N. H., where John B. Wilcox, the father of our 
subject, was born June 21, 1805. The mother of 
our subject was Betsey Howe and her marriage 
with !Mr. Wilcox occurred April 8, 1835. She was 
born in Newport, Sullivan County, N. H., October 
24, 1811. 

The parents of him of whom we write resided on 
the Wilcox homestead until 1871, when the\- came 
to Michigan to pass their declining j-ears near 
their children. The father died in South Haven 
Township, in 188(1, and the mother, surviving 
him a few years, passed away in (leneva Town- 
ship, October 4. 1891. Tliey bad become the par- 
ents of eight children, seven of whom lived to 



attain their majority, and of whom we make ilie 
following mention: Sarah Ann, born December 
27, 18.'3o, married a ^Ir. R. Richardson, and died 
in Jlassachu setts; !Maria B. w.as born June 16, 
18.'57, became Mrs. Oilman Rowel, and died July 
11, 1869, at Gilsoni, N. H.; Fanny J. was born 
January 22, 1839, and became Mrs. A. C. Sar- 
geant, and was a graduate of Michigan Univer- 
sity; they were both school teachers and taught 
after coming to IMichigan. Mr. Sargeant died at 
JIarshall, Micii., and his wife then married John 
N. Foster, who became Superintendent of the State 
Public .School at Coldwater, in which she, the 
wife, also held a position, and died at Coldwater, 
this State. Our subject was the next in order of 
birth. John E., l)orn June 13, 1845, resides in 
(ieneva Township, Allegan County; George W., 
Iioin April 14, 1847, is a teacher and resides at 
Alicrdecii, S. Dak.; Orion J., bom August 3, 1852, 
is a hardware merchant at Ludington, Mich. 

Our suliject was reared on a farm, attended 
school, and as soon as he reached his teens hired 
out as a farm laborer. In 18G2, he offered his 
services to the Union as a soldier, and on the 
19th of August was mustered into Company G, 
Ninth New Hampshire Infantry. The company- 
was assigned to the Armj^ of the Potomac, and 
September 14 participated in the battle of South 
Jlountain, which was closely followed by Anti- 
etam and Fredericksburg. The regiment was then 
transferred to tlie Army of the West and fought 
at A'icksburg, Jackson and Knoxville, when they 
were again placed in the Army of the Potomac 
and took part in the battles of the AVilderness, 
Spott.sylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, be- 
sides numerous skirmishes. At Petersburg Mr. 
Wilcox lost the index linger of his riglit hand, 
after which he was on provost-guard duty at 
Washington, D. C, and wa.s serving in that capac- 
ity during the Grand Review. 

.\t the close of the war, Mr. Wilcox was mus- 
tered out of the service July 1, 1865. He stopped 
for a short time in his native .State, and after a 
short stay at Marshall, came to South Haven. In 
the fail of 1866, he purchased eighty' acres of land, 
on which he still resides. When the land came 
into his possession it was as nature had left it — 



288 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



covered with an unbroken forest of heav}' timber. 
He now has it all cleared and improved with a 
good set of farm buildings. For some years he 
has given his attention largely to fruit-growing, 
and does a splendid and profitable business in that 
line. 

November 20, 1872, was the date of our sub- 
ject's marriage with Miss Edna A. Rajmond. Mrs. 
Wilcox was a native of Steuben County, N. Y., 
where her birth occurred November 11, 1851. She 
was the daughter of Milo and Catherine Ray- 
mond, who came to Michigan in 1861, and re- 
sided in Lenawee County until 1867, when they 
made their home in South Haven Township, Van 
Buren County. Mr. and Mi's. Wilcox have been 
blest with a family' of seven children: Fannie 
Ella (known by the name of Nellie), born Au- 
gust 19, 1873; AVilliam Raymond, born February 
23, 1875; Ernest Albright, August 10, 1877; Car- 
lotta, July 17, 1879; Harry and Hattie, twins, 
October 15, 1881; and Cecil, February 17, 1888. 

Mr. Wilcox is a Republican in politics, and for 
many years has held the office of Commissioner 
of Highways. He is a member of Zach Chandler 
Post, G. A. R. Mrs. AVilcox is a member in good 
standing of the Congregational Church. Our 
subject, with the assistance of his faithful wife, 
has attained his present financial position solely 
through their united efforts, as he commenced in life 
with nothing but his strong hand and a determi- 
nation to succeed. Mrs. Wilcox and her sister 
Ella, who died at the age of eighteen 3-ears. were 
the only children of their parents. 



l>^^<^- 




?RANK H. MILHAM. This sterling and 



leading young business man of Allegan 
County is President of the Village Board, 
of Otsego. He is a stockholder in the Bardeen Pa- 
per Company, which is one of the leading indus- 
tries in the State. He also owns a beautiful tract 
of land, comprising one hundred and nine acres 
near Kalamazoo, which is improved with all the 
buildings which make of it a flrst-class estate. 

Frank H. Milham is a native of the Wolverine 
State, his birth occurring April 25, 1864, in Kala- 



mazoo. He is descended from a very prominent 
family in this section, his father being the Hon. 
John Milham, who was well known and highly 
esteemed personally throughout the State. The 
elder Mr. Milham was born in Columbia County, 
N. Y., May 24, 1805, and emigrated to Kalamazoo 
as early as 1840. He made the journey overland 
from Detroit, and was one of the earliest settlers 
in this section. 

At the time of his coming hither, the Hon. John 
Milham purchased a tract of two hundred acres of 
land, two and a half miles south of Kalamazoo, 
which he brought to a high dc'gree of cultivation, 
and to which he added by subsequent purchase, 
until, at the time of his decease, in 1884, he had an 
estate of four hundred and forty-six acres. He 
was a very successful farmer, and established an 
enviable reputation in agricultural circles. While 
a resident of New York, he was a member of the 
New York Regiment of Militiamen, and was well 
versed in militar}' tactics. He was one of the com- 
pany who were detailed to guard the carriage of 
Gen. La Fayette during his visit to this country' in 
1824. He was elected on the Democratic ticket to 
represent his district in the State Legislature for 
two terms, while in New York. 

After his removal to Kalamazoo, the Ikm. John 
Milham held various local olHces, to which he was 
elected by the Democratic part^-. The family were 
of German ancestry. The mother of our subject 
was born in Kalamazoo, and was known in her 
maiden days as Eliza Anderson. She passed from 
this life in 1868, greatly respected b^' all who knew 
her. 

Frank H. Milham, of whom we write, was given 
an excellent education, attending first the Kalama- 
zoo Baptist College, and later was graduated from 
Parsons' Business College at the above-named city, 
in March, 1883. After leaving school, our subject 
went to farming, and cultivated the soil for four 
years. Then, in August, 1887, he came to Otsego 
and became a member of the Bardeen Paper Com- 
pany, with which he is still connected, having 
charge of the stock department. 

October 20, 1885, our subject and Miss Elizabeth 
Bryant were united in marriage. Mrs. Milham was 
born in Fitchburg, Mass., and bj' her union with 



PORTRAIT A^'D BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



289 



our subject, has become the mother of two beauti- 
ful children, Frances and Norah. The}' occupy a 
pretty home, and Lave a large and admiring circle 
of acquaintances, being leaders in social circles in 

OtSCifO. 

In his political belief, Mr. Milhani, following in 
the sle]>s of his illustrious father, is a Democrat. 
He has (lllcd the position of 'Village Trustee for 
two years, and is now holding the responsible 
oflice of President of the Board. Socially, he is a 
|)rominent Mason and a Knight of Pythias. 




IMI-:ON STAKING is engaged in cultivat- 
ing a line tract of hind on .-icction J, Ganges 
I Township, Allegan Countj'. He was born 
near Philadeljihia, I'a.. in 182.'^, and is the 
son of Henry and .Tudah Staring, the father being 
born in New York Slate about lMO(i. The elder 
Mr. Staring was reared on the farm of his grand- 
parents, and received a fair educatitm. lie was 
one of fourteen children, and began life by work- 
ing on a canal. 

The parents of our subject wt-rc married in 
1826, the maiden name of Mrs. Staring being 
Judali Mosier. Her |>arents were natives of Hol- 
land. Simeon Staring was the eldest of the six 
children born to his parents, the others being 
respectively: Edward, who died in the Union 
arm}'; Peter, Henry, John; and ilary, who died 
when young. Mr. Staring and his five sons were 
all soldiers in the late war. 

In I8:5.> 'Mv. llenr}' Staring moved to Michigan 
with liis family, and located in Washtenaw County, 
where he continued to reside for five years. Later, 
in 1810, he came to Allegan County, where he 
and his wife spent their last <lays, the father dying 
in 187G and the mother in 188(;. Mr. Staring 
served in the ^Mexican War under Gen. Twiggs. 
During the late war, as he was too old to be 
accepted in general service, he enlisted as engineer 
and machinist under Gen. .Sigel. Our subject's 
father was an Ancient, Free and Accepted Mason 
previous to Morgan's time, but later dropped all 
connection with the order. Tlie paternal grand- 



parents of the gentleman uf wliom wu «iile wire 
(icorge and Cathtrine .Staring, natives of (Jermany. 
The}- were early settlers of the Wolverine State 
where they died at a good old age. 

In 1840 Simeon Staring commenced the battle 
of life on his own responsibility, and ten j'ears 
later located on his pn'sent farm, which was then 
little more than a wilderness. His first home was 
Imilt (if logs, and contained but one room. It has 
long since given way to a commodious and con- 
venient residence. For sever.al years Mr. Staring 
woikcd in the lumber woods until he was able to 
realize a living from his farm. Provisions had to 
be carried from Saugatuck to Allegan, twenty-five 
miles distant. He labored for raanj' years without 
even the aid of a team, but his industiy has been 
rewarded, as he now has one hundred acres of 
excellent land, twent^'-five of which is in fruit. 
His first purchase, however, consisted of one hun- 
dred and sixty aci'es, which he bought in partner- 
ship with his brother. 

Jliss Mary A., daughter of Kbenezer and Betse}' 
(Steele) Slay ton, became I\Irs. Simeon Staring in 
1855. They have been granted five children: 
.\ndrew J., Henry, Luc}', Dora A., and Nellie. 
Mr. .Staring enlisted during the late war in Coni- 
paiiy 1, Seventeenth Michigan Infantry, and saw 
much hard fighting. The last engagement in 
which he partici[)ated was at Petersburg. He is a 
member of Jacob Fry Post, No. 46, G. A. II., and 
in politics is a Democrat. In an early d.ay our 
subject relates thai he cut maple wood at twenty- 
five cents per cord and bought corn meal at ^2.50 
per hundred pound.s. 



AMES H. ROCKWELL. Tliis prominent 
citizen of Allegan has done much toward 
beautifying the village, as he is a first-class 
builder and architect. His parents were 
Roswell and Hannah (Foster) Rockwell and his 
l)irth occurred .Vugust 11. 1833, in Seneca County, 
Ohio. His fattier died in 18.")5, and his mother, 
who is still living, makes her home in Trowbridge 
Township, Allegan County. 

The senior Mr. K'ickwcll came to Michigan as 



m 



290 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



early as 1847 and choosing Trowbridge Township 
as his future abiding-place, purchased one liundred 
and sixty acres of land from the Government. His 
property, which lay on Base Line Lake, where he 
was the first settler, was covered with timber, 
which he set about to remove. He erected a log 
house, 18x36 feet, on his place and helped to or- 
ganize the first school in the township, of which he 
was made one of the Directors. While residing in 
Ohio he followed the occupation of a millwright, 
but found farming to be more profitable in the new 
State of Michigan. 

Wild game was plentiful when our subject's 
father came to Allegan County and he supported 
his family by selling venison and furs until he was 
to realize a living from his farm. Of the parental 
family of six children, five are now living: Our 
subject; Stephen D.; Sarah E., now Mrs. South- 
ward; Cornelie E., Mrs. George Conerv; and Caro- 
line L., Mrs. Duval. 

James R. Rockwell received a good education 
while his parents were residents of the Buckeye 
State, at the same time being trained in farm duties. 
He continued to make his home under the parental 
roof until reaching his majority. Then deciding 
to become an architect and builder, our subject, in 
1869, devoted his time principally to that line of 
business. In 1879, through the earnest solicitations 
of Gov. B. Robinson, Mr. Rockwell went, with 
his family, to the Ten Mile District, Summit 
County, Colorado, and made the drawings for, and 
had charge of, the building of the Summit County 
Smelting AVorks. 

After the death of Gov. Robinson, Mr. Rockwell 
was appointed agent by the administrators of Gov. 
Robinson's estate, to look after the business of the 
mines. The first-named gentleman was a personal 
friend of our subject and ate his last Thanks- 
giving dinner with him at the village of Robinson, 
Colorado. r:)uring the five years which Mr. Rock- 
well spent in C^olorado he was made Master Me- 
chanic of the Robinson Consolidated Mining Co., 
which was a very responsible position. In 1882 
he became a member of the firm of Ellis, Rockwell 
<fe Smith, mine and real-estate brokers in Robinson, 
Ten Mile District, canying on that business for 
two vears. 



After returning to his home in Allegan County, 
Mr. Rockwell visited Southern California and 
other States and Territories He now resides in a 
most beautiful home on Seminary Hill. He has 
built some of the finest houses iu Allegan, among 
which are the March Block, Peck Block, Sherwood 
& Griswold Block, and the Presbyteri.an and Epis- 
copal Churches. 

.Tames R. Rockwell was married in 1855 to Miss 
Salvia A Kent, daughter of J. W. Kent, of Allegan. 
Their union has been blest by the birtli of three 
sons: Edgar, who married Miss Lillie Kinkaid, 
and lias a sou, .James E. Edgar and family make 
their home in Trowbridge Township; William R. 
married Carrie C. Close of Tekamah, Nebraska. 
He died March 10, 1891, and liis widow still resides 
on the farm in Nebraska. John W., who is a printer. 
Our subject is a stanch Republican and socially a 
prominent Mason. He is ranked among the well- 
to-do citizens of Allegan County and besides his 
real-estate interests in Allegan owns mining prop- 
erty in Colorado. 



J.J..5..5..J./2 







prominent and prosperous fruit-growers of 
Michigan may be mentioned the name of 
^ our subject, who owns a beautiful farm 
of sixty acres on section 36, Casco Township, Alle- 
gan County, which he devotes principally to the 
raising of peaches and grapes. He is an enter- 
prising man, and finds that the best methods 
and latest improvements bring him in the largest 
returns. 

Mr. Merritt was born in Ni.agara County, N. Y., 
in 1830, being the son of Thomas Wilson and 
Hannah Merritt. The father was born m the 
northern part of New Jersey, in 1792, where he 
received a good education in the common schools 
of Elizabeth, N. J. While still a youth, the elder 
Sir. Merritt emigrated to Seneca County, N. Y., 
with his parents, where they located on a farm 
known as the "Old Orchard Farm." There he 
learned the trade of a brick and stone mason, 
which occupation he followed a few years, erect- 
ing some of the finest and largest buildings iu the 





/J^^-^y 




PORTRAIT AND BlOGRArillCAL RECORD. 



293 



city of Buffalo at that lime. lie later piircliasert a 
farm on the old Ilollaiul Purchase in Niagara 
County, and there remained for forty years. 

\Vlu'ii twenty-eight years of age, Tliomas W. 
Jlcrritt marrieil Mrs. Hannah (Denton) Farnura, 
the dauiihter of Reuben and Hannah (Kinney) 
Denton. Mrs. Merritt, by her fcirnier marriage, 
had become the mother of two children: Elijah D. 
and Newell. She was a native of Seneca County, 
N. Y., where her parents were also born. B}' her 
union with Mr. Merritt, she became the mother of 
ten children, viz: JIarj' A., who is deceased, was 
the wife of H. Haight; H. Elizabeth is the widow 
of the Rev. C. C. Foote; Huldah D. first married 
David Foote, and later married Gen. W. AV. Tread- 
way; Phebe, deceased, was the wife of I. M. Hoag; 
Hev. A. C, our subject; Reuben D., deceased; 
Jerusha B., also deceased, w.as the wife of S. 
IIoesterRoot; Thomas W., Jr.; Harriet, Mis. H. N. 
Farnum; and Isaac B. 

For many years our subject's father was an 
active worker in the Baptist Church, holding the 
olllce of Deacon while in Somerset County, N. Y. 
He was a strong .Vbolitionist politicall}-, and as- 
sisted many a runaway slave to reach Canada. 
He w.ns a strong temperance man, and by his many 
benevolent works greatly benefited his community. 
He passed his last da3-s in Michigan, dying in 
Detroit, in 1881. 

The original of this sketch received a good edu- 
cation, attending different schools in New York, 
and in IH.jl was married to IM. Angeline Frost, 
an adopted daughter of Tolman Frost. She only 
lived three vears after her marriage, and Mr. 
Merritt was then iiuiled to Sarah A., daughter of 
Sil.as and Charlotte .SI}-. To them were born two 
children: Huldah D. and Charles S. 

Mr. Merritt, of this sketch, was married a third 
time, his pi^sent wife bearing the name of Cordelia. 
She was the daughter of Joseph and Hannah 
(Van Ellen) Brearley, the father a native of New 
York, and the son of John and Hannah (Hewlett) 
Brearley, who were born in Pennsylvania and 
Long Island, res|icctively, and of lOnglish descent. 
Mrs. Merrill's mother was the daughter of John 
[and Sarah (Van Noy) Van Etten, natives of Wayne 
County, N. Y., and of Holland descent. John 
13 



Van Etten was a soldier of the War of 1812. Mrs. 
Jlcrritt w.as one of four children, viz: William H., 
INlrs. Kate B. Ford, and Mrs. Minna B. Richardson. 
To our subject and his wife have been granted 
a famil.v of six children: Jlary A., deceased; Wal- 
ter II., Ellen, William T., Kate B., and H. Ernest. 
Mr. Merritt remained in New York two years after 
his marriage to !Miss Frost, then came to AVayne 
County, and later to Genesee County, Mich. He 
resided in Flint, in the latter-named countj-, foi: 
five years previous to his coming to his present 
home. He was a member of the Baptist Church, 
and in 1864, while residing in Flint, was ordained 
a preacher of that faith, .although having officiated 
in that capacity' a few jears previous to his being 
ordained. After coming to his home in Casco 
Township, Mr. Merritt has occupied the pulpit 
more or less, and has taken an active part in the 
cause of temperance. In politics, though formerly 
a Republican, he is now a Prohibitionist. He h.as 
a beautiful home, and one of the finest fruit farms 
in Allegan County. 



r 



E^^SJ. 



"N 



■jf/OSEPII B. CORNELL. This respected cit- 
izen of Kalamazoo passed from this life at 
his home, August 25, 1877. He w.as one of 
the prominent and successful business men 
of the city and a favorite in a large circle of 
friends. He jjossessed those (lualilies of mind and 
heart whicli made for hiin warm friends and stanch 
adherents, and his loss was deeply felt in his com- 
munity. He was in his forly-eigiith year at the 
time of his death and was a man full of enterprise, 
business tact and very successful as a manufaeturer. 
Ilis portrait is presented in connection with this 
biographical sketch. 

The original of this sketch was born .lanuary 
2."), 1829, in Clinton, N. Y., and was the son of 
Dr. Joseph Cornell, who located in Kalamazoo 
about 1840. His mother died when he was a child. 
He was llic only son by his father's fii^st marriage, 
his two sisters being Minerva, wife of George Bur- 
rell and Abigail, wife of Lewis Starkey. lie had 
learned the trade of a carriage-maker in his native 



294 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



State and after coming to this city did the most 
extensive business in that line in the place, and at 
a time when most of the work was done by hand, 
lie built up a splendid trade in this city and at his 
death the firm of Cornell Bros, succeeded him in 
business. 

Mr. Cornell was one of the Trustees of the vil- 
lage and was made Chief of the Fire Department. 
He was tlie recipient of many positions of trust 
and responsibility, although he very much disliked 
to hold office. He was married September 17, 1856) 
to Hannah L., the daughter of L. H. and Louisa 
(Fay) Trask. Mr. Coinell assisted his brothers to 
get a stait in life and was kind and charitable to 
all who applied to him for assistance. He was a 
member of the Presbyterian Church and gave 
liberally of his means to its support. Socially, he 
was a Mason, having attained the degrees of Knight 
Templar and Scottish Kite. In politics, he 
was a Democrat, always casting his vote and in- 
fluence in favor of the candidates of that part}'. 

Five 3'ears previous to his decease Joseph B. 
Cornell was in ill-health, and wiien at last com- 
pelled to give up his business, devoted himself to 
the restoration of his health. He visited a famous 
establishment in Dansville, N. Y., and after re- 
maining there under treatment for a time, returned 
home apparently much better. He had attained 
an excellent and wide-spread reputation as a busi- 
ness man and the vehicles whicli bore his name 
were justly celebrated for excellence of material 
and workmanship. 



^+^1-= 



-^ 



^_WI LBERT D. WETMORE. There will scarcely 
'^1 \ ^^ found in the limits of Allegan County 
/// i« a more pleasant place, or a more highly 
<^ improved farm, tlian that which is the 

home of Mr. Wetmore, and the scene of his active 
labors. The attention of the passing traveler will 
be quickly attracted to the substantial buildings, 
adapted to their various purposes, the fields of 
waving grain, and the pastures filled with grazing 
cattle. Mr. Wetmore makes a specialty of the Red 
Polled cattle, whicli are hornless, and somewhat 
larger than the Devonshire, and, with the excep- 



tion of Mr. Brackett, of Trowbridge Township, he 
is the only man in the county who raises them. 
His other specialty is the Berkshire hog, in raising 
which he has been particularly successful. 

The farm which Mr. Wetmore owns and operates 
is located on sections 9 and 10, Allegan Town- 
ship, and consists of two hundred and fortj' acres. 
When he started out in life for himself, he received 
eighty acres as a gift from his father, while the 
remaining one hundred and sixty acres have been 
gained by unremitting industry, and the exercise 
of good judgment. Although for many years a 
resident of this State, Mr. Wetmore is not a native 
thereof, but was born in Otsego Countj', N. Y., in 
1833. His parents, Chester and Mary (Dumont) 
Wetmore, were natives of Connecticut and West- 
ford, N. Y., respectively, and emigrated to Michi- 
gan in 1836, when this section of the country was 
little more than a wilderness. Their first location 
was in Gun Plains Township, Allegan County, 
but after sojourning there one year, the}' removed 
to Allegan Township, and settled on section 4. 

The father is remembered as one of the most 
enterprising and public-spirited of the pioneers of 
this county, and his death, in 1872, removed from 
the community one who had for j-ears labored for 
its upbuilding. He was a consistent member of 
the Baptist Church, and a stanch adherent of the 
principles of the Democratic party. His wife 
died in March, 1868, and only two of their six 
children are now living: our subject and Joseph 
D. While the parents were not wealthy, they were 
able to give their children excellent school ad- 
vantages, and our subject, after completing his 
studies in the district schools, attended the State 
Normal at Ypsilanti, where the education he had 
received in the home schools was supplemented by 
a systematic course of studies. 

At the age of twenty-one 3^ears, Mr. Wetmore 
received eight}' acres from his father, which he at 
once commenced to improve, until it is now. with 
the additional land he has added thereto, one of 
the finest farms of this section of the country. 
When twenty-three years old, he visited Kansas, 
Nebraska and Iowa on a prospecting tour, but re- 
turned feeling more than ever satisfied with the 
Wolverine State. In the fall of 1861, he enlisted 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



295 



in Company C, Thirteenth Michigan Infantiy, as 
a private, and, being ordered to the South, engaged 
in general skirmislics until the severe battle of 
Pitksburg Landing. With his regiment, he took 
part in seventeen battles and .skirmishes, among 
tliem the siege of Corinth, the different engage- 
ments on the march to the sea with tlcn. .Sherman, 
at Stone River, Crawford Springs and the siege of 
Chattanooga. For meritorious service, he was 
promoted to be .Sergeant and Lieutenant in 1864, 
and was constantly on duty, excepting for four 
months, when he was sick in the hospitals at Nash- 
ville and Louisville, lie fortunately escaped witli- 
pnt wounds, and recalls with satisfaction that he 
never rode in an ambulance except on c>nc occa- 
sion, and then only for one-half niile. 

At the close of an honorable service of nearly 
four years, Mr. Wetmore w.as discharged at Louis- 
ville, and returned to his home to resume once 
more the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. Soon 
after the close of the war, he was married, in 1866, 
to Miss Elizabeth M. Hudson, the daughter of 
Joshua and Louisa (Wilson) Hudson, of Rochester, 
N. Y. Three children have been born of this 
union: Chester, .^lary R. and Ressie 11. For 
about twelve j*ears, Mr. Wetmore has been con- 
nected with a mill in Allegan, which he is operat- 
ing with success. IMany of the oflicial positions 
within the gift of his fellow-citizens he has filled 
with elliciency. among others, serving as Justice 
of the Peace, Commissioner, and in the various 
school oflices. In his political views, he is a Dem- 
ocrat, while socially, he is identified w^ith tiie 
Masonic fraternity, and is a prominent member of 
the Grand Army of the Republic. 

J'OHN D. AVOODRECK. This gentleman has 
been editor of the well-known Otsego 
Union since 1887. The paper was estab- 
lished in 1875 l>y C. II. Harris, who contin- 
ued its ])ublication until it was purchased b^' our 
subject. Mr. Woodbeck has greatlj' added to the 
facilities of the otilce by enlarging its stock of ma- 
terial. It li.as a fair circulation and is one of the 
brightest and newsiest sheets in the count}-. The 



size of the paper has been increased since it came 
into his possession and is now a six-column 
quarto. 

This enter|)rising young business man was born 
in Montere)% Allegan County, and is thus more 
interested in the welfare and development of the 
county than he would be were it otherwise. His 
birth occurred October 5, 1858. David Wood- 
beck, the father of our subject, was born in New 
York where he followed the pursuits of agricul- 
ture. Xt an early day he emigrated to Alle- 
gan County and purch.ased land in Monterey 
Township where he improved a farm. He served 
two j-ears on the side of the Union during the 
late war and died in 1870, his death being the re- 
sult of exposures to wliicii he was subjected while 
in the army. In his church relations he was a 
consistent member of the .Methodist E[)iscopal 
Church, and a man greatly respected in his commu- 
nity. His wife, the mother of our subject, was 
Mrs. Ursula (Kenyon) Woodbeck, a native of New 
York. She is still living and makes her home in 
Otsego. 

The parental family consisted of four children, 
of whom our subject w.as the youngest in order of 
birtli. He received his primary education in the 
district schools of his neighborhood and later at- 
tended two years in the Allegan union schools. 
He was reared on the farm and remained at home 
assisting his father until twenty years of .age. At 
that time, deciding to make a start in life for him- 
self, he went to Manh.attan, Kan., and for the 
following two years w.as engaged in the mercan- 
tile business. Later, wishing to see something of 
the United States, he joined tlio Haywood Masto- 
don Jlinstrels and with that company visited every 
city of any size in the Union. 

In 1886, .1. D. AVoodbeck came to Otsego and 
clerked in a drugstore for a twelvemonth, when he 
purcliased the Otsego Union. His extensive ti'av- 
els have made him a delightful conversationalist, 
and he h.as the rare ability of using his pen 
with grace as well .as strength. Mv. Woodbeck 
was marrie<l, Januaiy 25. 1889, to Ala, daughter 
of Hon. J. M. Rallou, for a further notice of whom 
the reader is referred to his sketch in another por- 
tion of this volume. Mrs. Woodbeck is a very 



296 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



accomplished ladj', being a graduate from the mu- 
sical department of the Ypsilauti Noi'mal School. 
She has a large class in music in Otsego and has 
been organist in the Congregational Cluirch for 
some time. Mr. Woodbeck is also greatly interes- 
ted in that art and is director of the Otsego Band 
and Classic Orchestra, a musical combination 
known througlioul the United States. They have 
won several prizes and furnished music at various 
Chautauqua Assemblies. The band was organized 
in 1865, and re-organized under State charter in 
1881. 

In politics, Mr. Woodbeck is independent, and 
socially, is a Knight of Pythias, lie and his ex- 
cellent and accomplished wife are valuable acqui- 
sitions to the society of Otsego where the^- have 
hosts of warm friends. Numerous social gather- 
ings are held at their pleasant home, and they are 
doing much to elevate the standard of music in 
their community. Mr. Woodbeck is ambitious and 
progressive, and aspires to tlie higliest type of 
journalism. 



■Q/ 



wm^ 




REWSTER PEABODY. This well-known 
^^^ farmer of Allegan Township is a native of 
this county, his birth occurring April 26, 
1848. He is at present cultivating one 
hundred and eighty acres of land on sections 15 
16, and 21, and he is making a success of his call- 
ing. Mr. Peabody is the son of Jonathan and Ada 
(Brewster) Peabody, natives of Jefferson Countj-, 
N. Y., where they were reared and married. The 
father came to Michigan in 18.36, where he pur- 
chased forty acres of Government land on section 

15, Allegan Township. When establishing a home 
for liis family on the new land, he returned East 
and brought them to Michigan. After clearin"- 
and improving his purcliase, .Jonathan Peabody 
added eighty acres more to his possessions, and 
later increased the same b\- forty acres on section 

16. He erected good frame buildings on each of 
his farms, and placed them under excellent cultiva- 
tion. 

The i)arents of our subject continued to reside 
upon their farm until their death, the father pass- 



ing away in 1882, and the mother many years 
before, in 1859. Mr. Peabody was very prominent 
in local affairs, and was always interested in every 
good work. He aided in the erection of all the 
schoolhouses of his district, and was one of the 
founders of the Baptist Church in his vicinity, of 
wliich denomination he was Deacon for a num- 
ber of years. The parental family included ten 
children, six of whom are now living, viz: An- 
toinette, Mrs. Pound; Julia, Mrs. Cook; Louisa, 
Mrs. Way; our subject; Josephine, also a Mrs. 
Pound; and Ethelbert. 

Brewster Peabody' received an excellent educa- 
tion in the Allegan High School, and, when nine- 
teen 3'ears of age, started out in life for himself, 
being engaged in the lumber business. He was 
thus employed but a short time, when, renting his 
father's farm, he superintended its cultivation for 
five years, and then purchased seventy acres on 
section 13 in Allegan Township, and forty acres 
on section 23. He made his home on the latter 
tract, where lie resided for twelve years. His 
place bore all the improvements which are to be 
seen on flrst-class estates, and netted him a com- 
fortable income. He sold his property on section 
23, and took up his abode on section 15, which 
was the old homestead. He came to his present 
place in 1887. His estate is well stocked with 
good grades of cattle and horses, the Jersej-s and 
Clvdesdale being his favorites. He is engaged in 
general farming, and is ranked among the well-to- 
do agriculturists of this section. 

Our subject and Miss Naomi Davidson, of 
Seneca County, N. Y., were united in marriage in 
1870. Mrs. Peabody was the daughter of H. W. 
and Damarias (Lay) Davidson, also natives of 
Seneca County, N. Y. Her father was a farmer, 
and came to Michigan in 1864, settling on section 
16, Allegan Township, wheie he now resides. In 
politics, Mr. Davidson is a Democrat. Mrs. David- 
son passed from this earth in February, 1892. Mr. 
Davidson will spend his declining years with his 
daughter, Mrs. Peabody. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Peabody have been boin three 
children: George J., who is a graduate of the 
Valley City Business College at Grand Rapids; 
Charles II., wlio died of diphtheria when fifteen 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIFCAL RECORD. 



297 



jeai-s of age; and Ethelbert B. In politics, our 
subject is a Democrat, and liis wife is a member of 
tiie Baptist Church, in wliich denomination he is 
Treasnior and Trustee. lie has l)een Superintend- 
ent of the Poor for six yeai-s, and is a man greatly 
respected in .\l!egan County. ^Ir. Peabody has re- 
cently purciiased eighty acres of i\Ir. William Bliss, 
for which he paid *7,000,and upon which there is 
a beautiful building, where he intends making his 
future liome. IMis. Peabody h.as recently received 
fort 3' acres from her father's estate on section 16. 
This makes three liundied acres of land in the 
Peabody farm, lying within half a mile of Allegan 
village, and it is one of liie finest farms in Allegan 
County. Jlr. and 5Irs. Peabody m.ay truly be 
proud of their estate, which is the result of long 
years of toil, energy and enterprise, and their 
efforts are crowned with success. 



9i\EORGK M«KENZTE. This gentleman came 
to Miciiigan in 1857, and located on section 
35. Geneva Township, Xau lUiren Count}-, 
where he has since made his home. He was bom 
in wiiat was then Middlesex, but is now Elgin 
.County, Canada, in 1823, and was the son of Don- 
ald and Catherine (Clun.as) JIcKenzie, both of 
whom were born and married in Scotland. They 
emigrated to America in 1812, and locating in 
New York, made that State their home only a few 
3'e.irs, when tliey went to Canada, and there rearcil 
a family of eight children, of whom we make the 
following mention: Donald was married and died 
in Canada, leaving a family: Mary died when 
young; .IdIiu passed aw:iy in the Dominion; Cath- 
eiine became the wife of John SIcLauchlin, and re- 
sides in Canada; Alex.ander died single; Jennet 
married William Clark, and resides in Canada; our 
subject was the j'oungest but one; ilargaret mar- 
ried Jeremiah Moore, and died after coming to 
Van Buren County, leavinga faniilv of three chil- 
dren: George W., of Bangor; Almina, the wife of 
Lewis Pinnell, and Donald, f)f Geneva. 

George ^IcKenzie and Miss Jennet McLauchlin 
were united in marri.age in 1848, and became the 



parents of one child. Mrs. McKenzie died in Can- 
ada, and in 1854 our subject married his present 
wife, .lulia A. Cascaddcn, a native of the Domin- 
ion. IIeri)arents were Alexander and Mary (Bru- 
ner) Cascaddcn, natives respectivelj' of Pennsyl- 
vania and Canada. The Cascaddcn family hailed 
from Ireland, and the Bruncrs from Holland. Mr. 
and Mrs. McKenzie have had born to them seven 
children, all of whom are living with one excep- 
tion: Josephine became the wife of J. Stewart; 
Alexander J. died when nineteen j-ears of age; S. 
Marietta is the wile of Thomas Powell, of Indiana; 
B\ron makes his home in Lake City, this State; 
Olive married Robert Brown, of Chicago; Sanford 
also resides in Lake City; and Lottie F. is the wife 
of Williiim Abbott. 

In politics, our subject is a Republican, and has 
held the otliceof Highway Commissioner for twelve 
years. lie was Justice of the Peace for ten \-ears, 
and School Inspector for four. lie was Harbor 
Commissioner at the time the South Haven harbor 
was constructed, and occupied that position for 
four years. He has been very prominent in local 
affairs, and is greatly respected by all who know 
him. 

JOSEPH W. REED, who is eng.iged in the 
wagon-making business at Covert, came to 
Van Buren County in 1887, at which date 
he settled at South Haven. He was born in 
England, June 26, 1839. His parents were Stephen 
and Elizabeth (Watson) Reed, the father being a 
landowner and farmer in England, who, in about 
1841, emigrated with his family to the United States, 
settling at Smithfield, .Teflferson County, Ohio, 
where the parents soon after died,onh- live weeks 
elapsing lietween their deaths. Thcv were the 
parents of thirteen children, of whom the following 
are living: Stephen and Joseph W. 

After the death of his parents our subject lived 
with his sister until about eleven years old, when 
he began the battle of life for himself. He learned 
the carpenter's trade and gained his education in 
the district schools, clerking in stores during the 
winter for his board. He resided for a time in 
Kosciusko County. Ind. In 1862 he enlisted as a 



298 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



soldier in the Civil War and was mustered in Oct- 
ober 16, as a member of Company F, Fort3--cighth 
Indiana Infantr.v, and served till Julj' 15, 1865 
His command was in the Pioneer Corps. After 
the war was over, Mr. Reed went to Milford, Ind., 
and worked at his trade for a time, coming from 
there to South Haven, this State, and in 1871 set- 
tling in Covert. On August 7, 1890, with his son 
he purchased a blacksmithing business at Covert 
which they conduct in connection with their 
wagon work. Mr. Reed was married October 13, 
1862, to Mrs. Catherine A. Sherman, a daugliter of 
Martin and Barliara Kershncr. She was born in 
Greene County, Ohio, February 6. 1833. Her par- 
ents were natives of Maryland and Germany, re- 
spectively. When she was eighteen months old, 
the family removed to Kosciusko Count}', Ind., 
and there she resided until her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Reed have one child, Christopher 
Watson, who is in business with his father and is a 
blacksmith by trade. He married Miss Eva Enlow. 
Mr. Reed has a good home and as a reward for his 
diligence and industry' throughout life, is in com- 
fortable circumstances. He affiliates with the Re- 
publican part_v, but takes no very active interest 
in political affairs. He and his wife are members 
of the Congregational Cliurch and socially he be- 
longs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



ENRY M. MARVIN, M. D. This gentle- 
man, who is now carrying on a farm on 
section 22, Covert Township, Van Buren 
County, to wliich lie gives his principal at- 
tention, although lie does considerable work in the 
practice of his profession, became a resident of this 
township in 1884, although his settlement in Mich- 
igan dates from 1844,and in 1854 ho went to Berrien 
Count}'. Dr. Marvin was born in Oswego County, 
N. Y., October 11, 1834. His parents were Benja- 
min and Hannah Salina (Gregory) Marvin, natives 
of New England. His paternal and maternal 
grandfathers, Benjamin Marvin and Benjamin 
Gregory, were both soldiers of the Revolutionary 
War, the latter being an officer. His parents re- 
moved from Oswego County to Monroe, Mich., in 




1844, arriving on the 29th of November. His 
father, the Rev. Benjamin Marvin, was, while he 
resided in New York, engaged in the milling busi- 
ness, in which he was not veiy successful, and lost 
considerable money. He had received an educa- 
tion preparatory to becoming a minister of the 
Presbyterian Church, and wlien he came to Michi- 
gan, it was in the capacity of a missionary. He 
remained at Monroe a short time and then went to 
Saline, and afterward to Pinckney, Livingston 
County, where he remained for four years. He 
tlien removed toUnadilla, wliere lie took charge of 
a Scotch Presbyterian Churcli. He there died, No- 
vember 14, 1855. His birth took place December 
22, 1789. The mother of our subject was born 
F'ebruary 22, 1790, her death occurring some years 
after that of her husband, at the home of her 
daughter, at Roscoe, Ohio. 

The parents of our subject had a large family of 
children, as follows: .John Lorenzo, born December 
30, 1811, resides in Coloma, Midi.; Benjamin G., 
born July 4, 1813, died in New York City, N. Y. 
He was a very eminent lawyer. Salina Sarah Ann, 
who was born .Tune 4, 1815, was married to Joab 
Agnew and died in Roscoe, Ohio; Salina Hannah, 
born January 27, 1817, married Gen. R. M. Ford, 
and resides at Corunna, Shiawassee County, this 
State; George, born February 17, 1819, died Octo- 
ber 16, 1820; George A., born December 29, 1820, 
and died March 14, 1827; and Rutli Darrow, who 
was born October 24, 1822, liecame tlie wife of 
George Bagwell, and resides in Newcomei'stown, 
Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Three children died in 
infancy. .Tames, born April 5, 1828, is mail agent 
on the West Michigan Railroad, wliich position he 
has held ever since the route was first organized. 

The subject of tliis sketch is tlie youngest of the 
parental family and was ten years old when his 
parents removed to Michigan. He attended the 
common schools in his boyhood and then learned 
the trade of a wagon-maker, at which he worked 
for a time, and also taught school and read medi- 
cine. At the age of nineteen he passed examina- 
tions in the medical department of the State Uni- 
versity of Michigan, but his diploma was witliheld 
because he was not of age. He, however, entered 
upon the practice of his profession, in which he 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



299 



continued until 1869, being located at Coloma. 
lie then entered Rii.-^li ^fedical College, at C'liicago, 
and was graduated in the C'lass of '70. lie re- 
sumed his profession at Coloma, and eonlinued in 
practice as long as his healtli would permit, liut in 
1881 was obliged to give it up. and eoneluded to 
try the effects of an outdoor life ujjon a farm. lie 
accordingly jiurchased the laud on which lie now 
resides, and wliere he has made numerous valuable 
improvements. He now owns one liundrod and 
twenty acres of land on which are a first-class set 
vi buildings, and every convenience necessary to 
carry on the farm in a profitable manner. 

During the Civil War Dr. Marvin was for a time 
in active service, being commissioned on March 4, 
18()4, as Surgeon of the Twelfth Michigan In- 
fantry, and served as sucli until September 24 of 
the same year, when he passed the examinations, 
and was commissioned Assistant Surgeon of ^'ol- 
unteers, but was not mustered in, as his commission 
as .Surgeon of the Twelfth Michigan Regiment 
would not be accepted. His liealth, however, was 
so poor at this time that lie decided to return 
home. 

Dr. Marvin was married May 26, 1856, to Helen 
Maria, daughter of Archibald and Eliza Ann (Tan- 
ner) Stewart. For a more extended sketch of her 
parents, see that of Capt. W. E. Stewart. Mrs. Marvin 
w.as born in the State of Xew York, May 29, 1836, 
coming to Michigan with her jjarcnts, her marriage 
taking place at Paw I'aw. The children born to 
our subject and his wife are as follows: IJenjamin, 
born August 14, 1858, is a mechanic residing in 
Chicago; Anna M., born April 11, 1860, died June 
8,1864; James E., born June 24, 1862; Archie, 
born September 15, 1865, died March 30, 1866; 
Albert, born April 15, 1867; Frank Stewart, Nov- 
enilx'r 16, 1869; Charles H., August 20. 1872; 
Helen M., August 24, 1875, and Flora L., August 
28, 1878. They have also an adopted daughter, 
Viola E., the date of whose birth is October 18, 
1853. 

Dr. Marvin is rather conservative in his views 
and does not belong to any political party, using 
his own judgment in casting his ballot and voting 
as he deems best for the interests of his count3- and 
State. He has never sought public otHces, although 



he has filled several local positions and w.is the 
first Postmaster at Coloma, in 1856. lie is a mem- 
ber of Coloma Lodge, Is'o. 162, A. F. ct A. M., of 
wliich lie w.as Master for several years, and is also 
a moiiilter of Calvin Britton Chapter, No. 72, 
R. A. .M. He is a charier member of Garfield 
Post, G. A. R., at Coloma, of whicli lie has been 
Surgeon. He and his wife arc faithful members of 
the Congregational Church at Coloma, and are 
amongst its most iilx'ial supporters. Dr. Marvin 
is somewhat of a literary turn of mind and lias 
contributed articles to the different medical jour- 
nals. He is a member of the Berrien Count}' 
3Iedieal Society. Besides his present property he 
also owns his old home at Coloma. 



\ ATIIANIEL JEWETT, whose success in 
general farming and raising blooded stock 
li\i^ has placed him among the most prosperous 
men of his class in Allegan Township, where his 
farming interests are located on section 8, has 
cleared from the forests that stood here when he 
first came to this region one of the finest and best- 
improved farms within the borders of Ailejian 
County. 

Mr. Jewctt was born in the town of Alna, Lin- 
coln County, Me., March 8, 1827. He comes of 
sturdy New England stock, and his parents, Na- 
thaniel and Ellis (Erskin) Jewett, were also natives 
of the Pine Tree State, and lived and died amid 
the pleasant scenes of their birth. The father wsis 
an intelligent, practical farmer, and had a good, 
well-erjuipped farm. In their comfortable home 
he and his good wife reared five children: Nathan- 
iel, George E., Laura, Sarah A., and John A. The 
father w.as an old-line Whig in politics, and he had 
an excellent record as a soldier in the Warof 1812. 
His parents were James and Lj'dia (Hilton) Jewett, 
and they, too, were farmers. 

Our subject received a sound, practical educa- 
tion in the village school at Alna, and a no less 
useful training in all kinds of farm work on his 
father's farm. He remained at home with his par- 
ents until he was twenty j-ears old, and he then 



300 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1 



began life on his own account by working in a. 
sawmill, in which he was employed two years. He 
was ambitious to try his fortunes in what was 
then considered the "Far West," and in 1850 he 
came to Michigan, with a good equipment of brain 
and brawn for the struggle that lay before him 
ere he could hope to secure a competency. For 
five years he was engaged in a sawmill at Sauga- 
tuck, and at the expiration of that time he in- 
vested a part of his hard-earned money in the 
tract of timber land on section 8, Allegan Town- 
ship, from which he has since evolved the choice 
farm upon which lie is so pleasantly passing liis 
life. Hard pioneer labor was required in clearing 
off the timber, fencing it into convenient fields, 
placing the soil under cultivation, and in erecting 
suitable buildings, but the task has been well done, 
and as a result Mr. Jewett has a farm complete in 
its appointments — a fine residence, commodious 
and well-arranged barns, granaries, etc., adorning 
the place, the largest barn being 84x58 feet in 
dimensions. A good orchard of the choicest 
fruit trees adds to its value. Mr. Jewett devotes 
his farm, which comprises one hundred and eighty 
acres of land, to general farming, and has some 
registered stock among his fine herd of Durhams, 
and has beautiful Morgan and Clydesdale horses. 
Our subject was married in 1859 to Miss Laura 
Shead, of Ganges, Allegan County, and to her de- 
voted assistance he is greatly indebted for the suc- 
cess that has come to him in his career as an active, 
independent farmer. To them have been born 
two children: Edith S., now Mrs. II. D. Lane; and 
Mildred E. Mrs. .Jewett is a daughter of one of 
the early pioneer families of this county. Her 
parents were Orra and Nancy (Shipman) Shead, 
natives of Vermont. Her father was engaged in 
farming and milling in his native State, where lie 
was married. He removed to St. Lawrence County, 
N. Y., where he lived until 1836, when he came to 
Michigan on a prospecting tour with a view to 
settling in the wilderness of this State, which was 
then a Territory. He entered laud in Ganges 
Township, Allegan County, and then started on 
his return to his home in the East. But he was 
never destined to see again the hills and valle^^s of 
Vermont, as the boat on which he was voyaging 



across the waters of Lake Erie was burned, and he 
perished with it. His family came to Michigan in 
1846, and settled on the land that the father had 
taken in Ganges Township, and there the mother 
died in 1850. Of her eight children, six are liv- 
ing: Cornelia, Mrs. Goodrich; Maiy, Mrs. Sage; 
Louis; Daniel; Rhoda, Mrs. Wade; and Mrs. 
Jewett. 

Asa man of sound understanding, of sagacious 
and prompt business methods, and known to be 
thoroughly honorable and reliable, Mr. Jewett has 
been influential in the public life of his township, 
which he has served in various responsible offices. 
He has been Assessor, and he was Superintendent 
of the Poor for seven years. In polities, he is a 
Republican, stanch and true to the principles of 
his part}'. 



<^ 



(^^HOMAS STEWART, one of tlie prominent 
,f(((^^ business men of Allegan, is a manufacturer 
^^^ of plows and castings, having a large foun- 
dry in which he does a wholesale and retail busi- 
ness. He is a native of Monroe Count}', Ohio, 
born October 14, 1854. His parents, Uriah and 
Elizabeth (Atkins) Stewart, natives of Pennsylva- 
nia and Ohiorespectively, came to Allegan in 1868. 
His fatlier was a farmer by occupation, but after 
his removal to the West lived a retired life until 
his death in 1877. The mother departed this life 
in 1887. The paternal grandfather of our subject 
was a native of Pennsylvania, where he farmed 
extensively, and reared a large family'. His ma- 
ternal grandfather was Ashcl Atkins, who married 
Miss Redwood, and they were natives of Vermont 
and Ohio, respectivelj'. He was emplojed on the 
Ohio River, where he was also engaged in selling 
wood, having a large wood-3'ard there. He was a 
soldier in the Revolutionary War. and an old-line 
Whig. He was a member of the United Brethren 
Church, and reared a large family of children. 

The parents of our subject had a family of seven 
children, of whom he is the only one living. He 
was educated in Ohio and West Virginia, and 
reared upon a farm, where he remained until 
fifteen years old. He then learned the machine 



PORTRAIT AND BTOHRAPHICAL RECORD. 



303 



and foundry business at Allegan, afterward goinfj 
to Grand Rapids and MuslvCgon, where he worked 
at Ills trade. In 1891 lie returned to AUcjjan to 
carry on the business of his brotiier, W. Stewart, 
wiio W.1S accidentally killed the previous year. 
Tiie fircunistnnces of iiis death were very distress- 
ing, lie was in a bugg}- in which were two guns, 
and while driving through a creek one of tlie 
wheels struck a log, and, one of the guns being 
about to fall out, Mr. Stewart took iiold of it and 
was drawing it in wiicn tiic (rigger caught and it 
accidentally wont off, shooting him thiough tiie 
heart, killing him instantly. lie was the owner of 
the Eagle Foundry- Works, which our subject has 
since been operating. He left a wife and four 
children. 

The subject of this sketch was married in 1877 
to ]\Iiss Lucy Gilbert, of Otsego. AUeg.an County, 
a daughter of .1. W. Gilbert. Five children have 
been born to them, namely: Claudie W., James F., 
diaries W.. Thomas G., and Lula M. Mr. Stewart 
is a stanch Re|)ublican, and he and his wife are 
members of tlie Baptist Church. Sociallj^, he 
belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees. He owns 
a pleasant home in Allegan, and lias a farm in 
Pine Plains. He is one of the industrious and 
enterprising men of the village and is higlily 
esteemed as sucli. 



"•{••{•^•♦miS 



ON. WILSON C. EDSELL. Nothing is of 
I deeiier interest to a student of human 
J\^ nature and iiuman events than to trace the 
(^) career of one who has fought his way up 
to a position of prominence and linancial success. 
Mr. Edsell, b^- dint of his own pluck, pusii and 
perseverance, has, notwithstanding the struggles 
of his earlier years, maintained a well-earned rep- 
utation for probity and for a iii>t cnnsideratiou of 
the rights of others. 

Tlie gentleman whose portrait apiiears on the 
opposite page, was born in Pike Township, Brad- 
ford County, Pa., .luly 8, 1814. His father, Jesse 
Edsell, a native of Oranixe County, N. Y., while a 
young man, moved to liiadford County, Pa., where 
he carried on farming, and died in 1856, aged 



seventy-four years. The grandfather of our sub- 
ject died when Jesse Edsell was quite young. The 
family was of German descent. The mother of 
our subject w.as Polly (Canfield) Edsell, a native 
of Connecticut. She passed from this life in 18H1, 
having reached the good old age of ninety-four 
years. She came from a very hardy race of people, 
noted for their longevity, and was descended from 
one of three brothers who came from Ireland to 
America prior to the Revolutionary War. Nearly 
all of tliMt family lived to he eiglitj^, and some 
even ninety-six, years old. 

The parental family- included thirteen children, 
eight of whom lived to reach mature years, and 
four are still living. Our subject was the sixth in 
order of birth, and was given but a limited educa- 
tion. He remained on the farm until reachnig his 
seventeenth year, when he apprenticed himself to 
learn the carpenter's trade. He coutinued to work 
at that trade until reaching his m.ajority, when he 
came West to Ohio, and at Sandusky engaged in 
millwrighting. 

The Hon. W. C. Edsell was united in marri.age 
in 1810 to Jliss Julia A. Clock, a most estimable 
lady. INIrs. Edsell was a native of Pennsylvania 
and of (icrman descent. After their marriage they 
removed to Oberliu. Ohio, where they both attended 
college for a few years, our subject working at his 
trade during vacations in order to p,ay their tuition. 
In 1814 John J. Shepard, the founrler of OI)erlin 
College, formed a colony, and migrating to .Michi- 
gan founded Olivet College. Mi: Edsell with his 
family joined the colony and heli)ed to organize 
the college, of which he was made one of its Trus- 
tees, Secretary and Treasurer, holding those re- 
sponsible jiositions for more than five years. AVhile 
in Olivet, .Mr. Edsell assisted in building grist- 
mills, etc., and became one of the prominent citi- 
zens. 

In Seiitember, 18l'.t,our subject came to Allegan 
County, and, locating in Otsego, purch.ased large 
tracts of land. His superior executive ability was 
soon recognized by his fellow-townsmen and he was 
elected Justice of the Peace, and. opening an otiice 
did a collection business. During the interim lie 
applied himself diligently to the study of law and in 
1856 w.os admitted to the Bar. He held the posi- 



304 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tion of Justice of the Peace for sixteen years, 
carrj'ing on, in connection with that position, the 
practice of law. 

In company- with his son-in-law, Herbert N. Peck, 
Mr. Edsell organized the first bank in Otsego. It 
was a private bank and was opened in 1869. In 
1879, however, Mr. Peck withdrew from the busi- 
ness and Charles W. Edsell, a son of our subject, 
took an interest in the iiroject. Our subject, in 
connection with his other interests, has been ex- 
tensively engaged in dealing in real estate, owning 
at the present time two hundred acres of valuable 
land surrounding the village of Olscgo. At one 
time his possessions numbered one thousand acres, 
but he has since disposed of the greater portion of 
his land. lie also owned one thousand acres in 
another part of the county. lie owns stock in the 
Otsego Chair Company, wiiich is one of the largest 
business enterprises in this section, and has large 
interests in business and residence property in 
Otsego. 

The Hon. W. C. Edsell was elected to represent 
the people of his district in the State Senate in 
1865-77-81. While in that body he served on 
the Committee on Banks and Corporations, and 
was Chairman of the Committee on Benevolence. 
He was Chairman, in 1881, of the Educational 
Committee, who revised the whole system of school 
laws. He afliliated with the Republican party un- 
til 1881, since which time he has been a stanch 
Prohibitionist. He helped to organize the Re()ub- 
lican party, and acted as delegate to many State 
conventions. Mr. Edsell was appointed by Gov. 
Blair Trustee for the Kalamazoo Insane As3ium, 
serving in that position for two years. He has 
always been an ardent temperance man and has 
done much toward forwarding the cause of pro- 
hibition in his communit_y. He was instrumental 
in securing the paper mill for Otsego, one of the 
turning points in the matter being the fact that 
there were no saloons in Otsego. 

Mrs. Esdell passed from this life in 1866, leaving 
four children: Alice, Helen and Sarah, who are de- 
ceased, and Charles W. Our subject was married 
a second time, in 1867, to Miss Clara Hughes, who 
was a native of Peekskill, N. Y. To them has 
been born one daughter, Esther, who is the wife 



of Herbert H. Jlartindale, of Otsego. Mr. and 
Mrs. Edsell are influential members of the Congre- 
gational Church, with which denomination our 
subject has been connected since 1840. He is active 
in church work and has served his congregation 
as Trustee, Treasurer and Secretary, each in turn 
for many years. He has always been a liberal and 
cheerful giver to all charitable purposes, and his 
wise course when attempting to bring about any 
worthy object is well known to those who are 
acquainted with the history of the State. He is 
one of those cultured and enterprising citizens 
who favor progress, and he possesses that cordial, 
kindly spirit which makes warm friends and stanch 
adherents. He and his excellent wife fully appre- 
ciate the value of a knowledge of books and their 
beautiful home is adorned with a well-selected 
library which stamps them as people of culture 
and education. We are pleased to present in our 
list of the best citizens of Allegan Countj', a 
sketch of the Hon. W. C. Edsell. 



^^ » y 



OGDEN TOMLINSON. This gentleman, who 
holds the position of Postmaster at Plain- 
well, and at the same time carries on his 
profession of a lawyer, is one of the prominent 
men of that place and highly esteemed for his in- 
tegrity of character. He is a native of LeRoy, 
Genesee Count}', X. Y., his birth having taken 
place January 17, 1840. 

The father of our subject, John Tomlinson, was 
a native of Connecticut, born in 1796. He removed 
to Genesee County, N. Y., where he followed the 
trade of a millwright, building and owning a mill 
at that place. In 1856 he removed to Port AVash- 
ington. Wis., where he became interested in milling 
for a time. In 1862, he returned to New York, 
locating at Le Ro}', where he gave up active busi- 
ness and lived a retired life until his death, which 
took place in 1869, when he was seventy-eight 
years old. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, 
and has held the office of a Supervisor. Ho was a 
member of the Universalist Church, and was a 
well-known and prominent man in the communitj- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



305 



where he resided. He was three times married, 
having five children by his first wife. His second 
wife, the motlicr of our subject, whose maiden 
name was Dorothy Hitchcock, was a native of 
Monroe County, N.Y. Her deatli took place in 
1861. She was the mother of four children, of 
whom our siiliject is the oul^' one living. No 
children were born of the thii'd marriage. 

Ogden Tomlinson received his elementary edu- 
cation in tlic common schools, supidcmcntcd by a 
short course in Lima (N. Y.) University, his 
father at that time removing to Wisconsin with 
his family. AVliile in Wisconsin, he did general 
work in the mills for a short time. He then re- 
turned to New York and clerked in a store for his 
brother, at Pavilion, for about two j-ears. The 
store was burned and our subject returned to 
Wisconsin. 

This was about the time when tiio call to arms 
was heard throughout the country, and on Septem- 
ber 17, 18fil, Mr. Tomlinson enlisted in the Six- 
teenth Wisconsin Infantry. So intensely loj'al 
was he, lliat he left his home when his mother was 
at tiie point of death and a sister was seriously ill. 
He served until the close of the war, receiving his 
discharge at Louisville, Ky., June 26, 1865. The 
first battle in which he was engaged was at 
Corinth. He spout most of tiie j-ear of 1862 in the 
Oxford campaign, where some lively skirmishing 
was experienced. His command was stationed at 
Lake Provence during the siege of \'icksburg, and 
held an outpost, twelve miles s«mth of there, during 
the winter of 18G2 and 186.3. He joined Slierman's 
army in Tennessee and was in all the noted battles 
around and including that at Atlanta, and was one 
wlio took tliat famous march to tlie sea. At the 
expiration of tlie three years for which he enlisted, 
he veteranized and re-enlisted. 

After his return from the army, our sul>ject en- 
gaged in the grocer}' business for a short time at 
LeRoy, N. Y.. l)ut eventually closed thai out and 
went to Wisconsin. He then decided to go to 
Ivansas and take up a homestead. He located in 
Marion County, that State, where he remained 
about four yeai-s and proved up n quarter section 
wliich lie afterwards sold. He then came to Alle- 
gan, Mich., where he became a student in the law 



office of Williams, Arnold & Padgham. In 1874, 
after being admitted to the bar, he entered the 
jiractice of law with Mr. Padgham. In 1875, he 
came to Plainwell and formed a partnership with 
Silas Stafford. In 1880, he entered into partner- 
ship with A. II. Fenn, at Allegan, but retained his 
residence at Plainwell. He served as Prosecuting 
Attornej' at Allegan, after which he was made 
Register of I'robate for the same county. He was 
apjjoinled Postmaster at Plainwell, April 1,1891, 
and is at present filling that office to the satisfac- 
tion of the public. In politics, he is a Republican, 
and has been a delegate to State conventions. 
Socially, he is a member of the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen, The Knights of the JLaccabees, 
the Odd Fellows and the (Irand Arm}' of the Re- 
pulilic, in the latter of which he is Commander of 
the Post at Plainwell. He served as President of 
the A'illage Bc>ard for two years. 

Mr. Tomlinson was married August 31, 1865, to 
Mar}' E. Wareham, a native of Oswego County, 
N. Y., and they are the parents of two children: 
.Tohn and Cleo. 



_^3 



"S] 



^-^ 



n^ ■-: 



ET 






yARREN A. WOOD WORTH, who is a 
prominent attornc}--at-law in the village 
W^ of Saug.atuck, Allegan County, is a son of 
Augustus W. and \'ioletta (Bowker) Woodworth, 
natives of New York. His birth took place in Al- 
legany County, N. Y., May 26, 1836, w^here he was 
reared to the life of a farmer boy. At the age of 
fourteen, finding this occupation entirely too mon- 

! otonous for his active mind, he determined to see 
something of the world for himself, and according- 

j ly started out to make his fortune. He engaged 
in various occupations, among the rest becoming a 
school teacher for eleven years, and for two years 
lecturing on phrenoli)gy and temperance. He ac- 
(piired his education by his own efforts, reading 
the best books and vising his power of observation 
to good advantage. He finally became a student 
in the Baptist Theological Seminary, and after- 
ward in the Law .School at Ann Arbor, during the 
years 1862 and 1H63. He then o|)ened an ollice in 

I Ganges,© wning a farm in the township by that name. 



306 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



on wliicli he resided until alwut fifteen ^-ears ago 
when he removed to Saugatuck where he has been 
actively engaged in the practice of his profession 
ever since. In 1890 he took in Charles N. Thew 
as a partner, and their business is increasing and 
proving very satisfactory. 

Mr. Woodwortli was married in 1864 to Mary 
A. Miller, a daughter of Jesse Miller, and a native 
of New York. Three children have blessed this 
union, namely: Cliarles H., who died when ten 
years old; Nellie S. who married William L. Naugh- 
tin and resides in Chicago; Saburna G., who is yet 
at home. In April, 1891, this happy household 
met with a great grief in the loss of the beloved 
wife and mother. She was a most estimable wo- 
man and highly esteemed by all who knew her. 

Mr. Woodworth started in life a poor boy and 
deserves great credit for the industry and perse- 
verance by which he has won his way to his pres- 
ent position. He now owns a fine farm in Ganges 
and also in Saugatuck, where he raises large quan- 
tities of the flue fruit for which this State is fa- 
mous. In politics, he is a Prohibitionist, carrying 
out his views in practice as well as principle. He 
has held various local offices and has been Circuit 
Court Commissioner and School Superintendent. 
He and his family are members of the Congrega- 
tional Church and are foremost in all good works. 
Mr. Woodworth 's great-grandfather w,as a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War and his maternal grand- 
father in the War of 1812. 



U ALTER MEREDITH is one of the leading 
farmers and stock-raisers, and an esten- 
^^f^ sive lumber manufacturer of Allegan 
County, and is one of the most enterprising and 
successful business men of this section. He has a 
beautiful home on his large and well-appointed 
farm on section 5, Martin Township, and has be- 
sides other valuable landed interests in different 
places. 

Mr. Meredith is a native of Genesee County, N. 
Y., his birth occurring in Alexander Township, 
September 14, 1840. His father, David Meredith, 
who was a pioneer of Southern Michigan, was born 



in Chester County, Pa., and is a son of .John Mere- 
dith, who is also supposed to have been aPennsjl- 
vanian by birtii. The father of our subject was 
reared in his native State by a Quaker farmer. He 
went to New York in early manhood, and was 
married there to Mary, daughter of Henry Haw- 
kins. Her father is supposed to have been a na- 
tive of New York, and to have been of Welsh des- 
cent. She was born in Genesee County, and there 
she and her husband located after marriage. Her 
death occurred at the age of forty-eight years. 
She was the mother of five children all of whom 
are living, as follows: Evans, a resident of Osh- 
temo To^^^lship, Kalamazoo County'; Marion, a 
resident of Wayland Township; Walter and War- 
ren, the latter of whom is a twin brother of our 
subject, and lives on the old jNIeredith homestead 
in Portage Township; and Maggie, wife of Eugene 
Beckwith, of Pavilion Township. In 1843 the 
father of our subject removed with his family to 
Kalamazoo County, and became actively identified 
with its pioneers. He first selected a tract of land 
in the wood on tlie present site of Pavilion Town- 
ship, cleared a space upon which to build a log 
house, 18x24 feet in dimensions, and during his 
ten ^years' residence on that place put consider- 
able of the land under cultivation. At the expira- 
tion of that time, he removed to Portage Township, 
with whose development and farming interests he 
was identified until his death, at the age of sixty- 
five years. 

Walter JNIeredith was three years old when his 
parents came to Michigan to found a new home in 
the forest wilds of Kalamazoo County. His char- 
acter was moulded and strengthened by pioneer 
influences, and he early manifested the sturdy self- 
reliance, independence of thought and act, and 
ability to plan and carry out his schemes wisely 
that have had so important a bearing on his suc- 
cess in life. He laid the foundation of his educa- 
tion in a primitive log schoolhouse in Pavilion 
1'ownship, and completed it in the public schools 
of the town of Portage. He had quite a talent for 
mechanics, and at the .age of sixteen commenced to 
work at the trade of a carpenter, and was employed 
at that until he was twenty-five j'ears old, having 
in the meantime assisted in the erection of many 



I'ORTK^UT AIsD BIOGRAPHICAL RECOilD. 



807 



buildings in Kalamazoo Coimtv. Tie was married 
in Docouibcr 31, 186G, and R'niained in Kahunazoo 
two 3'ears after that event, and then located where 
he now resides in Jlartin Township, he liavme: 
previously purchased this farm, one hundred and 
twenty acres of it lieing cleared before he 
moved onto it. lie built a small frame house, 
in which he and his family lived until 1X8;$, when 
he erected his present handsome residence, at tiie 
cost of ^1,000, building it himself, and it is one 
of the finest houses in the county. It is of a mo- 
dern and tasteful style of architecture, is hand- 
somely furnished, .and the rooms are beautifully 
linishcd in different kinds of woods, such as cherry, 
oak, black walnut, etc. Good barns and other 
liuilding complete the appointments of a model 
farm. IJesides this homestead of tlu-ec hundred 
acres of land, which he has improved himself, Mr. 
Meredith has a great deal of other valuable pro- 
pert3', he being one of the wealthy men of the 
county. 

lie has one hundred and eighty acres of land on 
the tiun River Flats, and one hundred and forty- 
four arres in Wayland Township, the most of 
which is improved, making his landed possessions 
mount wp to six hundred and twenty-four acres. He 
owns a sawmill, with a capacity of fifteen thousand 
feet i)er day, for making railway ties and does a large 
busine.-^iii that line, besides carrying on farmiiio- 
and stock-raising extensively, employing four or 
five men on his farm all the time besides those at 
work in the mill, lie has his farm well stocked 
with fine blooded horses, with high-grade cattle, 
and with swine anil sheep of the best breeds. 

]Mr. Meredith was married December .'$1, 1866, 
in Osbtemo Township, Kalamazoo County, by 
Clarke Kellogg, to Melvina, the first daughter and 
.second child of Burton and Charlana (.Vdams) 
John-son. Mrs. Meredith was born in I'orlage 
Township, Kalamazoo County, October 16, 1813, 
and was there reared. IIerfather,a well-known pio- 
neer of that section, was a native of Vermont, .-ind 
be lived among the green hills of that State until 
he was sixteen years old, when he went to New 
York. lie came thence to Michigan in 1839, and 
in time improved a farm in Kalamazoo County. 
lie afterward came to Allegan County, and his 



last days were spent in Wayland Townshiii, where 
be died at the age of seventy-two j'cars. Ills 
wife, who survives liiiu and m.'ikes her home with 
her daughter and son-in-law of whcmi we write, 
was liorn in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., March 23, 
1816. Mr. and .Mrs. Meredith have had seven 
children, three sons and four daughters, namely: 
Walter lUirton, who resides at home; Cora, wife of 
James Keith, a cable-car conductor on the North 
Side of Chicago; David Warren, who was drowned 
in a >vcll at the age of six years; .lennie, who died 
at the age of six months; and Josephine, who is 
ten years old; John who is eight years old, and 
JIarian, who is six years old. 

Our subject enjoys a high personal standing 
throughout the county and wherever known, not 
only as a man of iionor and sound financial integ- 
rity, whose business acumen, rare judgment and 
far-seeing enterprise have been of great service in 
extending the interests of this section, but he is 
also popular on account of genial qualities, warm 
heart and true generosity, which have drawn to 
him many friends from a large circle of acquaint- 
ances. He is public spirited, and liberal in expend- 
ing his means to further all feasible projects for in- 
ternal imi)rovements, or in his contributions to- 
wards all worthy objects that come under his 
notice. 



1^\\X REXSLAER WADS WORTH is a well- 
/// to-do farmer residing on section 34, Sauga- 
tuck Township, Allegan County. His farm 
comprises sixty acres of excellent land, which is 
under most thorough cultivation, and is devoted 
largely to fruit-growing. Our subject is the son 
of James and .Maluncv (I'iiilips) Wadsworth, and 
the grandson of Theodore Wadsworth, who was a 
native of Connecticut. 

The gentleman of whom we write was born in 
Jlontgomeiy (now Felton) County, N. Y., Febru- 
ary 16. 182.5. He was reared on a farm, rennin- 
iug at home assisting his father until reaching his 
majority'. AVhen starting out in life for hiin,-elf, 
he purch.ased what is now known as the MrVae 
farm in Ganges Township. He cleared his pro|)- 



308 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



erty of the forest, and put it in excellent condi- 
tion; then becoming somewhat restless, he disposed 
of that fine propert3' in 18C5, and removed to Mis- 
souri. There he bougiit a tract of four hundred 
acres, but only remained there about eight months, 
when he sold and returned to Michigan, poorer in 
pocket, but richer in experience. At that time he 
purchased the farm on which he at present resides. 
It was in its primitive condition when it came into 
his possession, but under his wise management it 
has been made to yield a generous increase, and is 
now one of the finest farms in the township. 

James W. Wadsworth, the father of tiic gentle- 
man whose name heads this sketch, was the third 
settler in Ganges Township, Allegan County, to 
which place he came in 1838. Our subject at that 
time was only thirteen j'ears of age, and well re- 
members the privations and hardships which the 
family endured at that earl}- daj'. There were no 
roads laid out, and the nearest market was at Alle- 
gan, twenty miles distant. There were no stores, 
schools or churches, the first Methodist Episcopal 
Church being erected in 1844. Mr. Wadsworth, 
of this sketch, became identified with the society 
at that time, and has ever since been a liberal con- 
tributor to its support. 

Our subject was united in marriage with Maria 
Collins, a daughter of Joseph Collins, and a 
native of the Empire State. Mrs. Wadsworth was 
born in New York, September 23, 1825, and the 
ceremony which united her with our subject oc- 
curred April 7, 18.50. That union has been blessed 
with eight children: Leonidas D., born in 1851, is 
married to Emma Derby, and resides in Ganges 
Township, Allegan County; Blary A., born Feb- 
ruar3' 27, 1853, married Edward Hutchins, and also 
makes her home in Ganges Township; Lucius, born 
M.ay 20, 1855, died February 13, 1861; Emma M., 
born February 18, 1857, died February 10, 1861; 
Alice, born December 21, 1859, died March 12, 
1861; Melissa, born September 27, 1860, died in 
June, 1861; Willie, born April 23, 1862, is married 
to Cora Smith, and resides in Saugatuck Township, 
Allegan County; llettie M. was born November 
14, 1864, and is married to Henry Lamb; she makes 
her home with her parents. 

In politics, Mr. Wadsworth is a Greenbacker,and 



takes great interest in the workings of that party' 
He has held offices of jiublic trust in the township, 
and is greatl3- esteemed personally for his manj' 
good qualities of mind and heart. His good wife 
is a vevj intelligent and capable lady, and is noted 
for her skill as a housewife and caretaker. We are 
pleased to be able to place before our readers a 
sketch of so worthy a couple. Our subject, wife 
and j'oungest daughter, are members of the Meth- 
dist Episcopal Church. 




ON. JOHN KOLYOORD. This prominent 
citizen of Otsego was elected on the Demo- 
cratic ticket to represent the people of 

^ Allegan County in the State Legislature 
in 1890. W^hile a member of that body he served 
on many important committees, such as the Com- 
mittee on Public Schools, Rivers, Harbors and 
Manufacturing. He gave entire satisfaction to 
his constituents, performing all the duties which 
lay before him in a capable manner. 

The Hon. John Kolvoord was born in Holland 
Township, Ottawa County, this State, September 
2, 1852, and being a native of the State, his in- 
terests more naturally center here than they other- 
wise would. His direct progenitor was John 
Kolvoord, a native of the Province of Overisel, 
Holland, where he followed the occupation of a 
wood-turner. In 1847 he decided to make his 
home in the New World, and, emigrating hither, 
came directly to Michigan. He and A. C. Van 
Ralte came to this country at the head of a colony, 
the compan}' remaining in Milwaukee until the 
two gentlemen prospected for a location. They 
finally determined to settle in Ottawa County, and 
thus originated the town of Holland. 

The colony which laid out the town of Holland 
were the first settlers in that region, and entered 
from the Government large tracts of land which 
they set about to clear and improve into good 
farms. Our subject's father, in addition to his 
farm, erected a flouring mill, which was the first 
of its kind between Allegan and Grand Rapids. 
The mdl was run by water power, and while Mr. 



PORTRAIT A>'D BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



309 



Kolvoord workod at his trade in Alleijan, his wife 
niana.!;o(l the mill, ijriiidiiii,' fiDiii lifty to tiixty 
bushels of corn or wheat i)cr week. The father 
died in IS");"), when only about forty years of age. 
I'revious to coming to the Fnited .States, he had 
served lu the Holland army for three years, during 
the Rolgian War. lie was very pi'oniinent in 
business circles, and much respected for his Iionest 
and uprighl life. In his church relations he was 
a zealous member of the Dutch Kcformod Church, 
and, being a gifted speaker, took an active part in 
the work of that body. 

The mother of INIr. Kolvoord was Grietie 
(l)link) Kolvoord, and, upon the death of her 
husband, was left with the care of four children. 
Only a few acres of their farm were cleared at that 
time and the hardships which they end\ucd have 
made a lasting impression vipou the mind of our 
subject. He was the second ot the four sons, and 
only three years old when his father died. At the 
early age of eleven years, he began to earn his own 
living by working out on a farm for his board. 
The next year he received ^20 for his labors. He 
was to have had three months' schooling during 
the year, but six weeks after entering upon his 
duties his employer was taken sick so that his 
advantages in obtaining an education have been 
very limited. 

Our subject worked out for others for three 
years, when, with an elder brother, he returned 
home, carrying their trunk for twelve miles. 
Our subject remained at home caring for his 
mother until reaching his seventeenth year. He 
then went to Saugatuck, where he worked during 
the summer in a shingle mill; then, becoming fire- 
man, he held that position for four years. At the 
expiration of that time, he again returned home, 
and remained with his mother a twelvemonth, 
when he launched out into the hardware business. 
He carried on his trade in that line with good 
success for eighteen months at Overisel, when lie 
disposed of his stock of goods, and, going to 
IlamiltO)), Allegan County, engaged in the dry- 
goods and grocery busines.s. He remained there 
for two and one-half j'eai-s, when, in the spring of 
1H><1, he sold his interests to his youngest brother 
and purchased the sawmill which he operates at 



the present time. Mr. Kolvoord is also much 
interested in real estate in Otsego, where he ha.s 
lately erected a beautiful residence. His home 
bears all the modern imiirovements and conven- 
iences which make of it a model dwelling. 

In the fall of 1877, the Hon. John Kolvoord was 
married to (lezina Teravest, a native of Holland. 
She iicconipanied her parents on their removal to 
the New World in 1870. Mi-s. Kolvoord passed 
from this life .lune 16, 1884, beloved by all who 
knew her. She bore her husband two children, 
Jennie and John. Our subject was again married, 
in August, 188.'), to .Jennie Aekersock, a native of 
Illinois, and to them have been born one child, 
Floi-ence. 

In his political alliliation, Mr. Kolvoord casts his 
vote and influence in favor of the candidates of 
the Democratic party. He has represented his 
l)arty to the county, district and State conventions 
and h.as taken a very .active part in politics. He 
keeps himself thoroughly posted on the political 
issues of the day, and is well-read on current 
evcnt>s. Although the Democratic party was in 
the minority in Allegan County when our subject 
was elected to the Legislature, jet he received a 
handsome majority over his oppc>neut. 

Persistent industry and economy will claim 
their reward, as has been fully illustratid in the 
life of Mr. Kolvoord. He commenced life with no 
assistance whatever, and to-d.ay ranks among the 
prominent and wealthy citizens of Allegan County. 
He has had much to overcome, and can relate 
many an interesting tale of pioneer experiences. 
He did not own a pair of leather shoes until after 
he was twelve years old, and earned them for him- 
self. It is with much pride that he now views his 
possessions, knowing that they are the result of his 
own labors. 



-k-TiJ- 



I ' I 'I - 



Robert O. WINN. TIiIs fine old gentle- 
man, who has been a successful farmer, is 




one of the prominent men in (!aiigesTown- 
^'^iship, Allegan County. He w.as born in 
Toronto, Canada, in 181(3, and is the son of Joshu.a 
and Martha Winn. His father, who w.as born in 



310 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



^'ermont, in 1792, was there reared on a farm and 
received a good common-school education. 

Joshua "Winn remained with his parents until his 
marriage, in 1810, with Martha Griffin. To them 
were born five children, all of whom are deceased, 
with the exception of our subject. After thedeatli 
of his wife, the elder Mr. Winn married INIary 
Wakefield, and bj' her became the father of three 
children who are yet living: Stephen, Laura and 
Theopholus. Joshua Winn and Iiis wife were Qua- 
kers, as were also the paternal grandparents of our 
subject, Jacob and Phebe Winn, natives of Eng- 
land, who emigrated to the United States when 
_youug. 

Robert (1. Winn was given a good common- 
school education, and when starting out in life on 
his own account learned the carpenter's trade, 
which he followed for seven j-ears. When twenty 
3'ears of age, he came West to Michigan, and, loca- 
ting in Detroit, remained there a short time, when 
he went to Kalamazoo. In that city he prosecuted 
his trade of carpenter for five j'ears, previous to 
his coming to Maulius Township, Allegan County. 
In the above-named township, JMr. Winn purchased 
one hundred acres of unimproved land, which he 
lived upon until 1855, when he disposed of that 
tract and bought a farm in Ganges Township, 
which was at that time partly improved. In 1871, 
our subject purchased his present home place, 
where he has since been a continuous resident. He 
has given the greater portion of his estate to his chil- 
dren, reserving only thirty acres for himself. That 
amount he has in fruit, thus making it a <nost de- 
lightful place in which to spend the summer 
months. 

The original of this sketch was married, in 18.39, 
to Deborah Care^', and to them were born a family 
of seven children, three of wh(nn are yet living: 
Ralph, Lyda (Mrs. Arthur McCarthy), and Susan, 
the widow of Delaney Collins. After the death of 
Mrs. Winn, our subject was married to Sophia, 
daughter of David and Sally Ilutchins. Their 
union was blessed by the birth of a daughter, 
Mary, who is now the wife of Henry Piper. Mrs. 
Sophia Winn passed from this life in 1871, when 
our subject was a third time married, his present 
wife being Mrs. Ruth (Moore) Stilson. Mrs. Winn 



became the mother of eleven children b^- her first 
marriage, nine of whom are living. 

The political creed of our subject is found in the 
tenets of the Republican partv. He is popular in 
his township, and has often been called upon to 
represent his townsmen in public office. In religious 
matters he is a worth_v member of the Baptist 
Church. In his jounger da3's, Mr. Winn was in 
the Canadian rebellion known as Patrick's Rebel- 
lion. It was on account of the position that he 
took in that affair that he was compelled to come 
to the United States. 



►J-^ 



_^_^: 



^iO) 



i>^^<-^ 



'JT? OHN L. WHEELER. The gentleman whose 
I name we place at the head of this biograph- 
ical sketch has for a number of years been 
' engaged in settling disputes, and is the 
present Justice of the Peace at Plain well. His 
parents were Cyrus and Elizabeth (Snyder) Wheeler, 
the father born in Beikshire County, Mass., No- 
vember 20, 1791. Our subject's birth occurred in 
Marion, Wayne County, N. Y., July 15, 1824. 

Moses AVheeler, the grandfather of our subject, 
came to the United States with two brothers, who 
located in Massachusetts. He followed the ocean 
prior to his marriage with Mary D. Brainard, who 
came of a noted family during the early daj'S in Con- 
necticut, many members of whom were ministers. 
Cyrus AVheeler, the father of John L., removed to 
New York after his marriage, where he made his 
home on a farm until his decease, in 1852. He 
helped to survey a great portion of Wa3-ne County 
and thus became familiar with all the corner-stones 
of that section. He was a member of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church, and often had services held 
in his home. Our subject's mother was a native of 
New Jersey and passed away in 1860, when in her 
seventy-eighth 3'ear, firm in the faith of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. Of their family of thir- 
teen children only two are living: our subject and 
his brother Benjamin P., who makes his home in 
Kalamazoo. 

John L. Wheeler was reared on his father's farm 
and received his education in the schoolhouse which 
stood on a portion of his parental estate. When 



I 



. PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



313 



eighteen years of age, his father gave the manage- 
ment of the farm to iiira, the operations of whieii 
were admirably and successfully conducted. lie 
continued thus engaged \intil tlie deatli of iiis par- 
ents, when he came to Michigan and located in 
Martin Towniship, Allegan County, wliere he i>iir- 
chased a farm. In 1884, Mr. Wlieeler retired from 
the active life of an agiiculturist and removed to 
Plainwell, wliere lie makes his home at (lie present 
time. The marriage ceremony whicli united Mr. 
Wheeler and Miss Klizabeth A. Miller was per- 
formed in 1858. Mrs. Wheeler was a native of 
New York and the daughter of Bartholomew and 
Elizabeth (Dennis) Miller, natives respectively of 
Sing Sing and Troy, N. Y. The father was a sil- 
versmith and was working at his trade in New 
York City at the time of his marriage. The young 
couple soon emigrated to this State and settled in 
Plainwell when there was nothing more than a 
few scattering houses where that tlourisliing vil- 
lage stands. Mr. Miller is now in Iiis eightieth 
year, his wife being sevent3--seven. i\Irs. Wheeler 
is their only child and received good educational 
advantages. Her parents have lived together for 
fifty-seven years and are among the oldest settlers 
of this section. 

Our subject and his estimable wife have one 
daughter, Adella, who makes her home with her 
parents. She has been given a good education and 
is an intelligent and cultured young ladj'. She is 
now on a trip to Florida for the improvement of 
her health. In politics, ;\Ir. Wheeler votes with the 
Republican party and on t/iat ticket w.a.s elected 
Justice of the Peace when only twenty-two years 
of age, iu New York. After coming to Michigan 
he served two terms in that position in Martin 
Township. He is the present incumbent of that 
ottice in Plainwell. 

The original of this sketch owns one huiidicd 
and twenty .acres near the village of Martin, which 
he hiis greatly- improved since locating upon it in 
1869. He is at pre.sent residing at his beautiful 
home on North Main Street, where he, with his 
family, entertains hosts of friends. The maternal 
grandparents of Mr.Wheeler, Peter and Mary(Larri- 
som) Snyder, were natives of New .Jersey. They 
later removed to Pennsylvania and settled on the 
U 



banks of the Susquehanna Kivcr, whore they re- 
sided until their death. The grandfather was one 
of the pioneere of that section and was very wealth v, 
owning large tracts of land. Ho also owned a tan- 
nery and carried on an extensive business in the 
manufacture of leather. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder be- 
came the parents of five sons and three daughters, 
all of whom became very wealthy and are residing 
in different |iarts of tho States. Mr. Wheeler is a 
ciinstant worker, and it is the pr.a^-er of all his 
friends that he and his good wife may long be 
spared to siicd abroad their beneficent influence. 



tRANK little, of Kalamazoo, eldest son 
^^ of Ilenrj' and Ruth (Fuller) Little, was 
/ii ~' borir~atrSt. .7ohnsbur3', Vt., September 29, 
1823. The family emigr.ated, in October. 1831, 
to the then Territory of Michigan, which had re- 
cently lieen pmcliascd by the United States Gov- 
ernment of the Indians, surveyed and offered for' 
sale. The inoneer family settled upon a large 
prairie farm in Richland, Kalamazoo County. 

During boyhood, ^Ir. Little assisted his father 
on the fai'm, acquiring in tiic meantime a practical 
education. Leaving liome in September, 1844, he 
engaged in merchandising at Grand Hapids, Rich- 
land and Kalamazoo, and conducted the business 
successfully nearly ten years. 

November 21, IHlfi, Mr. Little was married to 
Miss Cornelia Elizabeth, only daughter of Deacon 
Rockwell and Celestia E. (May) Rockwell, natives 
of Sandislield, Mass. Two childien were born of 
tiic union: Isabelle May, wife of .lohu A. Weeks, 
a merchant of Yankton, S. Dak.; and Frances E., 
wife of Dr. Clarence A. Dolsou, of Atlantic, Iowa. 
There are now three grand-children: .John H.. 
Fletn May and Gordon .\. Weeks. 

Mr. Little's public life commenced with his 
election as Clerk of Richland Township in 1850 
and Notary Public the previous year. He also 
.served as I)e|)uty Postmaster, .Seliool Inspector and 
Director, and since 1853 has held public otliees 
with scarcely any interruption. Tn 185C-57 he 
was Superintendent of the Kalamazoo Public 



314 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Schools; from 1859 to 1872 member of the Board 
of Education; during tlie entire period Secretary 
of the Board and ]>ibrarian of the Public Library-. 

Other positions occupied by Mr. Little are as fol- 
lows: In 1862-63, he was appointed by Gov. Blair 
Draft Commissioner of Kalamazoo County; in 1864, 
Secretary of the State Sanitary Fair for the relief of 
soldiers in the war; 1867-68, Clerk of Kalamazoo 
Township, and Village Clerk, four years; 1883,mein- 
ber of the Sewer Commission one term; in the 
spring of 1883, prominently connected with and 
instrumental in securing a city charter for Kala- 
mazoo and iu drafting the bill for enactment. 

Commencing in 1857, Mr. Little was for nearly 
thirty years the very popular and efficient Secre- 
tary of the Kalamazoo County Agricultural Society ; 
eleven }"ears First Assistant Secretary of Michigan 
State Agricultural Society; seven years Secretary 
of the Michigan State Association of Agricultural 
Societies, an association largely of his creation; 
also connected with the Kalamazoo National Park 
Horse Association of earlier times. During all 
that long period, in connection with other duties, 
Mr. Little was an indefatigable and voluminous 
writer for the press and his numerous treatises, 
essays and public addresses upon various subjects 
attracted much attention and were extensively' 
quoted in public documents and elsewhere. 

Mr. Little was chosen Secretary of the Millers' 
National Association of the United States at its first 
annual convention in Chicago, in January, 1874, 
and re-elected annually thereafter until May, 1879. 
The Miller, of London, England, paid Mr. Little 
the voluntary high compliment of publishing a 
sketch of his life, with a portrait as frontispiece. 
Speaking of his connection with the National As- 
sociation as Secretary and his retirement from 
office, it said: "There can be no doubt that no in- 
considerable share of the success that has attended 
the Association is due to Mr. Little's efficiency as 
Secretary, a position for which he was eminently 
qualified both by general and special intelligence. 
The association was exceedingly fortunate in hav- 
ing the services of such an official during the first 
and trying period of its existence. He is a tho- 
roughly capable man and our trust is that he may 
long have the privilege of aiding and promoting 



the interests of the community of which he is such 
a worthy member." 

Some few j^ears since, Mr. Little was chosen 
Secretary and Treasurer of the Michigan Millers' 
State Association. In' November, 1887, the Amer- 
ican Miller, at Chicago, publisiied an extended 
sketch and portrait of him, and paid him this glow- 
ing tribute: "As a writer for the press, Mr. Little 
is especiall}' happy. His style is bold, terse and 
pointed. His reports, papers and addresses read 
before various societies have alwa3^s been regarded 
as models of clearness and accurac}'. His writings 
are eminently practical. As an agricultural au- 
thorit}' he cannot be surpassed. On all subjects, 
politics included, his views are sensible, sound and 
forcible; he is pre-eminently a man of and for the 
times, devoting his life to furthering the useful- 
ness, happiness and improvement of the human 
race." 

For many years Mr. Little has been prominently 
connected with the County Pioneer Societj- and is 
at present its efficient president. In the campaign 
of 1888 he was the Democratic candidate for Re- 
presentative in the First District, but was defeated, 
the district being largely Republican. He has been 
Chief Correspondent and Statistical Crop Repor- 
ter to the Agricultural Department in Washington, 
for Kalamazoo County, fully thirty years, and 
still fills that position. A recent article of his on 
"Celery Culture in Kalamazoo" was published in 
the annual volume of the Department for 1886. 

In the "Biographical Sketches of Eminent Self- 
made Men of Michigan," the editor gives the fol- 
lowing just estimate of Mr. Little's character: "In 
all the various positions assigned, Mr. Little has 
shown the strictest integrity and faithfulness, a 
capacity for business details of no common order, 
an energy and force of character truly remarkable, 
discharging every trust to the entire satisfaction 
of all concerned. He is methodical, thorough and 
painstaking in business matters, a man of very 
sound judgment, rare power of mind, of much 
reading and general intelligence. For quite a 
number of years he has been a frequent 
contributor to the local press, treating various 
questions of public interest with such signal 
ability as to give direction to popular thought. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



315 



and call forth coiniiieiulalions from pci-sons of 
high culture and intelligence." The editor fnr- 
tlier says: "Jlr. Little lias marked personal char- 
acteristics. He regards every subject with exact- 
itude and i)recision. His logic is irresistible, his 
methods conscientious and exhaustive, his opera- 
tions minute and accurate. Jlore clearly than 
most men he sees things as they are. This trait 
of mental truthfulness pervades his whole moral 
and religious nature. In business and social rela- 
tions his rectitude is proverbial, his word stands 
unquestioned by all. Like all men of genuine 
merit he is unostentatious, never placing himself 
in the foreground. Too conscientious to resort to 
(|uestionable modes of political preferment, he has 
inconsequence never sought those higher positions 
of honor and trust in the Commonwealth for which 
his superior qualities so eminently fit him." 

In connection v,-ith this biographical notice, the 
attention of the reader is invited to a lithographic 
portrait of Mr. Little. 



^"T^i " 



? 



ETER G.HOAG. This pleasant and benev- 
olent gentleman is the propi'ietor of a grist 
mill in Otsego. He was born February 20, 
_ 1829, in Dutchess County, Js. Y., and is a 
son of Peter Hoag, also a native of the Empire 
State. The father carried on farming and died in 
December, 1828. The Hoag fam 113- were Quakers 
and several generations back came from "Wales. 
The mother of Peter G. was known in her maiden 
days as Abigail Jlott. She was a native of the 
same State as were her husband and son, and passed 
from this life in 18.50. 

Peter G. Hoag, whose name heads this sketch, 
was the youngest of eight children, his birth occur- 
ring two months after his father's decease. The 
mother kept her little family' together and re- 
mained in Dutchess County until 1835, when they 
removed to Wayne County, same SUite. In 1844 
Mi-s. Hoag with her children, with the exception 
of the eldest son, who remained in Xew York, 
came West .i,s far as Michigan and located on a 
farm in .lackson County. 

Our subject wa* given a fair education in the 



common schools, which w.as supplemented bj^ at- 
' tendance at an academy and b^^ two terms at the 
Olivet College. Thus he was fortified to battle 
, more successfully with life. In the fall of 1845 
j he went to Marengo, Calhoun County, this State, 
I where he eng.aged to learn the wagon-m.aker's trade. 
He remained there, \vorking at that business for 
j five 3"ears, and the following winter visited New 
[ York Slate. Returning to Jlichigan, he spent a 
twelvemonth in St. Joseph, and in 1852 started 
with a party from St. Joe to California, taking the 
overland route with ox-teams. They were five 
months making the trip, leaving home March 11 
and arriving in the Golden .State, August II. 
While there our subject was engaged in raining 
and carpentering, but did not remain long, how- 
ever, as in the spring of 1856 he returned to ]Mich- 
gan, via the Isthmus and New York. For the 
succeeding fifteen months, he worked at his trade 
in Albion. He hasalwa3's made a success of what- 
ever he undertook. 

Miss Amy A. Pierce became the wife of Mr. Ho.ag, 
their marriage being celebrated January 1, 1857. 
She was a native of New York and is a most excel- 
lent had}', having hosts of warm friends throughout 
this county". After his marriage our subject loca- 
ted on a tract of land in Marengo Township, Cal- 
houn County, where he continued to cultivate the 
soil for sixteen years. In the spring of 1874, de- 
ciding to leave the farm, he came to Allegan 
County, and in Ot*ego purch.ascd a gristmill, 
which he has operated with signal success since 
that time. 

l^Irs. Amy A. Hoag is the daughter of Nathan 
and Amy (.\ldrich) Pierce, natives respectively 
of Berkshire County, ^Mass., and Rhode Island. 
The parents were married in Manchester. N. Y., in 
1817, and reared a family of seven children, six of 
whom are still living. IMr. Pierce was a farmer, 
and on coming to Jlichigan in 1832, settled on a 
tract of land m AVashteuaw Count}-, which the 
father had purchased from the Government. It 
was in a perfectly wild state when it came into his 
possession, but with his characteristic thrift and 
industiy he brought it to a high degree of culti- 
vation and at his death, in 1861, it was in a most 
excellent condition. His good wife prcLcded him 



316 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



to the better land in 1860. Mr. Pierce's patriot- 
ism was manifested by his service in the War of 
1812, and his interest in the county's welfare made 
of him a good citizen. Mrs. Pierce was reared in 
the Quaker faith. 

Mr. and Mrs. Iloag, of this sketch, have had no 
children. Mrs. Hoag is noted for her skill as a 
housewife and caretaker and is a ver}' capable and 
lovable woman. Our suliject was reared a Whig 
in politics, but on the organization of the Republi- 
can party joined its ranks and is now a strong Prohi- 
bitionist. His superior executive ability was recog- 
nized by his fellow-townsmen and he was elected 
Justice of tlie Peace while residing in Marengo 
Township, Calhoun County. Since coming to 
Otsego, he has been President and Trustee of the 
village for several terms. He is a member of the 
Good Templars and is doing much toward for- 
warding the cause of temperance in this township. 
His good wife is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church and is an active member of the 
Woman's Christian Temperance Union and also of 
the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. 









J. ARRIS S. HAIGHT. To this gentleman 
I) and his associates in the farming commun- 
ity of Otsego Township, Allegan County 
I \ is much indebted for what they have ac- 
complished in redeeming this section from the 
wilderness and developing it into a finely improved 
agricultural center. Mr. Ilaight was born in Mont- 
gomery County, N. Y., August 26, 1838. His 
parents were Israel and Sallie M. (Ilutton) Ilaight, 
who were also natives of New York, the father hav- 
ing been born in 1802, and the mother July 7, 1804. 
In September. 1862, they left their old home in Now 
York to found a new one in Michigan, and settled 
in Allegan Township, where the father continued 
his occupation as a farmer. He lived to be a very 
old man, and died April 3, 1887, aged eighty-flve, 
thus closing a long and honorable life. He was 
strict in his religious views, and was a Close-Com- 
munion Baptist, his wife, who survives him, also 
belonging to that chureii. Slie is a welcome in- 
mate of the home of her son of whom wc write, 



and is passing her declining years siuTOunded by 
every comfort filial love can devise. Of her four- 
teen children nine are living. 

Our subject was reared to the life of a farmer, 
and remained at home with his parents until he 
was nineteen j'ears old. In 18.57 he resolved to 
see something of life in the Western States and 
started for Illinois. He found employment after 
his arrival in that State in Hancock County- A few 
months later he returned to New York, and in 
1860 came to Michigan, but at that tune only 
spent a few months here in Allegan, going back in 
the fall of the j-ear to his old home. In 1863 he 
came to Michigan, this time with a view to per- 
manently settling in this State. He at first farmed 
on shares in Allegan Township for six years. In 
1867 he purchased his present farm in Otsego 
Township, and located on it in 1869. When it 
came into his possession it was entirely covered 
with timber, and it is only by patient pioneer 
labor that he has brought it to its present flue con- 
dition, which places it among the most desirable 
farms in the township in everj- respect. He at first 
built a small frame house for a dwelling, but has 
replaced it by a more commodious residence, and 
has substantial buildings for ever3' purpose on his 
place. He has seventy-eight acres of land in all, 
and his fields are under a high state of cultivation. 
He raises all kinds of stock, and from that source 
obtains a goodly income. He has all the most ap- 
proved modern machinery for farming purposes, 
and for several years he made a business of thresh- 
ing grain for others. He started out in life with- 
out any means, and that he is now well-to-do is 
owing to his capacity for work, his excellent judg- 
ment in all matters pertaining to his calling, and 
to his careful management of his affairs. High 
principles of probity and honor have guided his 
life from the outset, and he has kept the record un- 
blotted by keeping to the right in all his dealings. 
He is exemplary in his habits, has always been a 
strong advocate of temperance, which he carries 
into politics, and is closely identified with the 
Prohibition party. In his social relations, he is a 
Mason. He was Highwaj^ Commissioner four years, 
and has always done his best to promote internal 
improvements in his adopted township. 



I'OETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX'ORD. 



317 



Mi\ Halght's marriage with Miss Melissa Patten, 
of New York, March 14, 1854, has contributed in 
no small degree to liis well-bcinii. 'Slvs. Ilaiijht is 
a superior woman, of tine cliaraeter and amiable 
disposition, ancl i> indeed a tiiie liomemaker, being 
a model ]iousekeei)er, and locking closely to the 
comfort of her household. To lieraiidour sul)ject 
have been born two children: Emma, wife of 
Fraidv Town, a farmer of tliis township; and Eflie, 
wife of .John (J. Adams, also a farmer of this town- 
ship. 

V. *^4>^v _y 



A 



WILLIAM W. .I()IINST(1N owns a farm on 
section 15, C'asco Township, Allegan 
vy \y County, and is one of the most prominent 
and prosperous farmers of tlie township. He was 
born in Indiana, in 1824, being a native of Fayette 
County, .lolni .lohnston is the name of the father 
of our subject and he was l)orn in New Jersey, in 
1784. His early life was spent on a farm in his 
native State. He served an apprenticeship of 
seven years to learn the trade of a carpenter and 
followed his trade most of his life in connection 
with bis farming duties. An instance of his carl}' 
life, wliich he liked to repeat, was that he worked 
on the first sawmill that Wiis ever heard of. He 
married, in New Jersey, Miss Mary Gifford. who 
became the mother of our subject. She was a 
daughter of A. Gifford, a native of New Jersey. 
After their marriage, they emigrated to New York 
State and thence down the Ohio River to Indiana 
and located where our subject was born. There he 
purchased land of the Government and lived tlie 
remainder of his days. He was one of Fay- 
ette County's earliest pioneers, settling in the 
woods among the Indians. He and his wife were 
members of the Baptist Church and their home 
was blessed by the advent of thirteen children, 
twelve of whom grcw^ to manhood and woman- 
hood, and nine still survive. .In politics, John 
Jolmslon was a Whig. He w.as a son of AVilliam 
Johnston, an Englishman l)v birtii. On the mo- 
ther's side, our subject is descended trom Irish 
stock. 

At the age of twenty-one years, our subject be- 



gan for himself. He first commenced by working 
on farms for f)llicr people. His first purchase of 
land w.as in his native State, which he bought from 
tlie (iovernnient. It was a part of the Miami 
Indian Keseivation. in l.S(il our subject came to 
Allegan County, this State, and iiuichased the 
tract on wliieh his farm is situated in Casco Town- 
ship. He came here with team and wagon, spend- 
ing six days on the way and was obliged to hew- 
out a road to his own farm in order to get there. 
It then consisted of one liundred and sixty acres. 
Of this he now has one hundred and twenty acies, 
which is in a fine condition. 

The lady who became the wife of our subject 
was in lier maiden d.ays Mary Overhiser, a daugh- 
ter of (Jeorge and Elizabeth Overhiser. Their 
marriage took place Noveml)er Id, 1851. Their 
fireside has been blessed by the I)irth of seven 
children, all living except one, who died in infancy. 
Those living are named .lolni ('., .Vnianda, Charles 
M., Adelliert, Thcron and Marion. In politics, 
Mr. Johnston is n member of the Third Party, hav- 
ing voted with the Prohibitionists. He lias 
often been called upon to hold different local of- 
fices of his township. When he first came to this 
county, his nearest express olHce was twent}'-eight 
miles away, and his postoffice was at Glenn, this 
county. Mr. Johnston now resides in Lacota, A'an 
Buren County. 



f;=i 



"S3 



^H^ 



[^~ 




IIARLES C. SPEAR. This gentleman, who 
is one of the prominent merchants of Alle- 
gan, was born in Charlotte Township, Ciiit- 
tenden County. Vt., August 23, 1828. His parents 
were Franc is and Sophia (Felch) Spear, also natives 
of the Green Mountain State. They came to 
Michigan in 1834, and settled in Gull Prairie, re- 
maining there for eighteen months, when they came 
to Allegan County. Here the mother died in De- 
ceinl)er, 1844. Her husband then made Ottawa 
County, this State, his home for a few vears; then 
returning to Allegan County he resided here a 
short time and afterward went to live with a 
daughter in Kalamazoo County. His daughter 
had married W. J. Humphrey, and with her 



318 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Francis Spear made his home until accidentally 
drowned in 1870. He was an Abolitionist and 
greatly esteemed liy his neighbors and acquain- 
tances. 

Charles C. Spear was one of a family of eight 
children, seven of whom are living: Almira, Electa, 
Mary, Charles C, Henry F., and Lucy L. Our 
subject was reared on his father's farm in Allegan 
County, and wlien reacliing his sixteenth year 
started out for liimself, being variously engaged. 
He worked first in the lumber woods, then on 
rafts and steamboats on the Grand River, and later 
as driver of a stage coach. He came to Allegan 
County in 1852 and engaged to work in a sawmill. 
He launched out in the livery business for his 
next occupation. His marriage taking place about 
that time, he with his family took a Western trip, 
but not liking the country returned to Allegan 
where Mr. Spear worked at the carpenter's trade. 
He afterward clerked in the Grange store with A. 
Stageman for three 3' ears and four months and 
went into tlie produce business, which he followed 
successfull3' until establishing in his present profit- 
able business. 

Miss Mary .Jeffs, a native of Northamptonshire, 
England, became the wife of our subject in 1856, 
their marriage being celebrated at Allegan. The 
parents of Mrs. Spear were Charles and Rebecca 
(Hanger) Jeffs, also natives of England. The 
mother died in her native countiy in 1843, and 
after her decease Mr. .Jeffs came to America in 1850 
with his five children and settled in Allegan 
County, this State. The parental family included 
Harriet, Mrs. .John I\eynolds, who died in Chicago, 
Ill.jEmina, Mrs. Samuel Clipson of Allegan Countj^, 
who is now deceased; Thomas who died in the 
above-named county; Mary, the wife of our subject, 
and Eliza, Mrs. F. li. Sowersby, of Chicago, 111. 
Mr. Jeffs was a tailor b^' trade and carried on the 
business in Allegan for some time. Laterhe pur- 
chased a farm two and one-quarter miles east of 
Allegan, which he improved and resided on until 
his decease, in 1880. 

To Mr. and Jlrs. Spears have been born five chO- 
dren: Emma L., Francis L., Rebecca E., Charles J. 
and Harriet E. I^'rancis L. is at Flag Staff, Ari- 
zona, where he is engaged in a wholesale and re- 



tail grocery store; Rebecca E. is a teacher in Clyde 
Township, Allegan County. Socially, Mr. Speare 
is an Odd Fellow, and is one of the enterprising 
and well-to-do merchants of Allegan. 






W OTT HEWITT. A worthy place among 
|l (j^ the pioneers of Michigan was held by this 
jjj — ^V gentleman, who came hither when the 
country was new and comparatively unsettled, 
and, during the latter part of his life, made his 
home in Kalamazoo until he died at a good old 
age. His birthplace was in Lenox, Madison County, 
N. Y., and the date of his birth, Jul^- 23, 1811, his 
parents being P.almer and Mercy (Kimball) Hewitt. 
His early years were passed upon the old home- 
stead until his father's second marriage, when the 
family became separated and were never afterward 
reunited. 

AVlien read}' to establish a home of his own, Mr. 
Hewitt was married September 8, 1837, to Miss 
Phebe, daughter of William and Mehetable (John- 
son) Paddock. She was a native of Herkimer 
County, and at the time of her mai-riage was twenty 
years old. The 3'oung couple remained on a rented 
farm for two years, and, in 1839, came thence to 
Jackson County, Mich., securing new land and im- 
proving a farm of one hundred and forty acres. 
After embellishing it with substantial buildings, 
and bringing it to a high cultivation, they sold it 
and removed to another farm, in 1859. 

The date of the arrival of Mr. Hewitt in Kala- 
mazoo was 1868, and two j'cars after his advent, 
lie opened a grocery store and continued thus en- 
gaged until his death, December 31, 1887. How- 
ever, ill health had precluded attention to business 
for six years prior to his demise. A man of stir- 
ring activities and deep interest in public meas- 
ures, he found a political home within the Repub- 
lican party, to which he always adhered. His 
nature was retiring, and those who knew him liest 
were most tenderly devoted to him and most 
thoroughly appreciated the depth of his nature 
and warmth of his affections. 

The only son of Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt is Bcrtrand 
Palmer Hewitt, who received his education in Kal- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



319 



amazoo College and at the Baptist Theological 
Serniuary, Ciiieas-d. H.-ivmij decided to enter upon 
the minijlrv, he was ordained at Kc-ndnll, Van 
Huron County, as a minister of llie IJaptist Church, 
and at once took chaij^o of the church at Gales- 
hurg. His present lioine is in llanunoud, Ind., 
wiiere he is otiiciating as ])astur of the cliurch and 
occupies a high place in tlic esteem of his con- 
gregation. The daughter of our subject is Jlelone 
C. wife of T. A. Palmer, a farmer in \'an lUiren 
County, whose sketch will be found elsewhere. 

At present Homer S|)urgeon, son of Rev. 15. P. 
Hewitt, an intelligent lad of sixteen, is making 
his home with his grandmother and attending 
the Kalamazoo College. His brother, I'aul, five 
years younger than himself, is with his parents 
in Hammond. Jlrs. Hewitt is a lady of great 
charity and kindness v( heart, to whom the desti- 
tute never appeal in vain, and whose benevolent 
disposition finds abundant exercise in the various 
lines of philanlliropie work in wliich she is en- 
gaged. 



1 




MJt 



JILl.TA.M <;. IJOWK owns and operates a 
good farm of one hundred and twenty 
^ ._, .acres on section 2.'), Cheshire Township, 
Allegan County, of which ninety acres are under 
a high state of cultivation and yield him a 
golden tribute. In connection with the well-tilled 
fields many improvements indicate the enlcrjirise 
and thrift of the owner. He also pays some atten- 
tion to the raising of farm stock, making a si)ecialty 
of horses and now has in his possession the fine 
horse, "Wilkes," four years old. He also owned at 
one time "Black Hawk." In his business career he 
has been quite successful and is now numbered 
among the sul>stantial citizens of the community. 
Mr. Rowe was born in Cazcnovia Township, 
Madison County, Is. Y., and is a son of AVilliam 
C. Rowe. a New York farmer, born in Cortland 
County. His paternal giandfather was a Revolu- 
tionary soldier, who served for seven years in the 
Wiw for Independence. \V. C. Rowe wedded 
Mary .Vndrews. a native of Ma<lison County, N. 
Y., and a daughter of William (i. Andrews, who 
was a Drum M.ajor in the War of 1K12. He came 



to Michigan in 1841, locating in Monroe County. 
For some time he served as Deacon in the Baptist 
Church and was an honorable, upright man, re- 
spected b}- all who knew him. The |iarents of our 
subject came to Michigan in 1841. They located 
in .Vllegan, which was then a small hamlet, con- 
taining only a few dwellings and one store. ^Ir. 
Rowe operated a sawmill for .Justin Kly for four 
years and then removed to an unimproved farm in 
Wat.>on Township. His nearest neighbor in one 
direction w.as a mile aw.-i^', and in the ojjposite 
direction was four miles distant. The work of 
progress and civilization seemed scarcely begun in 
the county, and llie usual hardships of pioneer life 
fell to the lot of the family. The mother, who 
was a consistent ineniljcr of the Baptist Church, 
died in 1852, and .Mr. Howe afterwards inairied 
Nancy ^lartin, who is still living. His death oc- 
curred Feliruary 7, 1889, at the age of .seventy- 
three years and thirty days. He was a standi Re- 
pulilican in politics. He .served iis Tre.a-surer of Wat- 
son Township and was Highway Commissioner for 
manj' years, llis many excellencies of character 
won him high regard, and his death proved a loss 
to the entire coinmunit^-. Seven children were 
born unto William and Mary Rowe, of whom four 
are yet living: William G., Charles Henry, JIary 
Jane, wife of W. Peek, and Alex. H. Two of the 
sons served in the Civil War. Charles II., a mem- 
ber of the Twenty-eighth Michigan Infantry, wore 
the blue for nine months and was then discharged 
on account of disability'. 

We now take up the personal history of our sub- 
ject, who was born October 17, 1837, and was 
therefore only seven years old when he came to 
this countv. .Vmid the wild scenes of jiioneer life 
he was reared to manhood and was earl^- inured to 
the hard labors of the farm. Like a dutiful son, 
he remained at home until twenty years of age, 
and then began life for himself, working at eliop- 
l)ing and logging for |13 per month. In eight 
months he lost only two da^ys' time, and for over 
two years w.as employed by Ira ChatTee in the lum- 
l)cr woods. 

In .\iigiist. lM(!2,.Mr. Rowe donned the blue and 
joined Company I, of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry, 
but before mustered into the United States service, 



320 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was transferred to Company L, Fourth Michigan 
Cavahv, which was organized at Detroit. lie en- 
listed as a private, but was promoted to Corporal 
and served three years. The regiment went into 
camp at Jeffersonville, Ind., then proceeded to Lee- 
banon, Ky., after Gen. Morgan. There Mr. Rowe 
was taken sicli and sent to the hospital in Louis- 
ville, Ky. fie rejoined his regiment at Murfrees- 
boro, Tenn., and afterwards went on a fourteen 
days' scouting expedition. Later, typhoid-pneu- 
monia again confined him to the hospital, and for 
two months he lost his voice and was sent baclv to 
Michigan. On his recover3' he rejoined his regi- 
ment in Iluntsville, Ala., and reported at tlje Tro- 
vost-Marshal's office, in Stevenson. He served 
under Gen. Stanley McCook and took part in the 
Wilson raid. For fourteen days he was in the 
front skirmish line liefore Atlanta and tlien went 
to the rear of the city, cutting the roads through 
to Jonesboro, under Gen. Kilpatrick. The troops 
made a desperate charge through the enemy's lines, 
and later, under Gen. Stoneman, proceeded as far 
as Stone Mountain, where tliey were surrounded 
by the enemy and again broke through the ranks. 
They saw much hard fighting and skirmisliing and 
did effective service. Tliey took Selma, Ala., 
capturing three thousand prisoners and took pos- 
session of Snake Creek Gap. With five companions, 
Mr. Rowe ran into a companj' of two hundred 
rebels, who shot his horse through the neck, while 
a ball burned liis own cheelv. By a rebel Captain 
he was ordered to surrender, or his brains would 
be blown out, but our subject refused. The Cap- 
lain then struck liini in the head witli his revolver 
and again made a rush at him, but was struck 
down by Mr. Rowe, who escaped. His regiment 
had the honor of capturing Jeff Davis. Wlien 
the war was over, and the country no longer 
needed his services, he was honorably' discharged, 
and returned to his liome. 

On again coming North, Mr. Rowe turned his 
attention to farming. He was married on the 
28th of June, 1866, to Alice L. Barbero, daughter 
of Edward and Rachel (Baldwin) Barbero, who 
came to Michigan in 1853 and settled at Ohio Cor- 
ners in Hopliins Township upon a raw farm. Her 
father was a cooper by trade, and died in 1859. 



Mrs. Barbero afterwards became the wife of Daniel 
Leggett, now deceased, and she is still living at 
the age of sixty years. Mrs. Rowe, who was born 
in 1849, was one of three children, and by her 
marriage has become the mother of three children: 
Cora, Eddie and Shirley. The eldest is the wife 
of John Weihner, and they have two children. 

In December, 1860, Mr. Rowe settled upon the 
farm which he still operates, and, although it was 
tlien a raw tract of land, his industry and unceas- 
ing labors soon made it one of fertilit}'. In his so- 
cial relations he is a member of the Grand Army 
Post B. F. Chapin, No. 287, and has been an office- 
holder since its organization. He exercises his 
right of franchise in support of the Republican 
party. He has served as member of the School 
Board for nine j'ears and has been Treasurer of the 
township for six years. His retention in office 
indicates tlie faithfulness with which he discharges 
Ills duty and the confidence reposed in him by his 
fellow-townsmen. 




ENRY L. MILLER, M. D. Among the 
prominent and most influential members of 
professional and social circles of Otsego, is 
the gentleman whose name we place at the 
head of this sketch. Although young in j'ears, he 
has gained a breadtli of view and soundness of 
judgment, which, added to his naturally keen 
abilities and thorough course of studj-, have made 
jiim a man among men, worthy of the respect and 
admiration of the people among whom he lives. 

Dr. Henry L. Miller is a native of Canada, hav- 
ing been born, June 16, 1859, in Hamilton, Onta- 
rio. He is the son of John J. Miller, who was born 
in 1830, near Berlin, Germany. The father came 
to America when eighteen j^ears of age and lo- 
cated near Rochester, N. Y. He remained there 
for some time and later went to Hamilton, Ontai-io, 
where he met and married the mother of our sub- 
ject, and was employed in railroad business, being 
connected with the construction of a portion of 
the Great Western Road. 

In 1862, Mr. John J. Miller came to the United 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



323 



States and, locating in Michigan, was given the 
position of Trackniaster on the Michigan Central 
Kailroarl from Detroit to Jack.son. At the present 
time he is Trackmaster for the Grand River Valley 
Railroad, having held that responsible position for 
the past sixteen years, lie makes his home at 
Hastings. The maiden name of Dr. Miller's mother 
was .Sopliia Strophigan, a native of Germanj'. She 
bore her husband two cliildren, of wliuin the Doc- 
tor is the younger. 

Our subject accompanied his parents on their 
removal to the Wolverine State when lie was a lad 
of three years. lie was given good educational 
advantages, and was graduated when seventeen 
years old from the seminary at Ypsilanti. Decid- 
ing to turn his attention to the practice of medi- 
cine. Dr. Miller entered the Medical Department 
of the I'niversity of Jlichigan in 1878, and was 
graduated therefrom in 1881. When receiving his 
degree of Doctor of Medicine, our subject opened an 
olliceforthe practice of his profession in Hastings, 
Berry Count}', where he remained only a twelve- 
month. In 1882, he came to Otsego, where he has 
since resided, and has built up a reputation as a 
physician which is second to none in Allegan 
County. He is well known in professional circles 
and keeps thoroughly posted on all new theories 
advanced by the frateiTiity. 

Dr. Miller and Miss Mabel Yecklcy were united 
in marriage, December 3, 1884. Mrs. Miller was 
born in Otsego, and is the daughter of E. D. and 
Lydia Yeckley, a native of New York. Her 
mother was known in her maidenhood as 
Lydia Wing. She was also born in New York and 
pa.<sed from this life in 1891, greatly mourned by 
all who knew her. Mrs. Miller was the only child 
of her parents, and received the best training and 
educational advantages which la^- in their power 
to bestow. She is a very accomplished lady and 
enjoys a wide circle of acquaintance in Allegan 
County. To the Doctor and his excellent wife 
have been born one son, Paul, his birtli occurring 
February 17. 1888. 

The gentleman of whom we write is independ- 
ent in (jolities, reserving his right to vote for the 
best man, regardless of party. He is, and always 
has been, an ardent temperance man and has done 



much toward furthering the cause of prohibition 
in his community. His interest in educational mat- 
ters is manifested by the fact that he served for 
two terms as Moderator of the School Board. He 
is a member of the Southwestern Michigan Med- 
ical Association and occupies the honored position 
of Vice-president of tliat body. Socially, he is a 
Knight of Pythias, was Chancellor Commander for 
two terms and is now acting as Deputy Grand 
Chancellor for Allegan County. 

Dr. IMiller writes a great deal for medical jour- 
nals, and has recently completed a work on -'Do- 
mestic Medicine." His book contains about four 
hundred pages and is destined to become very 
popular in the profession. Both the Doctor and 
his wife are active and intluential members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, in which body our 
subject is a meinlier of the Ottlcial Board. They 
are both very popular members of society in this 
section and have hosts of admiring friends. 



^N IIARLES BILSBORROW, of Paw Paw, was 
„ born in Lancasliire, England, January 25, 
V 1809, and is the son of Robert and Esther 
Bilsborrow. He was the next to the youngest in a 
family comprising ten children, and was early 
orphaned, his mother dying when he was a mere 
infant and his father passing away some twelve 
years later. His boyliood days were passed in his 
native land, and, prior to emigrating, he gained a 
common-school education and also acquired a 
thorough, practical knowledge of farming pursuits. 
At the age of sixteen years, our subject emi- 
grated to this country- and in the city of New York 
learned the trade of a hatter, which he followed 
until he was about twenty-one. He then returned 
to the Mother Country and visited the scenes of 
his childhood for nine months. Returning once 
more to New York, he farmed two j-ears on rented 
land and then purchased one hundred and twenty- 
seven and one-half acres in Ontario County, where 
he remained fifteen years. Afterward he sold that 
place and bought property in Niagara County. 

May 22, 1814, Mr. Bilsliorrow wsis married in 
Niagara County to Miss Caroline, daughter of 



324 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Jonathan and Fannie (Hubbard) Moss. Mrs. M. 
Bilsborrovv was born in New York, December 4, 
1816, and closed her eyes to the scenes of earth 
February 2, 1879. She was a lady of estimable 
character and was sincerely mourned by her large 
circle of acquaintances but especially by tliose wlio 
knew her best. Four of her five children still 
survive, namely: Edward F., who was born in 
1852, and is now engaged in farming pursuits in 
Antwerp Township; Louise; George, who is farm- 
ing in Albion, this State; and Fred, a hardware 
dealer of Paw Paw. William, the eldest child, was 
born in 1846 and died in 1882, leaving two children. 
In 1860 our subject sold out his interests in New 
York and removed to Michigan, settling near Gales- 
burg, Kalamazoo County, and purchasing one hun- 
dred acres of cultivated farm land. In 1866 he 
came to Van Buren County, where he has since 
owned three farms, at different times, and he still 
retains in his possession some farming land in 
Blooraingdale Township. In 1882 he removed to his 
present home in the village of Paw Paw, where he 
is quietly- passing liis declining j^ears. Politically, 
he was originally a Whig and voted for the Presi- 
dential candidate of that party in 1844. He was 
always opposed to slavery and cast his ballot for 
John C. Fremont, since which time he has been con- 
nected with the Republican party. For a number 
of years he has been a member of the Presbyterian 
Church, and as an upright citizen and generous 
neighbor and friend, he is held in universal esteem. 
A lithographic portrait of Mr. Bilsborrow is pre- 
sented in this connection. 



BENEZER AVILDER. Now retired from 
life's active duties, Mr. Wilder is passing 

, ,' his declining years in tlie enjoyment of 

the comforts which, through a long period of 
hardship, he struggled to obtain. Since 1849, he 
has beeu identified with the farming interests of 
Allegan County, where he owns a fine farm on 
section 18, Martin Townsliip, and as one of those 
who have aided in the development of the countj', 
he is worthy of representation in this volume. New 
York is his native State, and he was born in Sandy 



Creek Township, Oswego County, January 23, 
1817. 

The father of our subject, Clark W. Wilder, was 
a native either of Massachusetts or Vermont, and 
removed at an early day to New York, where he 
was married to Miss Pede Robins, a lady of New 
Hampshire birth. She had, when fourteen years 
old, removed to New York with her parents, and 
there located on a farm, where her father died at 
eighty-two and her mother when seventy-nine. 
Clark W. Wilder and his wife had a familj- of ten 
children, six sons and four daughters, and all but 
one grew to manhood and womanhood. The twin 
sister of Ebenezer died in infancy. 

Until twenty-one years of age, the subject of 
this sketch remained with liis father, and upon 
starting out for himself, he worked at various 
pursuits and came to Michigan in 1840, locating 
in Martin Township, Allegan Count}-. Two years 
later he was married, Decemlier 23, 1851, to Bel- 
inda, the oldest cliild of Mumford and Jane (Whit- 
taker) Eldred. Mrs. Wilder was born in Catskill, 
Greene County, N. Y., December 21, 1823. Her 
father was a native of Vermont, and her mother, 
of Ulster County, N. Y. They were married in 
Catskill and removed thence to Michigan, in 1834, 
locating first in Kalamazoo, and coming from there 
to Allegan County in 1836. They were the first 
white family in Martin Township, where Mr. 
Eldred took up forty acres of land and erected a 
small log house. His death occurred when he was 
four-score and four years old, in Martin's Corners, 
while the mother died when one month less than 
seventy-nine years old. To them were born nine 
children, seven of whom are living. Mr. Eldred, 
by a previous marriage, to Miss Ruth Carpenter, 
had five children, all of whom are dead. 

Mrs. Wilder was a young girl when she accom- 
panied her parents to this count}"^, and here she 
grew to womanhood in a sparsely settled com- 
munity. For nine months after settling in Martin 
Township, theirs was the only white family, and 
the Indian neighbors were by no means sociable, 
trying to drive them aw.aj-. The nearest neigh- 
bors were in Gun Plain Township and they ex- 
perienced all the privations incident to frontier 
life in a new country. After the marriage of Mr. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



325 



and Mi-s. Wilder, the3^ located on section 17, on an 
unimproved place of one hundred and sixty acres, 
and lie at once built a small log house, 18x24, 
whicli was their home for some lime. 

Six children comprise the family- of our subject 
and liis excellent wife, namel\': Helen C, wife of 
John Burgess, of Martin Townsliip; George W., 
who is at home, as is also Albert C; Wirt E., a 
resident of California; Jlary B. and Minnie A., 
who remain under the parental roof. The farm 
which our subject owns comprises sevent^'-eight 
and one-half acres of land and is actively managed 
by (ieorge W., the eldest son. Mr. Wilder is a Pro- 
hibitionist, and was at one time a member of the 
Sons of Temperance in New York, and the 
Independent Order of Ciood Templars of Mich- 
igan, lie h-.x* served as Township Treasurer 
and Seliool Director, and in the Mctliodist Churcli, 
of whieh he is an active member, is filling 
the position of Trustee. Mrs. Wilder is also 
identified with that Church and is a l;idy of 
great worth of character. 

Mrs. Wilder is the oldest in a family of nine 
children, the others being: Rev. Andrew .1. Eldred, 
a Methodist niinister and now Chaplain of the 
Ionia State Reform .School; Elizabeth, deceased, 
formerly the wife of .Jaiiio llenika, of Big Rapids, 
Mich.; Stephen, a resident of Bcllaire, Antrim 
County, Mich.; Catherine, deceased, formerlj' tiie 
wife of Dr. Hubbard, of California; Samuel, the 
first white child born in tlic townsliip of Martin 
(born December 10, 1836) and now a re.'iident of 
this township; Emma .1., the wife of J. Youngs, 
whose home is in Martin Township; !Maiy, now 
Mrs. Charles Smith, of Allegan City; and Frankie, 
who marrieil L. L. Blair, of Big Rapids, this State. 
Of Mr. Eldred's second marriage, Norman died 
in Prairie Du Chien, Wis., in 1840; Mumford died 
in California, leaving two ciuldren; Cornelia 
married Chauncey W. Calkins, of AUegan Cit.y, 
Mich., who died leaving three children; Belinda 
died in ' ^■ermont; Margaret married Harmon 
Myers and died leaving six daughters. 

Of the brothers and sisters of our subject, 
Joanna and Dexter are deceased; Leavitt makes 
his home in California; Adoniram J. is a resident 
of Sandy Creek, N. Y.; .Uilin lives on the old 



homestead in .Sandy Creek Township, Oswego 
County, N. Y.; Ruth is the wife of George Cole, 
of .Sandy Creek, N. Y.; Ursula is now Mrs. C. M. 
Totman, and resides in Adams, N. Y.; and Jlilton, 
the youngest member of the family, <lied in Sandy 
Creek, X. Y..March 4, 1892. 



^i 



t®i 




tl EVI KRAUSE. Jlaiiy years have p,as.sed 
since this gentleman was called from the 
scenes of time to eternity, but there are still 
living those in wlu>se memory he dwells, who 
revere his uprightness, honor and devotion to the 
community, lie aided greatly ip the upluiilding 
of Kalamazt)0 and although he was taken from 
earth ere the village had become a city or gained 
its present fame among the other cities of the 
State, he contributed his efforts to effect this desir- 
able result. 

Born in Allentown, Pa.. Mr. Kraiisc there p.assed 
his earl}- years, with few advantages in the way of 
an edueatiim — save what could be obtained from 
observation and experience. In 1836 he removed 
to the great unsettled AVest, making his home in 
Kalamazoo from that time until the day of his 
death. Four ^'cars after locating here, he was 
married, October 1, 1840, in Townsend, Vt., to Miss 
ISIary L. Ilolbrook, .an estimable lady, who w.as his 
helpmate throughout his entire life and who now 
survives him at an advanced age. 

Mrs. Krause was born April 11, 1814, in Towns- 
end, \t., and spent her early years in her native 
State. In the fall of 1838, she accompanied the 
family of Isaiah ( Goodrich to Kalamazoo, where 
she made her home with the wife of Maj. Ransom, 
who was her mother's consin. .She retnrncd to 
her old home to be married. and then aceompanicd 
her husband to their new home in Kalamazoci. 
Mv. Krause was a carpenter by trade and erected 
many of the fiist structures of the village, where 
be made his home until he died, March 30, IH.jT, at 
the early age of thirty-nine ^-ears. 

The lirst planing mill in Kalamazoo was started 
as the result of the efforts of ;\Ir. Krause and he 
also built and ran a sawmill at Wayland. The 



326 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



cozy residence in which his widow has for fifty 
years made her home was erected b}' him in 1841, 
and he worked extensively as a contractor and 
builder. He built the first Episcopal Church in 
Kalamazoo — St. Luke's, erected in 1843 — and was 
identified with it as long as he lived. Mrs. Krause 
has been a faithful member of the same church for 
fifty years, being numbered among its first mem- 
bers and taking an active part in all society and 
benevolent work. 

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Krause comprised 
the following children : Ustick O., who is mana- 
ger for N. K. Fairbank in Montreal, Canada; 
Wallace H., who is an engraver; Francis A., who 
is a dealer in agricultural implements at Kalama- 
zoo, and Fannie, who became the wife of Scott L. 
Waterbur3', a native of Steuben Count}', N. Y., and 
a resident of Kalamazoo until his death July 12, 
1878. Mrs. Waterbur}' now makes her home with 
her widowed mother. A sincere Christian, Mrs. 
Krause is much loved and highly respected by her 
extensive circle of friends. 



r^ 



ORIN S. HOAG is one of the representative 
farmers of Geneva Township, Van Buren 
County. He is at present engaged in culti- 
vating a portion of the soil on section 12, and is 
making a signal success of his calling. He was 
born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1831, and came 
to tlie above-named township in 18.52, where he 
located his present farm. 

The parents of our subject were .John and Eliza- 
beth (Le Munyan) Hoag. The father was born 
near Utica, N. Y., and located at an early day in 
Ohio. He was of Holland-Dutch ancestry and the 
mother of our subject was descended from French 
stock. Oriu S. Hoag and Miss Laura A. Brott were 
united in marriage in 18.54 and have become the 
parents of four children: Watson resides in Kala- 
mazoo; Louella is the wife of D. Robinson and 
makes her home in Woodville, this State; Wilbur 
and Reynolds reside at home. 

In February, 1864, Mr. Hoag enlisted in the 
Third Michigan Cavalry and going directly to 
Arkansas remained with his regiment until the 



close of hostilities. He then returned home and 
has since given his entire time and attention to the 
cultivation of his farm. When first coming to Van 
Buren County, he experienced all the hardships in- 
cident to life in a new country. All his marketing 
was done at South Haven and Breedsville and 
his mail came to Lawrence which was fifteen 
miles distant. Mrs. Hoag was a woman of refine- 
ment and culture and taught school one year prior 
to her marriage. She died November 19, 1889. 

In politics, he of whom we write is a stanch Re- 
publican and is a member of the Zach Chandler 
Post No. 35, G. A. R., at South Haven. 







RED T. WARD, member of the firm of 
Henderson & Ward, publishers of the Alle- 
gan Journal, was born in Newark, N. .T., 
November 3, 1849, and is a descendant of the four 
Ward brothers, who were among the first settlers 
of that city. After attaining a common-school 
education, he entered the office of tlie Red Bank 
(N. .J.) Standard, published by an older brotlier, as 
an apprentice, working there two years. Later he 
finished learning his trade in large offices in New- 
ark, N. J., and Worcester, Mass. At tlie age of 
twenty-one j'ears, he removed to Galva, 111., 
where he purchased the Galva Journal. That pa- 
per he published six j'earsand then sold it to form 
a partnership with his brother, W. J. Ward, who 
had moved to AVenona, now West Bay City, this 
State. 

The partnership thus formed continued in We- 
nona for seven years, when the brothers removed to 
Flint and started a daily paper. This venture 
proving disastrous, they sold out, and our subject 
then took up the foremanship of the Flint Globe, 
and afterward of the Flint Citizen, relinquishing 
the latter to purchase a one-third interest in the 
Allegan Journal and Tribune, in the spring of 1885. 
At that time the firm was composed of Messrs. 
Henderson, Bailey- li Ward, but two years after- 
ward it became Henderson ife Ward (Mr. Bailey 
selling his interest to his two partners), and has so 
continued to the present time. 

On June 9, 1879, Mr. Ward was married to Miss 



rORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



327 



Kate E. Cooper, who was then a teacher in the 
schools of West l?a_v City, and who lias aided her 
husband greatly by her talents as a writer and her 
reportorial abilities. These abilities liavc brought 
her recognition among the newspaper wom'en of 
the State, and she is now Vicc-i)resident of their 
Women's Press Association. In politics, Jlr.Ward 
has alwa^'s been a stanch Repul^lican, and his ac- 
tive participation in political movement* has given 
him a wide acijuaintance among the leading men 
of the State. He is also an active worker in secret 
societ}" circles, being a member of tlie Masonic, Odd 
Fellows, Knights of Pythia-s and Knights of Honor 
societies, at this time holding the otlices of Chan- 
cellor, Commander of the Knights of Pythias and 
Dictator of the Knights of Honor. 

V *^E*^s+__ J 



LANSON LILLY. The gontlcm.an wliose 
@A-J[ . name we place at the head of this skfteh, 




and wlio is one of the [iroininent agricul- 
turists of Allegan Countj', is farming 
one luiiidrcd and twenty acres of land on section 
16, Allegan Township. He was horn in Franklin 
County, Mass., December 12, 1817, and is the son of 
Austin and Roxana (Sears) Lilly, natives of ihe 
Nutmeg State, where the father carried on farm- 
ing. 

The parent* of our subject moved to Cu3"ahoga 
County, Ohio, in 1832, where they engaged in 
farming and resided until their death. The elder 
Mr. Lilly was prominent in local affairs, and was 
Justice of the Peace and Township Trustee of the 
town of Dover, Ohio. While a resident of Mass- 
achusetts, he w.as Selectman. His parents were 
Bethnel and Hannah (Smith) Lill^', also farmers, 
who lived and died in Ashfield,Mass., after Laving 
reared a large family of tiiirteen children. They 
were members of the Episcopal Church. His father, 
the great-grandfather of our subject, was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War, and also that of 1812. 
He was of Scotch descent. 

The maternal grandparents of our subject were 
Roland and .ledidiah (Coiinant) Sears, natives of 
New England, where they were farmers, and lived 



and died. Their family included eight children. 
The family of Austin and Roxana Lilly numbered 
ten children, four of whom are still living: our 
subject, Albertus, Fa^'ctte and Smith. 

Alanson Lilly was educated in the schools of 
Massachusetts and Ohio, and remained at home 
assisting in the duties upon the farm until reach- 
ing his majority. He was then engaged working 
by the month for four j-ears, when he purchased 
a farm in Olmstead Township, Cuvahoga County, 
Ohio, which he cultivated for eight years. Then, 
disposing of his property, he came to Michigan in 
1852, and located on a wild tract of land, which 
is his present home. He applied himself indus- 
triously to clearing and improving his land, erect- 
ing for his family a board shanty, which later gave 
way to a comfortable and modem residence. 

In 1813 Miss Emilj' Miles, a native of Ashtield, 
Mass., became Mrs. Alanson Lill3'. She was the 
da\ighter of Ezekiel and Sarah (Vincent) Miles, 
also natives of Massachusetts, where they were 
farmers and lived and died. Their family in- 
cluded seven children, onl}' two of whom are liv- 
ing: Mrs. Iluldah Smith, now aged eight3--six years, 
and Mrs. I^illy. 

Our subject is a member of the Presbj'terian 
Church, and his wife is an Episcopalian. They 
have only one child, a daughter, Florana, now 
Mrs. A. W. Lutts, who has a son, Harry. They 
reside in the village of Allegan. 



©_- 



^^^\ 



'^ 



A:\IES H. JOHNSON, an Attorney-at-Law 
at South Haven, Van Bureu County, is en- 
gaged in the practice of his profession, and 
is also one of the firm of Johnson it Sisson, 
dealers in evaporated fruit and manufacturei-s of 
ciders and jellies. He has always been an active 
business man, and is meeting with the success winch 
his industry and perseverance deserve. Mr. John- 
son was born in Schoharie County, N. Y., June 29, 
181',t, his |)arents being William C. and Sarah 
(Hrooker) Johnson. The paternal grandfather of 
our subject, Peter Johnson, was born in New York 
in 1795, and is still living in Onondaga County, 
in that State. He has followed the occupation of 



328 



P02TRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



a farmer most of his life, and at one time was en- 
gaged on the Erie Canal. 

The father of our subject was born in New York, 
about 1820, and still resides in his native State, 
where he carries on farming. The mother of our 
subject died when he was quite yoiing, leaving a 
family of three children: Peter W., a resident of Port 
Orange, Fla.; our subject; and Rosalie (Mrs. Mills), 
who lives in Allegan County, this State. Tlie 
father was married a second time, and of that union 
two children were born: Albertus B., a resident of 
Livingston County, N. Y.; and Sylvester P., who 
lives in Monroe County, the same State. 

Our subject was reared upon the farm, and re- 
ceived his early education in the common schools, 
afterward becoming a student in the Normal School 
at Oswego, N. Y. He resided in his native State 
until twenty-two years of age, during that time 
engaging in teaching school for two \'ears. In 1871 
he came West, reaching Chicago just after that city 
had been destroyed by fire. He went from there 
to Sharon, Walworth County, Wis., where he 
worked on a farm for one j-ear. He then came to 
South Haven, being engaged in farm work and as 
a teamster for S. M. Trowbridge. After one year 
spent in this way, he clerked in a store for about 
the same length of time, and then went to Kala- 
mazoo, where he read law in the office of Severens, 
Boudeman & Turner for four years, when he was 
admitted to the Bar. Mr. Johnson then located at 
South Haven, where he has since been engaged in 
the practice of law, also carrj'ing on the in- 
surance and real-estate business. He owns a tract 
of three hundred acres near South Haven, and also 
a quantitj' of land in Dakota and Nebi-aska. 

Our subject was married in 1 882 to Miss Emma 
C. Williams, a native of New Jersey, and a daugh- 
ter of David B. and Clara Williams, of South Haven. 
One child has been born to them, but is now de- 
ceased. Mr. Johnson has held several important 
offices, having been Circuit Court Commissioner, 
and President of the Village Board for three terms; 
he is novr Chairman of the Board of Water-works 
of South Haven. He is a Rei)ublican in politics, 
but is not a member of anj' religious or civic so- 
ciety. Mr. Johnson had the misfortune to have 
his office destroyed by lire in Jul}-, 1891, during 



I his absence, therebj' losing his fine library and all 
j his records. He has always been an earnest, active 
I business man, making his own way in the world, 

and is deserving of the success which has attended 

his efforts. 






FRANCIS M. STORIMS, President of the 
; Village Board of Plainwell, Allegan 
County, is also carrying on an extensive 
hardware establishment, and is known as a success- 
ful business man. He is a native of Michigan, be- 
ing born in Otsego, January 25, 1845. .His parents 
were Adam D. and Martha E. (Nichols) Storms, 
the former a native of New York and the latter of 
Canada. They were married at Otsego, having 
come to this State in 1838. Here thej"- lived for 
two years and then took up Government land in 
Prairieville Township, Barry Countj% this State, 
where the father is still living at the age of sev- 
ent^'-four years. The mother died in 1884 when 
sixty-two years old. Of their family of five chil- 
dren, four are living. 

Our subject was reared on the old home farm 
and there received his early education. When 
eighteen years old, his father gave him his time, 
and he began farming for himself one mile west of 
Prairieville. Here he remained for about nineteen 
years. In 1882 he came to Plainwell and engaged 
in the hardware business and two years later sold 
his farm. He started on a small scale, but through 
his industry and perseverance he made it a success 
and in 1885 was able to build his present fine brick 
storeroom in which he now carries a large and 
complete stock of general hardware and has an ex- 
cellent trade. 

Mr. Storms was married in 1864 to Miss Bessie 
Mason, a native of Ricliland Township, Kalamazoo 
Count}-. She is a daughter of Edward and Clarissa 
(Johnson) Mason, natives of Connecticut, who 
came to Kalamazoo Count}', in 1838, settling in 
Richland Township. The father is now living at 
the advanced age of eighty-eight" }'ears, and the 
mother died in 1890. Our subject and his wife 
have onl}' one child, Bernice, who was born March 
10, 1872, and is a fine musician. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



329 



Mr. Storms is a Democrat and lias been a delegate 
to State, county and district conventions. He has 
been Treasurer of the Union Agricultural Society, 
of IMainwell, for several years, and is now serving 
his fourtli term as President of the village. lie 
also served as Village Treasurer for one year. 
Socially, he is a member of the Odd Fellows' and 
tlie Masonic fraternities. 




LFHKI) 1!. TAYLOR. One of the oldest 
and most relialile merchants in Saugatuck 
111 is Alfred B. Taylor, lie does a thriving 
husiiu'ss, and keeps a conii>lclc line of 
general merchandise and l)v his honest and court- 
eous treatment of customers is greatl\- respected 
and receives a good patronage. He is the son of 
J. Rice and Henrietta (Leonard) Taylor, natives 
of New York State and England, respectively. 
The maternal grandfather of our subject is a prom- 
inent nieichant in Amsterdam. 

.Mfred 15. Taylor was born in Lilian, Kiic 
County, Ohio, October 8, 1816, and received a fair 
education in the scliools of his neigiiorliood. His 
father was an Episcopalian minister and for a fuller 
account of his history- the reader is referred to his 
sketch in another [lart of this volume. When at- 
taining liis fifteenth year, our subject began the 
battle of life on his own account and went to 
clerk in a general store in Allegan. That was 
in 1861, and in the si)ring of 1868, he came to 
Saugatuck and was employed by II. D. Moore. A 
few years later he was taken into the lirm and they 
operated under tlie style of II. D. Moore it Co. 
Our subject continued thus engaged until lH7:i. 
when lie went into business with D. L. Rarber, the 
firm name being Taylor A- Barber. Since .lanuary 
1, 1879, however, Mr. Taylor has continued alone 
and is doing a very prolitable business. 

In I)eceinl>er, 1H7I, the gentleman of whom we 
write was united in marriage with ;\Ii.-> .Iiilia 1!. 
Russell. Mrs. Taylor was tlu' daughter of Ralph 
Russell, a pioneer of Chautauriua County, X. Y'., 
and by her union with our subject has become the 
mother of three chihlrcn: Russell Rice, who was 
born January 15, 1877; Bessie II., born Jlay 11, 



1879 and Alfred 11., .h., l.oin Augu.st 13. 1882. 
Russell is attending the Kenyon Military Academy 
at Gambler, Ohio. The two younger children are 
being given good educations in the home schools. 
Our sul)ject, although no politician, casts his 
vote and induence in favor of the Republican 
party. He has held man}' of the ofHces within the 
gift of the people to bestow and is greatly res*- 
pected as a man of honor and integrity. The 
members of his family are all Episcopalians. He 
is identilied with Saugatuck Lodge, Xo. 328, A. F. 
ife A. M., and is also an Odd Fellow, having been 
Past Grand Master in that order in 1880. ^Vlll- 
iam AV. Taylor, a brother of our subject, is a prom- 
inent minister in the Episcopal Cliuich in Phila- 
delphia. 



4^ 



ENRY IHBBARD 8TIMS0N, M. D. This 
1^ prominent gentleman is one of the leading 
physicians of Saugatuck as well as one of 
the pioneers of Allegan County. He is the 
son of Ephraim and Mary (Hibbard) Stimson, na- 
tives respectivelv of Massachusetts and A'ermont. 
They removed to New Y'ork State raany3-ears ago, 
where the Doctor was born July 2, 1826. He hatl 
the misfortune to lose his parents when he was a 
lad of six years and at that early age was thrown 
upon the cold charities of the world. 

Alter the death of his parents our subject went 
to Vermont to make his home with his graiidi)a- 
rents. In 1834, however, he came West to Ohio and 
was employed as a farm hand for two years, and 
in 1836 came to the then Territory of I\Iicliigan 
when he was only ten years of age. He located 
in Allegan County, which was then a part of 
K.alamazoo County, and lived for six j-ears at what 
is now Plainwell, being engaged in whatever he 
could lind to do. At the age of sixteen, our young 
hero conceived the idea of becoming a physician, 
but being without money he realized that he would 
have to put forth great effort to attain to his desired 
ambition. 

(^ur subject began teaching school in the old pio- 
neer log school-house, which occupati<m he fol- 
lowed for four vears, when he bcffan reading med- 



w 



330 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



icine under Dr. E. N. Tpjohn. Previous to this, 
however, he had devoted all his leisure moments 
to the study of ply^siologj'^ and anatomj\ On at- 
taining his twenty-fifth year he had acquired suffi- 
cient skill and knowledge of the medical profession 
to begin its practice, which he did in Allegan 
County. In 1858, Dr. Stimson came to Saugatuek 
which he has made his home ever since that 
time. In 1868 he attended the Bennett Medical 
College in Chicago, from which he received the 
degree of Doctor of Medicine. 

Dr. Stimson was married to Miss Mary Forbes in 
1852. Mrs. Stimson was the daughter of John 
Forbes, of Plainwcll. She has proved a great aid 
to her worthy husband in attaining to his present 
high standing among the profession, and to her he 
gives due credit. Their marriage has been blest 
bj' the birth of four children, all of whom are 
deceased. Their eldest son, Charles F., died at the 
age of twenty-five; William Henry died in infancy; 
Alice Mary died when eighteen years old, and Wil- 
liam Ilibbard met ids death by drowning, aged 
nineteen years. 

Our worthy subject came to Allegan County 
when it bore little resemblance to its present con- 
dition. He has done much for the development 
of the county and as a man of principle and integ- 
rity his influence is as powerful in an unconscious 
way as it is helpful by intent. Politically', Dr. 
Stimson is identified with the Democratic party. 
His popularity in his community is manifested by 
the fact that he has been the recipient of all the 
township offices within the gift of the people. 
Socially, he is a member of Lodge No. .328, A. F. 
& A. M., and is also an Odd Fellow. The family 
are all members of the Episcopal Church, and are 
highly esteemed in this section. 



"S^ARWIN E. WHITE, who is a highly re- 
I jjj spected citizen of Plainwell, Allegan 
(gfcJs?^ County, where he carries on a general 
blacksmith shop, was born in Climax, Kal- 
amazoo Countj', this State, November 25, 1844. 
His father, who bore the same name as hnnself, 
died when our subject was only three j-ears old. He 



came from Pennsylvania to Michigan in an early 
day, and followed the business of a clothier. His 
mother, whose maiden name was Aurinda M.New- 
man, .also a native of Pennsylvania, is still living, 
as are four of the six children born to her. 

Our subject gained his early education in the 
district schools, and at sixteen 3'ears of age com- 
menced learning the blacksmith trade in Otsego, 
where he served an apprenticeship of three years. 
In the fall of 1863, he enlisted in Company K, 
First Michigan Cavahy, under the command of 
Col. Charles Towne. He joined his regiment at 
AVashington, D. C, and spent the following winter 
in camp at Culpeper, Va. The first fight in which 
he took part was the battle of the AVilderness. 
Following this were the engagements at Five Forks, 
Trevilian Station, Winchester, Cedar Creek, and 
one neai- Petersburg. Mr. White had the good 
fortune to be present at the surrender of Gen. Lee, 
which practically terminated the war. He also wit- , 
nessed the Grand Review of the troops at Wash- I ! 
ington. His regiment was then ordered to Texas, 
but only got as far as St. Louis, being then sent to 
Leavenworth and from there across the plains to 
Salt Lake City. Mr. White received his discharge 
at Salt Lake City November 10, 1865. He enlisted 
as a blacksmith and shod horses for some time, but 
was afterward promoted and was mustered out as a 
Quartermaster-Sergeant. During the fight at Mill 
Run, Va., he had a horse shot from under him and 
his spine was severely injured, from which he was 
laid up in the hospital for about three weeks. 

After the close of the war, Mr. White returned 
to Otsego and worked at his trade for a short time. 
He then purchased a half interest in a shop at 
Wayland, and carried on the business for several 
years. In 1876 he removed to Plainwell where he 
has since carried on his trade, in 1885 purchasing 
his present shop. The marriage of our subject 
took place December 25, 1866, when he was united 
to INIiss Lj'dia A. Stearns, who is a native of New 
York. She is the daughter of Henry W. and Jane 
(Bruce) Stearns, who came from their native State 
to Michigan, settling in Gun Plains Township, 
where they carried on a farm. They are now liv- 
ing in Plainwell. 

Mr. and Mrs. White are the parents of three 




'% 



/ 





/^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



333 



children: Izora B., the wife of Harry D. Gilmore, 
who is employed in the otlice of tiie Rock Island 
it Pac'ilic Railroad Conii)any. He is the son of 
Gen. Gilmore, who was formerly Postmaster at 
Chicago. Ray L. and Eva are both at home. All 
the children have received good educations, and 
R.ny L. is a graduate of the public school. Mr. 
AVIiite is a Republican in politics, and has been a 
member of liie village Hoard. He has been asso- 
ciated with the Masonic fraternity, and is at present 
M.-istcr of the lodge at Plainwell.in which capacity 
lie has served for six years. He is Assistant Chief 
of the Plainwell Fire Company, and belongs also 
to the Grand Army of the Republic. 

Mr. White is a popular man and is highly re- 
spected, not only on account of his honesty and 
integrity, but for his record as a gallant soldier. 






^^EORGE 15. NICHOLS, M. 1)., oi Martin, 
III (—7 was born in Naples Township, Ontario 
%^ County, X. v., June 12, 1827. His father, 
Alfred, was a native of Hartford, Conn., where he 
was bom in 1802, and, being orphaned at an carl}' 
age, wa-s thrown upon his own resources when still 
quite young. He learned the trade of a wagon- 
maker, which he carried on in Naples, N. Y., prior 
to his removal to ^lichigan. During his residence 
in Najjles he was married to Miss Angeline L^'on, 
who was born and reared in Naples, N. Y., and 
died in this State in 1873. Her father, Simeon 
Lyon, was a native of the Green Mountain .State, 
and had the distinction of being the first settler 
on the Holland Purchase in Naples, N. Y. Our 
subject "s great aunt, on his mother's side, was the 
first white woman who settled in the village of 
Naples. 

The parents of our subject removed to this 
Stale in 1864, and the father, who still survives 
and makes his home with the Doctor, has the 
honor of being the oldest resident of Martin 
Townshii). Our subject, who was the oldest mem- 
ber of the fannly, is the only one now surviving, 
the others, William and John M., having passed 
away in New York. George B. Nichols was reared 
15 



in his native place, and remained with his father 
until he reached his majority, in the meantime re- 
ceiving his first schooling in Naples, where he also 
finished his educali(jn. At the age of twenty-one 
he commenced to read medicine with his uncle, 
Lester .Sprague, of Naples, and spent five years in 
studying with him and attending the medical col- 
lege at Geneva. He was graduated in 1852 from 
Castleton College, of Vermfuit. 

After completing his medical course, the young 
Doctor formed a partnership with his uncle at Na- 
ples :ui a pr.actieing physician, and continued thus 
connected until 1858, when he came to Allegan 
County, and located where he now resides, in 
]\Iartin Township. At the time of his removal 
hither, he was so poor that he had only ^1 to [jay 
on the house where he now lives, but notwith- 
standing his poverty, he worked industriously and 
without discouragement until he now has a com- 
petency of this world's goods. In 1853 he was 
married in Naples, N. Y., to Eunice M. AVatkins, 
who was born in that place November 1, 1832. 
Her parents, Bingham and Mary Watkius, came to 
^Michigan at an early day, and remained in this 
Slate until called hence by death, the father pass- 
ing awa^- in Calhoun County, and the mother in 
.St. Joseph C<)unty. 

Dr. Nichols and his wife are the parents of seven 
children, as follows: Mary A., the wife of J. B. 
Watkins, of Grand Rapids; Cora E., who is at 
home; Lillian M., wlio graduated as a trained 
nurse, and is now residing in Grand Rapids; Net- 
tie JL, who is with her parents; (ieorge B., Jr., who 
married Mary Noble, and resides in ^Martin; (ir.ace. 
who is at home; and Jessie, who died when one 
and one-half years old. The Doctor has been in 
practice in Martin for the past thirty-four ^-ears, 
and is well known in the county as one of its fore- 
most practitioners and public-spirited citizens. He 
is a member of the board of Pension Examiners 
and goes to Allegan ever}' Wednesday to examine 
pension-seekers. 

The Doctor cast his first ballot for N'an Buren 
and Adams, in 1818, and since the organization 
of the Republican party, h.as been a firm adherent 
of its principles. He has served as School In- 
spector, Town Clerk, Superintendent of the 



334 



PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL EECORD. 



Scliools of IMartin Township, and was Postmaster 
of Martin for four years, during tlie administra- 
tion of President Garfield. Since the jear of his 
arrival in this count_y, he has been in school offices 
and is now Director of the High School, and one 
of the most prominent men in educational work. 
lie a Mason and a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, while dui'ing the late war 
he belonged to the Union League. Although he 
is not connected with au^' church, he is liberal in 
his contributions toward all denominations and 
has aided them often and generously in a financial 
way. 

Accompanjing this personal sketch ma3- be 
found a portrait of Dr. Nichols. 



=^=^>^^<i 






■jflOSEPII W. KICKS. Among the most prom- 
inent business men of Plamwell, Allegan 
County, may be mentioned the gentleman 
whose name heads this sketch, and who is a 
member of the well-known firm of Soule & Hicks, 
owners and managers of the Plainwell I<]xchange 
Bank. Mr. Hicks has been ver}' successful in his 
business enterprises and has acquired an enviable 
reputation for integiity and honesty in all his 
dealings. He is a native of Nassau Township, 
Rensselaer County, N. Y., his birth taking place 
April 15, 1836. His father, John Hicks, was born 
in the same county in 1808. 

Joseph Hicks, grandfather of our subject, was 
also a native of New York, and was a relative of 
the famous Elias Hicks, founder of the Ilicksite 
branch of the Quaker sect. The Hicks family 
came from England in the early histoiy of this 
country and were prominent people in the section 
where they live. Joseph Hicks was a farmer by 
occupation and was at one time Sheriff of Rens- 
selaer County. He died in 1812. John Hicks, the 
father of our subject, was reared by an uncle, his 
father having died when he was but four years old. 
He married in his native county and lived upon a 
farm until 1836. In the fall of that year, he came 
with his family to Michigan, settling in Rome 
Township, Lenawee County. The country at that 
time was almost a wilderness and our subject re- 



members when a boy going after the cows and see- 
ing many deer, and also occasionally meeting with 
wolves and bears. Mr. Hicks, Sr., was for many 
years an active member of the Baptist Church, and 
was one who helped to organize the first church in 
this part of the State, soon after his arrival here. 
He died in 1881, when seventy-three years old. 
The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was 
Jane Winegar, was a native of Rensselaer County, 
N. Y., and of German descent. Like her husband, 
she was a consistent member of the Baptist 
Church. She died in 1880 at the age of sixty-eight 
years. 

Mr. Hicks is the second of the three children in 
the parental family, all of whom are living. He 
had the same meager opportunities for education 
as other boys of that time, attending .school in the 
old fashioned log schoolhouse, with its primitive 
seats and desks made out of slabs, his schooling be- 
ing gained at times when he was not otherwise en- 
gaged. Much of his studying was done at night 
by the light of the fire of logs. The life of a 
farmer's boy, with its hard work, long d.ays and 
little recompense, did not satisfy his ambitious dis- 
position, and he was anxious to fit himself for 
teaching, so that he could earn some money bj' the 
time he became of age. His father did not look 
with favor upon his plans but he finally, by the 
help of his mother, succeeded in getting his father's 
consent to attend school. The father, however, 
imposed the condition on him, that if he gave him 
his time he should not expect any fartlver help 
from home. On the morning of August 26, 1853, 
the boy left his home to try his fortune in the 
world. His father gave him $16, with the parting 
words, "Joe, that is your portion; make 3'our wa}^ 
and 3'our mark in life and do not call on me for 
a dollar," and he kept his word. It was not on ac- 
count of any harshness on his part, but he thought 
the boy would soon get tired of his new life and 
come back to the farm. 

Our subject came direct to Kalamazoo, this 
State, and entered the college at that place and he 
remembers tlie first few weeks as being the longest 
he ever spent. He worked his vfa.y through col- 
lege, doing various things to raise money — in the 
vacations teaching, etc. He received his room rent 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



335 



and iiK-idcntiil expenses in exelianjjc for instruc- 
tions in vofal music, lie having at-quired a knowl- 
edge of tiiat hianeli in countrj* singing-sehools at 
his old home. He entered the Junior preparatory 
deparlnuMil and coniiik'ted a six years' course in 
four years and eight weeks, making up the extra 
time. His hobby was mathematics and while he was 
still pursuing his other studies in a pro|)aratory 
course, he was engaged in teaching his branch in 
the Sophomore classes. He was graduated in June, 
ISi'jO. He tiien taugiit music and singing-scliool 
for some time and subsequently entered the office 
of the County Clerk of Kalamazoo County as De- 
puty, remaining there for one year. He then spent 
a year in the otliee of the Hon. Charles S. May, 
Lieutenant-(;overnor of Michigan, studying law. 
His lieaUli failed and by the advice of a ph3-sician 
hesouglit outdoor exercise. 

In the spring of 1863, Mr. Hicks came to Plain- 
well and purchased a farm in Gun Plain Ti)wnshi[), 
comprising one hundred acres. In the fall of tiie 
same j'ear, he was called to fill tlie chair of Mathe- 
matics in Kalamazoo College, made vacant !)}• the 
resignation of Prof. Edward Olne}-. He filled this 
position for one j"ear, when lie returned to his 
farm, where he remained until 18(56, when he sold 
the place, having made off of it in three years as 
much as he paid for it. In the fall of 1866, be 
located in Plainfield where he was nominated on 
the Hepubliean ticket for County Surveyor with- 
out his knowledge. He was elected and served for 
six successive terms, comprising twelve 3'ears. In 
1876 he purchased an interest in the Plainwell 
Exchange Bank with which he has since been con- 
nected. 

Mr. Hicks was married in 18CU to JIiss Helen 
Davis, a native of Seneca Falls, N. Y. She came 
to Michigan with her parents in 1838, they 
settling near Galesburg, Kalamazoo County. The 
father died in 1855 and the mother is still living 
at the age of seventy-eiglit years. Mr. Ilieks has 
always been a Kepublican and has Uiken a great 
interest in all matters concerning the welfare of 
his muiity and State. He has held many promin- 
ent ollices and is intimately connected with the 
history of the town in which he resides. In 1869 
the village of Plainwell was incorporated aii<i Mr. 



Hicks was chosen Chairman of the Committee 
which drafted the first cliarter. He was elected the 
first President of the village and served seven years. 
He has been connected with the management of 
its affairs either as President or member of the 
Council for fourteen years. He has been a fre- 
quent delegate to State and county conventions 
and when his [)resentterm has expired will have 
been a member of the School Board for twenty-two 
j-ears. He is also one of the Trustees of Kalama- 
zoo College. He was one of the Directors of the 
Kalamazoo and Allegan Railroad at the time that 
road was built. It is now known as the Lake 
Shore. lie is a stock-holder in the Jlichigan Paper 
Company and is Vice-president of the corporation. 
Socially, he is a member of the Odd Fellows' Lodge 
and Encampment. 

Mr. Hicks and his wife are both active members 
of the Baptist Church and respond liberallj' to 
all calls made upon tiieir time and purse. They 
are held in tlie highest estimation by all classes of 
society. 



ETH W. LOVERIDGE. This owner and 
^^^ resident, located on the fine farm on sec- 
tion 3, Ganges Township, Allegan County, 
was born in Monroe County, N. Y., De- 
cember 20, 1824. His tract of one hundred and 
forty acres is under excellent improvemeut, twenty 
acres of it being in fruit. At the time it came 
into his possession, it was entirely covered with 
hard-wood timber, but by persistent industry and 
good judgment he has brought it to a high degree 
of cullivatiun. 

The parents of our subject were Caleli and Mary 
Loveridge. The father was born in Dccrfield, 
Mass., in 1792, and received a thorough training 
in farm duties. He remained at home until reach- 
ing his majority, in tlie meantime serving an ap- 
prenticesliip at the cooper's trade, which occupa- 
tion he followed through life. "While in the 
Nutmeg State, Caleb Loveridge met and married 
the mother of our subject, whose maiden name was 
Mary, daughter of Jacob and Matilda Loomis, 
both of whom were natives of Connecticut. 



336 



POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Soon after their marriage the parents of Seth 
W. removed to Monroe County, N. Y., where they 
located on a farm and spent the remainder of their 
da3-s. They became the parents of six children, 
whose record follows: Lucretia, who is deceased; 
Alfred; Seth W., our subject; Mary A. and Hub- 
bell, both deceased; and Louisa. In politics, Mr. 
Loveridge was a Jackson ian Democrat and was a 
verj' prominent man in his communitj-. He was a 
patriot in the War of 1812. 

Seth W. Loveridge made his home with his par- 
ents until reaching his majoritj-, when he went to 
work on a farm, being thus engaged for three 
years. While in New York he was married, in 
1849, to Miss Catherine, daughter of Joseph and 
Mehitable Collins. Soon after tliat event, they 
emigrated to Oakland County, this State, where 
"the}' located on a farm and remained for three 
years. Then, in 1852, Mr. Loveridge went to 
California, and worked in the gold mines for three 
years. He was very successful in that venture, 
and returning to Michigan, located with his fam- 
ily in Allegan County, where he purchased his pres- 
ent farm of one hundred and forty acres, which 
was then a dense wilderness. He at once erected 
a "shanty" and commenced the improvement of 
his estate. He has lately erected a beautiful resi- 
dence on his property and is ranked among the 
progressive and intelligent citizens of Oanges 
Township. 

To our subject and his first wife were born two 
children: Judson, who died at the age of eleven 
years, and Frank, now residing in Saugatuck 
Township, Allegan County. After the death of 
his wife, Mr. Loveridge married Charlotte Collins, 
a sister of his former companion, and to them 
have been born a daughter, May. Both our sub- 
ject and his wife are members of the Baptist 
Church, and in politics, Mr. Loveridge is a Repub- 
lican, though in early life he supported Demo- 
cratic princijjles. 

In 1864, our subject entered the service of his 
country b^- enlisting in Company H, Thirteenth 
Michigan Infantry. He was under the command 
of Gen. Sherman, and with his regiment partici- 
pated in the famous march to the sea and the bat- 
tles fought iit Savannali and Bentonville. He 



took part in the Grand Review at Washington, 
and received his honorable discharge at Detroit, 
June 20, 18G5. Sociall}', our subject is a member 
of Jacob Fiy Post, No. 46, G. A. R., of Ganges. 

Mr. Loveridge, besides his home farm, owns 
forty acres in Saugatuck Township, twenty acres 
of which is in peaches, five acres in apples and 
one acre in grapes. He is a man whose cordial, 
kindly spirit has made him warm friends, and we 
are pleased to present his sketch to our readers. 




ILLIAM WHITE is a prosperous farmer 
w/v// ^^^^ resides on section 15, Monterey Town- 
'\}'/^J ship, Allegan County, where he owns one 
hundred acres of finely improved laud, and also 
forty acres on section 11. He is the son of Josiah 
and Fannie (Mann) White, natives of Pennsylvania 
and Connecticut, respective!}'. His father was one 
of the pioneers of Ashtabula Count}'', where he 
settled about 1810, when all that section was a 
wilderness. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. 
Both his grandfather and great-grandfather took 
part in the War of the Revolution. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Ashtabula 
County, Ohio, May 3, 1829, and was reared upon 
his father's farm, remaining there until he was 
twenty-one years of age, when he went to the 
lumber woods in Bay County, Mich. After spend- 
ing about eighteen months there, he came, in 1853, 
to Allegan County and took up the land of which 
his father had obtained the land-warrant in 1812. 
On March 4, 1861, Mr. White was united in mar- 
riage with Adelia C. Cady, a native of Ohio. Her 
father was a native of Canada, and her mother a 
native of Ohio; they now reside in Alleg-in County. 
Mr. and Mis. White are the parents of four chil- 
dren: Orvis W., who married May Simmons and 
resides in Antrim County, Mich.; George E., who 
is engaged iu lumbering in Idaho; Perry, who died 
at the age of fourteen months, and Lee C, who is 
at home and attending school. They also adopted 
a daughter, Mary, who is still at home with them. 

In 1864, Mr. White enlisted ia Company B, 
Thirteenth Michigan Infantry, serving until the 



.<^i 




ts-v 




^pruyu) 



"* 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



339 



close of the war, and being with Sherman in his 
celebrated march to the sea. He was discharged 
August 0. 186."). In 1879 he purchased the farm 
on wliic'h he now resides, and which is highly cul- 
tivated, giving evidence of the careful manage- 
niont and personal supervision of its owner. Mr. 
While is a man of energy and enterprise, and is 
liighly esteemed as a public-spirited citizen. He 
is a nionihcr of Harlow Uriggs Post, Xo. 80, G. A. 
R., and was its lirst Commander. He belongs to 
Monterey Grange, No 217, of which he has been 
^Master. Politically, he is a Democrat and an 
ardent advocate of the principles of that party. 
IIi> popularity is shown by tlic fact that he lias 
been Supervisor of Monterey Township for nine 
teinis, altliDugh there is a large Republican major- 
ity in the township. He has also held the otiices 
(if Town Clerk, .lustice of the Peace and member 
of the School Hoard. 



^f AMES M. GRAY. In a volume of a bio- 
graphical nature, prominent mention should 
certainly be made of ^Ir. Gray, who is a 

^ leading and wealthy citizen of Van Buren 
County. In his life is exemplified the results of 
enterprise and determination, and the example 
which he furnishes to the young is well worth3^ of 
emulation. A [tersonal acpiaintance with him re- 
veals the fact that while he devotes the closest at- 
tention to his l)usincss enterprises, he nevertheless 
is greatly interested in all measures having for 
their object the promotion of the community', so- 
cially or morall}-. He is particularly' interested in 
the development of the resources of Breedsville, 
where he has resided for many years. His portrait 
appears in connection with this biographical notice. 

Among the brave soldiers who served in the 
War of 1812, was James (iray, Sr., father of our 
subject. He was a mere lad at the time of the con- 
flict, having been born .Inly.'). 179.'). In his youth, 
he learned the trade of a millwright in his native 
State, Pennsylvania, whence he removed to New 
York in his early manhood, and was there married 
to Miss Jane Ilaynes. This lady was born in the 
Empire State, August 23, 1798, and became the 



mother of seven children, namely: Valina, Joseph 
H., Thomas F., Elias O., James M., Mar3' E. and 
AV. R. Mrs. Jane Gray died October 1.5, 18t7. 
She was a sincere member of the Presbyterian 
Church, a devoted wife and a loving mother, and 
her noble traits of character placed her in high es- 
teem in the community where she resided. 

About 1832, the father of our subject removed 
from New York to Ohio, where for one year 
he operated a sawmill, which he built on the Mau- 
mee River. Later he came to Michigan, where he 
managed a gristmill and sawmill for more than 
one year, and then, in the fall of 183.5, came to 
Lawrence Township, Van Buren County. Purchas- 
ing a farm of eighty acres he at once set to work 
to effect its improvement, and meanwhile also 
worked at his trade. In 1853, he sold his property 
and removed to Breedsville, but after a sojourn of 
three years in that city, returned to Lawrence 
Township, where he died, July 28, 1873. Through- 
out this portion of the State, he was quite well 
known, and his lators as a pioneer and public- 
spirited citizen increased his popularity and inllu- 
ence. He served in various township offices and 
was a Democrat in politics. 

After the death of his first wife, Mr. Gray, Sr., 
was married to Miss Maiy Skelton, a native of 
England, and some time after lier demise was 
united to Mrs. Laura Orr. Two children were born 
to them, Ella and Rilla. Mrs. Laura Gr.ay still 
survives and makes her home in Lawrence Town- 
ship. The sul)ject of this sketch was born Decem- 
ber 9, 1828, and was reared on a farm, receiving 
the advantages of a common-school education. 
When four years old, he .accompanied his parents 
in their removal from his native place in Lake- 
ville, Livingston County, N. Y., to the Buckeye 
State, and from there to ^Michigan a short time 
afterward. In his youth he aided his father on the 
home farm, and when twenty-four engaged as a 
clerk ill a store at Breedsville. 

In 1857, Mr. Gray entered into business with 
his fathei'-in-law, and the partnership thus formed 
continued until 1867, when our subject purchased 
the stock and operated it alone until the S|)ring of 
1888. Since 1H82, he has owned and managed a 
gristmill at Lawrence, and has been successful in 



340 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAI HICAL RECORD. 



his milling operations. He takes considerable in- 
terest in local political affairs, and has served as 
Clerk of Columbia Township for three j-ears, as 
well as Supervisor. In his political sympathies, he 
adheres to the principles of the Democratic party, 
and socially Is identified with the Knights of 
Pythias. 

The marriage of Mr. Gray, July 1, 1858, united 
him with Miss IMary A. Painter, who was born in 
Cass County, Mich., August 5, 1841, and is a 
daughter of Lorenzo and Betsey Painter. Mr. and 
Mrs. Gray became the parents of two children: 
Lillian J., wife of George W. Fisher, and Rosamond, 
now Mrs. Byron J. Robertson. Mr. Robertson is 
Mr. Gray's successor in the mercantile business at 
Breedsville, which he has conducted with success 
since he assumed control in 1888. The death of 
Mrs. Gray, May 11, 1868, removed one from earth 
who had been an efficient helpmate to her husband, 
a devoted mother, and worthily filled her sphere 
in life. Mr. Gray is well known as a man of strict 
integrity and has received the reward of his meri- 
torious life in the good-will of his numerous 
friends. 






i.-gi'>^3^ '^ ^ 



5o~ 



: ] OHN C. WHEELER. During the period of 
almost fifty years in which Mr. Wheeler has 
,^^ made his home in Allegan County, he has 
l;^^ become well known to its citizens as a kind- 
hearted and generous man, of unflinching integrity 
and upright life. He is especially popular in Mar- 
tin Townshi]), where he has resided the greater 
portion of his life, and where he owns his father's 
old homestead of one hundred and twenty-five 
acres. However, he is not engaged in agricultural 
pursuits, but rents his farm and devotes his time 
to hunting and fishing. He is a devoted follower 
of Isaac Walton and an expert both with tlie gun 
and the fishing rod. 

A native of this State, Mr. Wheeler was born in 
Fairfield Township, Lenawee County-, Ma^^ 31, 
1840. William S., his father, was a native of New 
York, and was born in Marion Township, Wajme 
County, in 1810. At a ver}- earl^- day he emigrated 
to this State, where he resided in Lenawee County 



several years, I'emoving thence to Waj'nc County, 
N. Y., and there sojourning about four years. In 
1844, he came direct to Allegan County, locating 
on section 8, Martin Township, and commenced 
the improvement of the tr.actof land which he had 
purchased. In the spring of 1845, he built a small 
log house, into which he moved when only half of 
the roof had been placed thereon. There he re- 
mained until he died, at the age of sevent}'-six 
years. 

A prominent man of this community, William 
S. Wheeler was well known, first as a Whig and 
later as a Republican. He served as Supervisor of 
his township. Justice of the Peace for twelve years, 
Town Clerk, and in other official positions of trust 
and responsibility. The mother of our subject, 
whose maiden name was ]Mary M. Cook, was born 
in Palmyra Township, Ontario County, N. Y., in 
1815, and is still living at the age of seventy-six. 
Her father, John Cook, was a native of Dorset, A^t., 
and removed first to New York and later to Mich- 
igan, locating, in 1844, in Martin Township. 

The family of which our subject was a member 
comprised two children. C^yrus B., the elder son, 
enlisted in the Nineteenth Michigan Infantry and 
was wounded in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, 
dj'ing in the hospital at Nashville, Tenn. John C, 
the younger son, was four and one-half years old 
when he came with his parents to Martin Township, 
and his schooling was received in a log building 
near his father's home. He was married, September 
30, 18G2, to Mary J., the daughter of Charles and 
Margaret Benson, and with his young wife located 
on section 8, Martin Township, where he operated 
.as a farmer and made his home in a small frame 
house. In 1876, he removed to the place where 
he now resides, a fine farm, which has first-class 
improvements and a substantial set of buildings. 

Mr. Wheeler has been deeply bereaved, for he 
has been called to mourn the death of his four 
children, and on September 24, 1890, his loving 
and faithful wife passed from earth .and her body 
now lies buried in the Martin Cenieteiy. Mr. 
Wheeler took for his second wife Miss Katie Wall, 
daughter of Edward and Agnes (Peel) AVall, na- 
tives of EngLand. Mrs. AVheeler was born in Mar- 
tin Townsliip, September 11,1866. Her marriage 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



341 



with our subject took place at the home of her 
parents, on the 30tli of Jlarcli, 1892. 

Politically, Mr. Wlieeler i;; a .^Ironj; Republican. 
and devoted to the measures wliich will benclit his 
coranninit3'. At one lime he was elected Justice 
of the Peace, but did not qualify; he also served 
as Constable for six .years, and in other positions 
of local responsibility and importance. He has a 
host of warm personal friends in the township 
where he has lived for so many years and is uni- 
versally esteemed and respected. 



^RSOX G. VAHUE. This gentleman, who is a 
member of the firm of A'aluie & Brand, pro- 
prietors of the Citj- Meat Market at Allegan, 
is one of the substantial business men of Alleg.an 
County. His parents, Philip and Arniinda A. 
(Gillett) Vahue, were natives of Vermont, whence 
they came to Michigan as early as 1854, settling 
in Allegan, Allegan Township. Here the father, 
who was a farmer by occupation, operated an ex- 
tensive tract of land and was also engaged in the 
lumber business. AVhen the Civil War broke out, 
his patriotism was aroused and, although over 
fifty years of age, he enlisted in the Sixth Michigan 
Infantry, but was not allowed to muster in on ac- 
count of his defective teeth, he being unable to 
bite off the end of a cartridge. Ha was, however, 
not to be discouraged in this w.ay, but tried again, 
and finally succeeded in becoming a member of 
the Third ^Michigan Artillery, as Baggage Master. 
He was in the service fourteen months, when he 
was taken ill and sent home, being discharged on 
account of disability and dying a few j-ears after- 
ward. 

Mr. Vahue was a strong Republican and intensely 
loyal to the Union, having a detestation of the 
men who were in sympathy with the scceders, as 
well as those who were actively engaged in seeking 
to procure the disruption of the I'nion. He was a 
man of excellent habits, never used tobacco or 
spirituous liquoi-sand, with his wife, was a devoted 
member of the Baptist Church, in which they took 
a prominent and iiitluential part. This worthy 



couple were the parents of seven children, of whom 
three are now living: Mrs. Phidelia L. Peet, of 
.VUcgan; Cliaik'sS., a farmer of Allegan Township; 
and our suljject. 

Orson G. Vahue was educated in the district 
schools of Allegan Township, afterward attending 
for two years the High School in Allegan. He was 
reared upon the farm and remained with his parents 
until their death. He now owns a part of the old 
homestead, to which he has made large additions, 
and has one of the finest and best conducted farms 
in the count}^ comprising one hundred and sixty 
acres. On this he has excellent buildings, a hand- 
some residence costing 83,000, and numerous horse 
and other barns, the former costing ¥1,000. In 
addition to his farming operations, he has made a 
specialty of raising fine draft horses, and has excel- 
lent stock of other kinds. The firm of Vahue & 
Brand owns a good brick block in the center of 
the village, where they can-y on their business, and 
also nine acres of land, which they also use in 
their butchering operations. 

IMr. Vahue was married, November 2, 1869, to 
Miss KUa Nichols, a daughter of John S. Nichols, 
of Spcncerport, N. Y. Three sons have been born 
to them: Frank, Ray P. and Earl. Mr. Vahue be- 
longs to the Democratic party and has held various 
responsible positions in the village, having been a 
member of the School Board and President of the 
Allegan County Agricultur.al .Societ^^ ex-President 
of the Vill.age Board and one of its members at 
the present time. He has also been Chairman of 
the Financial Committee and one of the Street 
Committee. He is looked upon as one of the sub- 
stantial men of his community, who may be counted 
upon til. assist in every laudable undertaking. 



UILLl A.M M. KEXNEY. This gentleman is 
one of the pioneer settlers of Covert Town- 
Y^^ ship. Van Buren County, having taken up 
his residence here in the fall of 18()0. He was 
born in Ilalton County, Canada, April 10, 1824. 
His father, .Samuel D. Kenney, was a native of 
Pennsylvania, where he was born April 4, 1797. 
He married Lucy Bobbins, who was a native of 



342 



POETEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 



Massachusetts, the date of her birth being NoTem- 
ber 13, 1802. Their marriage took place iu Can- 
ada, to which place their respective families had 
moved just after the War of 1812. The father of 
our subject was a blacksmith, and during the AVar 
of 1812 was in the employ of the British Govern- 
ment, from which he received two hundred acres 
of land in Ilalton County in return for his ser- 
vices, and on which he settled after his marriage. 
Here he passed his remaining years, dying at the 
age of eightj'-two. His wife departed this life 
October 17, 1860. Tliey were the parents of 
twelve children as follows: Timothy C, AVilliam 
M., Elizabeth Ann, Rebecca M., Samuel W., John 
S., David R,, Lucyntha, Ruth Emily, Nathan C, 
George C. and Joseph F. 

Our subject was reared upon his father's farm, 
and March 10, 1846, was married to Miss Mary 
Sherburne who was born in Canada, in Ilalton 
County, May 24, 1825. Mr. Kenney followed 
farming for some years and later engaged in the 
nursery business, but tlie climate proving too cold 
for liim he came to Michigan and settled in Covert 
Township ,then known as Deerfleld Township. The 
country was at that time wild and entirely unim- 
proved, the place wliich he purchased being covered 
with timber. This, with much labor, he cleared off 
and cultivated, making of it a fine farm of forty 
acres, where he has ever since resided. Our subject 
and his wife are the parents of the following 
children: James W., a merchant at Covert and 
South Haven; Mary J. (Mrs. George E.Sherbourne), 
of South Haven; Lucy A., the wife of Lyman Car- 
penter of Covert; Samuel D., a merchant at Covert; 
Cynthia A. (Mrs. Frank Reed), of Chicago; Lottie 
E. (Mrs. E. G. Allen) and Emma, wife of Beuna 
Marvin, both of whom reside at Chicago, and Will- 
iam M. 

In politics, Mr. Kenney is a Republican and has 
held the offices of Justice of the Peace and Super- 
visor, both however, to fill vacancies, as he has no 
taste for public life and prefers to devote his at- 
tention to his home and business. He was formerly 
connected with the Methodist Episcopal and also 
with the Congregational Church and although now 
not a member of either, leads an upright Christian 
life. He is paying considerable attention to the rais- 




ing of fruit and has been very successful in grafting 
trees, of which he does considerable for other 
parties. He and his family are well known through- 
out the county, and stand high in the estimation 
of all who come in contact with them. 



ETH K. TANNER, who is a prominent 
farmer and breeder of standard bred horses, 
resides on section 22, Monterey Township, 
Allegan County, where he owns one hun- 
dred and fifty acres of fine land, high!}- cultivated 
and well improved with good buildings. He is a 
son of .Joseph and Lydia (Ken5-on) Tanner, na- 
tives of the State of New York, where the subject 
of this sketch was born in Washington County, 
March 17, 1836. 

The father of our subject came to Allegan 
County when the latter was but nine years of age 
and located upon the farm now owned bj^ his son. 
There were only about twenty-eight acres cleared, 
and the young man assisted his father in the hard 
labor necessary to make a comfortable home, and 
continued in this occupation until twent_y-one 
years of age, in the meantime acquiring his edu- 
cation at the district schools. In 1862, Mr. Tanner 
was happily married to Mary Brown, a daugliter 
of Watson Brown, also a native of the Empire State, 
but who removed to Massachusetts some years 
after his daughter was born. Four children have 
been born to oursubject and his wife, two of whom 
survive: Ella M., who is at home with her parents 
and Joseph Roy, who is attending the business 
college at Kalamazoo. 

Mr. Tanner has made his own way in the world 
starting out at the age of twenty-one with -S50 in 
cash and a joke of steers. He was successful in his 
various undertakings and after his father's death 
in 1871 he bbught out the other heirs and took 
possession of the old homestead. Here he is 
busily engaged in operating his farm and also in 
breeding horses, of which he has now about twenty- 
five head. lie inherited his love for this animal 
from his father and takes great interest in raising 
the grade of the animals used in this countr3\ 
Among his horses is "Cellery King" No. 13,506, a 




C^^^^-^^u^^--^ ^ ' J^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



r^i-) 



three-year-old of great promise. He also owns an- 
otlier fine stallion, "Mai^na Wilkes" by name, wiiicli 
forl)eaiity lias not an equal in llie county and from 
his brocdinu; and build will make a fine record 
among the fast horses on the turf. Our subject has 
several other fine colts tliat promise great results in 
the future; among them is a fine three-year-old in- 
bred "Black Hawk." He also liasa fine line of Jerse^^ 
cattle in wliich he takes great pride. He lias long 
been engaged in breeding horses and cattle. He 
thoroughly understiinds the business and fully 
realizes the fact that it is just as cheap to raise a 
fine animal as it is to raise a scrub. Mr. White has 
two good dwelling-houses on his farm and is en- 
joying life .as only an independent farmer can. 
Politically, he is a Republican, and has held vari- 
ous local otiices. lie and his family are highlj^ es- 
teemed ill their cimiiiitin ity. 



-^^^>^^<l 



a>^ 



\ir^ DW.VKl) .1. LANE, of Arlington Township. 
r^ a prosperous farmer of Van Buren County, 
'''—-^. has a noble military record for valor and 
fidelity to the Union cause during the late war, 
tiiat contributed to the high reputation of one of 
Michigan's most gallant cavalry regiments. Mr. 
Lane was born in the 3 ear 1831, in Lewis County, 
N. Y. His parents were Zebina and P0II3' (.Sykes) 
Lane, who were natives of Hartford, Conn. His 
paternal grandfather, who was born in England, 
but came to America early in life, was a brave 
soldier in the ranks of the Continental .\rmy dur- 
ing the revolution that freed the American colonies 
from British rule. 

Our subject is the j-onngest of eight children, 
as follows: Horace, a resident of .leffcrson County', 
N. Y.; Juliette, who married .John Bailey, and 
with her hiisliand died in Lewis County, N. Y'.; 
Zeliina, .Ir., who lives in that county; Betsy A., 
wife of Truman P. Greene, of Lewis County, N.Y'.; 
Francis, deceased; Emeline, who liecame the wife 
of Jacob Ausman, of Lawrence, Jlicli.; James, who 
served in the army and gave up his life for his 
country during the war, and Edward J. 

Our subject spent his early life amid the pleasant 
scenes of his birth, and after atUiining manhood 



married and settled in his native county. In l.s.").') 
he determined to avail himself of the many excel- 
lent advantages offered to a practical, wide-awake 
farmer by the rich soil and cheap lands of A'an 
Buren County, in the State of Michigan, and, with 
the exception of the time that he spent in the 
South helping to fight his country's battles, he has 
lived iiere ever since, and has won a place among 
our most useful citizens in the township of Arling- 
ton. His farm contains one hundred acres of fine 
farming land, which has been rendered very pro- 
ductive b3- judicious cultivation, and the place is 
ampl3' supplied with suitable buildings, and the 
various kinds of modern machinery for facilitating 
agricultural operations, besides being well stocked 
with cattle, horses and hogs. 

In 1862 ]Mr. Lane responded to the call of the 
Government for more troops, enlisting in Com- 
pany C, Fourth Michigan Cavalry, and in the en- 
suing years of hard and bitter warfare, displayed 
a true soldierly spirit and devotion to his country, 
which merited and gained him the confidence of 
his commanders. His regiment was with Rosecrans 
while he was in command, and remained witli the 
same dep.artnient throughout the war, and our sub- 
ject and his comr.ades took an active part in many 
engagements with the enemy. The^' were at the 
front in the fight at Bowling Green, Ky., won 
added laurels at Stone River, and did gallant ser- 
vice in the Atlanta camiiaign; while their last en- 
counter with the Confederate forces w.as at Selma, 
Ala., shortly before the close of the Rebellion. 

Our subject did not go thrfnigh the w\ar un- 
scathed, but succumbed to tlie terrible hardships 
of a soldier's life in the summer of '6.3, was taken 
home on a sick furlough, and for some weeks lay 
at the (loint of death. His hardy constitution 
triumphed, and with undaunted patriotism he re- 
joined his regiment as soon .as he was sufllciently 
recovered to do duty, and served faithfully until 
the close of the war. He then quietly resumed 
his occupation as a farmer, which he has since so 
successfully pursued. The Re|»ublican party had 
his earnest support on the battlefields of the South, 
where he fought for its principles, he having been 
with it from the first, casting his vote for Gen. 
Fremont, and he is still to be found in its i-aiiks. 



346 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Lane was first married in liis native county 
to Miss Eliza .Johnson, who died in 1866, leaving 
one son, .J. J., a resident of Michigan City, Ind. 
In 1868 Mr. Lane was married to Miss Eliza Gates, 
and to them was born one daughter, Ilattie P., 
now the wife of W. W. Temple. Mr. Lane w.as 
married to his present wife, formerly Mrs. Maria 
(Stearns) Lamphcar, in October, 1876, and to them 
have been born two children: Gertie E. and Glen 
E. Mr. Lane is a member of "Wads worth Post, No. 
49, G. A. R., at Lawrence. 

The attention of the reader is invited to the 
lithographic portrait of Mr. Lane, presented on 
another page. 



>ii HARLES H. PRENTISS, who has an art store 
at Otsego, is one of the representative busi- 
JJ ncss and public men of this part of Allegan 
County, and is also well known in political and 
social circles, and he has, too, a good military 
record as an able and patriotic soldier during the 
late war. Mr. Prentiss is a native of the cit3' of 
New York, born October 1, 1830, the second son 
and fourth child of his parents. When a small 
child he was taken by his grandparents, and was 
reared by them until he was ten j'ears old. At 
that3'outhful age he became self-supporting, going 
to work in a store for an uncle. At the age of 
sixteen he hired out to a f.armer at $8 per month, 
with the privilege of attending school during the 
winter months, and was enabled to do so one sea- 
son. Up to that time he had had no chance of 
obtaining an education, for whicli he longed. In 
1850 he began an apprenticeship to a marble cutter, 
but after working at that four years, he was obliged 
to give it up, as he found the work did not agree 
with him. 

At that point in his life our subject took an im- 
portant step by coming Westward to Michigan, 
and the ensuing six j-ears he was engaged in the 
lumber business, in this State. In 1860 he removed 
to Otsego and located on a farm in this township, 
and was devoting himself to its improvement when 
the rebellion broke out. He watched its course 



with interest, and in 1862 arranged his affairs so 
that he might take his part in defending the Gov- 
ernment. He enlisted. August 11, in Company B, 
Nineteenth Michigan Infantry, commanded by 
Col. II. C. Gilbert, and went with his regiment to 
the front. After nearly a year's service, during 
which he had participated in several engagements 
with the enemy, he and a number of his comrades 
were taken prisoners at the battle of Brentwood 
Station, by Gen. Forest and his raiders, on the 24th 
of IMarch, 1864. They were marched one hundred 
and thirt3--five miles in flft3--fonr hours, without 
a morsel to eat and with their clothing freezing on 
them, through having to wade streams. The_v 
finally arrived at Richmond, mo)e dead than 
alive. There our subject had a month's experience 
of life in Libby Prison, but fortunatelj' at the end 
of that time he was exchanged. 

After a short furlough at home, on the expi- 
ration of his imprisonment, Mr. Prentiss returned 
to the field, but owing to ill health, he was not able 
to do active duty at the front, and his Colonel ex- 
erted himself to obtain a post for him as Assistant 
Topographical Engineer, in the Department Head- 
quarters of Gen. Thomas. He served in th.at 
capacity with entire satisfaction until the war was 
over, he and others of the party occasionally en- 
countering the enemj' while surve3-ing, and he 
was wounded in some of the skirmishes that 
resulted. He was mustered out, June 25, 1865, at 
Nashville, Tenn., and returned Northward with a 
well-earned reputation for erticient and g.all.ant 
service. 

After leaving the arm}', Mr. Prentiss built a 
planing mill at Otsego, and operated it with good 
success twenty-two years. In 1881 his mill was 
burned, but he rebuilt and operated it six years 
longer, when he sold it. He has since conducted 
an art store in a building which he owns, and is 
doing well financially in catering to the lesthetic 
tastes of an intelligent public, which patronizes 
him extensively'. 

Our subject was married, July 4, 1859, to Miss Ro- 
enna C. Clark, a native of New York. Thej^ have one 
of the attractive homes of the village, which is 
tastefully fitted up, and is the seat of a warm hospi- 
tality, which is often enjo^'ed by the many friends 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



347 



that tbey have gathered around them during their 
many years' residence at Otsego. Mr. Prentiss is a 
self-educated man of much culture, who by exper- 
ience, observation and reading, has gathered a rare 
fund of information, andean converse intelligently 
on all topics of general interest. He is genial, 
courteous and obliging in his intercourse with 
others, and stands high in the business world as 
regards his credit. Socially, he is a Koyal Templar 
of Temperance and a Grand Army man, while in 
in politics, he is a Republican. He has held vari- 
ous local oflices, has been a member of the Village 
Board, and at the spring election of 18',)2 was re- 
elected to the ofDce of Village and Township Treas- 
urer. A true public spirit has characterized his 
Otticial record. 



^ACOB HOEK, Master-mechanic at the Bar- 
deen Pajn'r Mills at Otsego, and one of the 
original stockholders of the compan}', is a 
very competent man, and has contributed 
in no small degree to the successful operation of 
the mill, witli which he is connected. He is a 
native of the Netherlands, born in the Kingdom 
of Holland, August 1, 1843. John and Martha 
Hoek, his parents, were natives of the same 
province where lie had his birth. In 1850 the 
family emigrated to America, and soon after their 
arrival in a strange land, were overwhelmed by a 
sad bereavement in the death of the father from 
cholera, eight days later, at Kalamazoo. He had 
been a brave soldier in his native country, serving 
in thi^ army of Holland nine .years, and taking 
part 111 the war between that kingdom and Belgium. 
His wife survived him man}- ^eais, her death oc- 
curring in August, 1887, at the venerable age of 
seventy-seven years. Both were sincere Christianf, 
clinging to the faith of the Reformed Church, of 
which they were devout members. Seven children 
accom])anied them in their migration to the New 
World, of whom three are yet living. 

Our subject is the fourth child of the family. 
His princliial schooling was obtained in the winter 
seasons, up to the time when he was twelve years 
old, partly in Holland and partly in the schools of 



Michigan, be being a lad of seven years when his 
parents brought him to the United States. At 
the former age. the independent, ambitious, keen- 
witted boy began his struggles with the world 
single-handed. He found emploj-ment on a farm 
in Kalainaz(jo County, where he received at first 
|!l.oO a week, in payment for his services. He 
continued as a farm laborer until he was twenty 
years old, and then entered into an apprentice- 
sliii) to learn carpentering. He is gifted with a 
decided mechanical genius, and became a thorough 
master of his calling in every detail. He served 
three jears, and then was employed at that, or at 
other thmgs, as he chose, and he graduallj' picked up 
a practical knowledge of the trade of a millwright, 
which he has engaged in the most of the time 
since. In 1867 he accepted a situation with the 
Kalamazoo Paper Co., and remained with that as 
Master-mechanic sixteen years. He was subse- 
quently' engaged in the bending works and saw- 
mill at Kalamazoo. 

In 1887 Mr. Hoek engaged with Alessrs. Bardeen, 
Hodges & Bryant in the organization of the Bar- 
deen Paper Co., of which he thus became one of 
the original stockholders, and, accepting the posi- 
tion of Master-mechanic, he came to Otsego to 
oversee the erection of the largest paper mill in 
the State of Michigan, with which he has ever 
since been connected in the office indicated. He 
is finely fitted for this resi)onsible position by his 
wide experience, accurate knowledge of mechanics, 
and remarkable skill in handling any and all 
kinds of machinery, to say nothing of his devo- 
tion to his business. He is one of the solid men 
of the village, financially speaking, having accu- 
mulated a handsome property, and among other 
l)ossessioiis, he has a fine brick residence, built in 
1888, of a pleasing style of architecture, and 
modern in its appointments. Mr. Hoek is a Dem- 
ocrat, and has an intelligent knowledge of politics, 
as every loyal citizen should have, whether a 
native of the country or of foreign birth. 

Much t)f his success and happiness in life has 
come to our subject through his amiable wife, to 
whom he was married in 1871, and the son and 
daughter born of their union, .lolin .1. and Jennie, 
who complete their pleasant home circle. Mrs. 



348 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Iloek, whose maiden name was Catrina Ossewarda, 
is a native of Ottawa County, Zealand Townsliip, 
tliis State, and a daughter of William and Jennie 
Ossewarda, who were both natives of Holland. 
They both came to this country in 1848, and were 
among the first settlers of Ottawa County in this 
State. The father died in 1876, and the mother in 
1872. They were the parents of ten children, of 
whom onlv three are livino-. 



II ing farn 

'^^J ganCou 



ALA^IN WHITNEY is one of the enterpris- 
rmers of Saugatuck Township, Alle- 
I'ounty. lie makes his home on ten acres 
of beautiful land on section 10, and owns besides 
that property a tract of two hundred and forty 
acres on sections 2 and 11, forty-seven of which 
are covered witli timber. He is the son of Robert 
and Sarali (Harris) Whitney, natives of New York 
State. His parents came to the Wolverine State 
before their marriage. 

Robert Wliitney was twice married, our subject 
being the eldest son by his second marriage. He 
was given the advantages of a common-school 
education and at the early age of fourteen started 
to carve out his own fortune. That his industry 
has been rewarded can be answered by viewing his 
fine estate. He worked at brick-laj'ing, however, 
until the outbreak of the Civil War, when, August 
28, 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Third Michi- 
gan Cavalry. His regiment was sent to 'Missouri 
and did good service xrnder Gen. Fremont. The 
first engagement in which he participated was at 
New Madrid, Mo., and at that time he was only 
seventeen years old. His regiment was discharged 
at San Antonio, Tex., in February, 1865. He saw 
three years' service and veteranized at La Grange, 
Tenu. His regiment was under the command of 
Fremont, Pope and Grant at different periods and 
our. subject was one of the very few fortunate 
ones who fought in the army, as he was never 
taken prisoner or received a wound. 

After his discharge from the army, Calvin Whit- 
ney went to Cleveland, Ohio, and attended Bryant 
& Stratton's Business College. On finishing his 



course, he came to Saugatuck where he engaged as 
"mine host" of the Saugatuck Hotel for about six 
years. In May, 1874, he was hapi>ily married to 
Miss Johanna C. Burns, daugliter of John Burns, a 
native of Prussia. Her parents emigrated to Amer- 
ica about 1854 and Mrs. Whitney was born in 
Baltimore, February 5, 1855. 

Mr. and Mrs. Whitney of tliis sketch have a 
beautiful home adjoining the village of Saugatuck, 
where they entertain a large circle of friends. Mr. 
Whitney is very prominent in business circles and 
is at the head of the firm of C. Whitney & Co. In 
politics, he is a stalwart Republican and has been 
honored by being elected Justice of the Peace. His 
father lives on a farm adjoining; his mother 
died in 1891. Mr. Whitney is one of the we.ilthy 
men of Saugatuck Township, whore lie and liis 
family are greatly respected. 



-H" 



' ^ il. ^ ^ I . ^ M ip | >. 



Si^ORTON P. KELLOGG. Among the many 
I jjj gallant soldiers who went from the State 
IJ^iMi of New York, and served faithfully during 
the late Civil War, may be mentioned tlie subject 
of this sketch, who can recount many a story 
of the battlefield, and the hard experiences of the 
boys in blue. Like a majority of the volunteer 
soldiers, when the need for their services was over, 
he returned to the peacefu-l walks of life and lias 
become one of the prominent and respected citi- 
zens of Plainwell, Allegan County, Mich. 

Mr. Kellogg was born in Marion, W.ayne County, 
N. Y., February 2, 1841. His father, Rodney K. 
Kellogg, was also a native of New York, and was a 
farmer and butcher by occupation, and for several 
years carried on a meat market in JMarion. He 
came to Michigan in 1871, and died in M.ircli, 
187a, when sixty-five years old. Both he and liis 
wife were members of the Christian Church. The 
mother of our subject, whose maiden name was 
Harriet M. Bailey, was also a native of New York, 
and died while on a visit to her old home in that 
State, in 1882. 

f)ur sulijeet is the second born in a family of 
five children, of whom four are now living. He re- 
ceived his early education in the district schools, 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



.MO 



completing it at the Collegiate Institute in Marion, 
where he wat; a student for some time. AVhen six- 
teen years old.iie began tcaehing, which occupation 
he followed for some time. On tlie breaking out 
of the Civil AVar, he deemed it iiis duty to volun- 
teer in his country's defence and in September, 1861, 
he enlisted in Company- 1, Ninety-eightli New York 
Infantry, under Col. Duttou. He began his active 
.'iervice in the Peninsula, under Gen. JlcClellan. 
lie took part in the battles of Yorkstown, Will- 
iamsburg, Seven Pines, and Fair Oaks. lie was 
taken prisoner on June 29, 1862, just before the 
battle of JIalveru Hill, and was exchanged and re- 
turned to his regiment December 1:5, 1862. He 
rejoined his regiment at Yorktown, it being sent, 
December 25, to re-inforce Cen. Foster in North 
Carolina, where it remained only about two weeks, 
and wa> tlien ordered to Soutli Carolina to join an 
expedition that Gen. Hunter was fitting out 
against Cliarlest<jn. He remained in .South Caro- 
lina until tiiat expedition proved a failure, when 
he returned to North Carolina in April, 1863, and 
spent the stimmer near Newbern. In the fall, they 
were transferred to the Army of the .lames, under 
Gen. Ben Butler. In the winter of 1863 and 1864, 
his regiment was stationed at Pongo Bridge, thirty 
miles south of Norfolk, to guard that liridge. In 
the spring of 1864, Butler concentrated all his 
forces at Yorktown, and reorganized the arnij- of 
tlic James. He landed them at City Point and be- 
gan operations against Petersburg, destroying the 
railroad communications, etc. Karly in May a bat- 
tle was fought at .Swift's Creek, and tlie I3th, 14th, 
and l.")tli of the same month at Drury's BlutT. They 
were sent from there down the .lames and up the 
York and Puiniinkey Uivers, and fought a battle 
at Cold Harbor, where our subject saw ten thous- 
and men stretched upon the ground in a few min- 
utes. The part of the army with which oursiiljject 
was connected returned to Bermuda Landing on 
the morning of the 1.5th of June, and crossing the 
Appomattox River took the Heights of Petersburg 
on the evening of the same day. From that time 
on tliey had continuous lighting for some time. 

^Ir. Kello<T<j was wounded on June 24th, while 
in front of Petersburg, by a shell, but was only 
laid u|) for a short time. On the 3(1 of Jul}-, he 



was in tlie fight at the mine explosion, on Cemc- 
terj- Hill. September 29, the\- diarged upon and 
took Ft. Harrison on New Market Heights, and on 
October 22, was in the battle of Fair Oaks. ^Mr. 
Kellogg started out as a private soldier, but was 
promoted to be Second Lieutenant on October 
12, 1S6 I, in reward for his gallant services in sev- 
eral battles. On the 27th of October, he again 
showed ills bravery on the field of battle, and on 
the following d.ay was recommended for promo- 
tion as First Lieutenant, and was given that posi- 
tion on the 25th of November, 1864. In Decem- 
ber of the same year he was sent under Gen. But- 
ler to Ft. Fisher, N. C, but was soon sent back under 
Alfred II. Terry, who assaulted the works at 
Ft. Fisher on the 13th of January 1865, and caj)- 
turcd them. Our subject assisted in tiie caji- 
ture at Wilmington, N. C, on tlie 27th of Feb- 
ruary, 1865, and remained there under command 
of Sherman, being in the depaitment of this cele- 
brated (ieneral until the surrender of Johnson, 
after which he was sent back to Wilmington, and 
was Assistant Provost-jNIarshal of that city until 
his discharge in October, 1865. 

At the close of the war, Mr. Kellogg returned to 
his home in Marion Township, and for three years 
was engaged in manufacturing tinware. In the 
spring of 1869, he came to Plainwell, where he 
taught school for three terms, and w,as also en- 
g.agcd in various milling eiiteriirises. In May, 1877, 
he entered the employ of the Merrill Milling Com- 
pany, and has worked his way up until he became 
the manager of the mills, which position he has 
held since July 10, 1882. These mills are finely 
crpiipped and have a capacity of two hundred bar- 
rels a day. Their [iroducts are sent to all parts of 
the country, including the New England and 
Southern States. 

In the fall of 1867, Mr. Kellogg w.as married to 
Miss L. S. Sanders, a native of Rochester, N. Y. 
They have one child named Fay. He and his wife 
are members of the Presbyterian Church in which 
they take an .active part. In politics, Mr. Kellogg 
is a Republican, and is interested in all affairs re- 
lating to the Government, both local and National, 
using his inQuence on the side of right and jus- 
tice. He h.as held sever.al local officer, has been a 



350 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



member of the School Board for several years and 
is at present Moderator of the same and a mem- 
ber of the Citj- Council. Sociall}', he belongs to 
the Grand Army of the Republic, Ancient Order 
of United Workmen, and the Odd Fellows. In the 
Prcsb3-terian Church, he holds the office of an 
Elder, and is also a Trustee and the Treasurer of 
the Society. 



m^^^mm: 



■5o~^ 



-J 



AMES W. KENNEY. One of the most wide- 
awake and successful business men in West- 
ern Michigan is the gentleman whose name 
heads this sketch, and who is carrying on 
two stores, one at Covert where he resides, the other 
at South Haven. He was born in Halton Count}', 
Canada, August 5, 1847, his parents being AVill- 
iam M. aod Mar}' (Sherburne) Kennej'. The family 
came to Michigan, and settled in Van Buren Count}' 
in 1861, where the father purchased unimproved 
laud which lie cleared up and devoted himself to 
the cultui-e of fruit. Our subject attended school 
in Canada, which was no laughing matter to the 
boj'S of those d.ays, there being onl}- one week's 
vacation throughout the entire year and but one 
day, the Queen's biithdaj', on which there was on 
school. He also attended school after coming to 
Van Buren Count}-, and acquired a good business 
education. 

The father of our subject was limited in means, 
and at the age of eighteen years James W. agreed 
to pay him $250 for his time until he was of age, 
and then prepared to paddle his own canoe in the 
voyage of life. He was for a time engaged m 
lumbering and also dealing in land, and for eight 
years owned and operated a stage route between 
South Haven and Watervliet. When the West 
Michigan Railroad was being built he took a con- 
tract to grade a portion of the road, and cleared 
$3,000 by the operation. This was a good start 
for the young man but he was exceedingly liberal 
with his newly acquired wealth and gave a goodly 
portion of it to his relatives. 

In 1884 Mr. Kenuey, with a capital of $800, em- 
barked in the mercantile business at Covert, in 
which he was very successful. Four years later he 



removed from his rented storeroom into a large 
and convenient building of his own and his business 
annually increased, people coming many miles 
and passing through other towns to -'trade with 
Kenney," whose name became familiar to all. In 
1890 he decided to enlarge his operations, and ac- 
cordingly made arrangements to open a store in 
South Haven. For this purpose a building was 
erected by the Hon. C. J. Monroe, and here, on 
February 10, 1892, he opened a large store, carry- 
ing all classes of goods. He visits all the princi- 
pal markets of the East semi-annually, and purchas- 
ing his goods for cash and selling in the same way, 
he is enabled to compete with any one in the 
surrounding country. 

Mr. Kenney was married, December 1, 1874, to 
Miss Hattie W^nin, daughter of Thomas and Eliza- 
beth AVynn. Of this marriage three children have 
been born, Lena, Eva and Wyun. Mr. Kenney 
votes the Republican ticket, but has not time to 
trouble himself about the politics of the country. 
He is a very energetic, enterprising man, whose suc- 
cess is due to his own efforts and he, with his wife 
and family, holds a prominent place in the com- 
munity in which they reside. 



,RIX J. WOODARD, who resides in Plain- 
well, Allegan County, was born in Saratoga 
County, N. Y., March 16, 1833. His father, 
Jonathan Woodard, was a native of Washington 
County, the same State, and was born February 
12, 1801. In his early life he was a manufacturer 
of reeds for weavers' looms, but later became a 
farmer. He removed to Michigan in 1847, and 
located in Kalamazoo County, buying a farm in 
Cooper Township. His land was partially cleared 
and he carried on its cultivation unlil 1863, when 
he removed to Kalamazoo, where his death took 
place in 1877. He was a man of prominence in 
his community, holding various local offices and 
being Justice of the Peace and Supervisor of 
Cooper Township during the time he lived 
there. He was Second Lieutenant in a company 
of State Militia in New York, and, during his resi- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



851 



deuce in tliat State, was a member of the Bap- 
tist Cliureli. On (irst coming to Michigan, he 
united with tlii> Congregational Cliurdi, but on re- 
moving to Kalamazoo, returned again to the Bap- 
tist faith. He was a School Trustee for several 
years. The grandfatlier of our subject, Aliram 
Woodard, was also a native of Xew York, born 
December 10, 1773, and dying August 20, 1820, at 
forty-eight years of age. The "Woodard familj' 
emigrated from England about two hundred yeai-s 
ago. The mother of our subject, Nancy (Hart) 
Woodard, was a native of Saratoga County, N. Y., 
her birth taking place February 10, 1805, and her 
death in December, 185;"). Four of her family of six 
childien are now living, of whom our subject is the 
third and eldest son. 

31r. Woodard was reared on a farm until the 
age of twenty-one years, receiving a district 
school education. lie came to Jlichigan with his 
father's family in 1847, and at the age of nineteen 
began teaching school, which business he followed 
four terms. In spite of his early disadvantages in 
the way of schooling, he has always been a hard ' 
student, embracing ever}- opportunity to add to 
his knowledge of books, and is emphatically a 
self made man. On reaching liis majority, he 
worked for one year on the farm for his father, 
and in the spring of 1855 engaged in the mercan- 
tile business at Cooi^er. Two years later he pur- 
chiised a farm which he operated until the spring 
of 1861, when he again entered the mercantile 
business at Cooper. Here he remained until 1866, 
when he removed to I'laiiiwell and resumed his 
business here. He again sold out iu the spring 
of 1870, and purchased a farm in Cooper Town- 
ship, Kalamazoo County, in 1877, which is now 
operated by a tenant. 

Mr. Woodard was agent for the American Ex- 
press Com|)any for eight years; also during that 
time being engaged in the insurance and real-es- 
tate business. Since giving up his express busi- 
ness, he has devoted almost his entire time to in- 
surance, real estate, conveyancing, etc. He has 
an excellent knowledge of law, and is often asked 
to give advice in dillicult cases. Although'he 
makes no prelen.'*e of practicing law, he is everj-- 
where recognized as a safe counselor. He repre- 



sents the foUnuiiig insurance companies: Hart- 
ford, Conlinpntal, PhdMiix; Fire Association, of 
I'hiladelphia; Commercial; Union, of London; and 
Boylston, of Boston. 

Our subject was married April 26, 1857, to -Miss 
Melissa E. Stratton, who is a native of Portage 
County, Ohio. Of this union one child has been 
born, Mary C, wife of the Kev. C. W. Barber, pas- 
tor of the Bai)tist Church of Battle Creek, Mich. 
The Rev. Mr. Barber is a native of Quincy, Mich., 
and a graduate of Kalamazoo College, and Mor- 
gan I'ark Theological Seminar}- of Chicago, finish- 
ing his course in the latter college in 1882. He 
was pastor of the Baptist Church at Fcuton, ]\Iich., 
for eight ^-ears, and was then called to the church 
at Battle Creek. Mrs. Barber was graduated in 
1880 from Kalamazoo College, completing the 
I-atin and scientific course. She is a life member 
of the Woman's Baptist Foreign Missionary So- 
ciety of the AVcst, and is engaged in teaching 
IJible study and Christian doctrine for missionary 
ca-.didates — young ladies who are preparing them- 
selves for missionaries. Mr. and Mrs. Barber are 
the parents of two children, JNIabel and Ethel. 

The parents of Mrs. Woodard were .Jose|)h H. 
and Ruth (Olin) Stratton. The father was a na- 
tive of Vermont, removing from there to Portage 
County, Ohio, where he purchased a farm, and 
where he lived until his death, in 1887, when 
eighty-seven 3-ears old. Iler mother died in 1881. 
Siie was a member of the famous Olin family, and 
eleven of her twelve children arc living. She was 
an excellent woman, and a member of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church. 

Mr. AVoodard was a member of the Republican 
part}' until 1881, since which time he has voted 
with the Prohibitionists. He has held a numlicr 
of local oirices. having been Constable one year. 
Township Treasurer two years. Justice of the 
Peace eight yeai-s. Township Clerk two years 
School Inspector two years, and President of 
the A'illage two years. He has been a mem- 
ber of the School Board for twenty-three 
years. Both he and his wife belong to the 
Presbyterian Church, in which he has been an 
Elder for sixteen years, and also one of the Trus- 
tees. He has been a member of the JIasonic fra- 



352 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ternit}' for tliirty 3'ears. Mr. Woodard is a ni.an 
of prominence in this localit_y, and bis estimable 
wife shares with him in the esteem and confidence 
of all with whom the}' are .associated. Mr. Wood- 
ard alw.ays being a great reader is now compelled 
to forego that pleasure, his eyesight having failed 
him to that extent that he must depend upon 
others to read for him. 



_^]< 



-S5 



^+^- 



/^ ICERO M. STUCK, M. D. This gentleman, 
[l[^L although young in years, is regarded as the 
^^J(' leading physician in Plainweli, Allegan 
County, where he has built up an excellent practice 
bj' strict attention to his business, and has acquired 
the confidence of the people bj' his thorough 
knowledge of the profession which he has adopted 
as his life woik. Dr. Stuck was born in Otsego, 
Allegan County, November 12, 1854. llis father, 
Henry D. Stuck, a native of Seneca County, N. Y., 
emigrated to Michigan and located in Ypsilanti in 
1832. He there learned the carpenter's trade, re- 
maining until twenty-one years of age in that 
place, when in 1854 he removed to Otsego, where 
he lived until his death in 1889, at the age of sixty- 
nine years. He had taken up laud two miles west 
of Otsego, which he cultivated and made into a 
good farm. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Sarah Pratt, was born at Brattlehoro, Yt., and came 
to Michigan with her parents in 1837. She died 
in 1872 when forty-flve jears old. Of their family- 
eleven children are living, our subject being the 
sixth in order of birth, there being fourteen chil- 
dren, thirteen boys and one girl. 

Dr. Stuck received a good education, being 
graduated from the Otsego High School in 1870. 
He learned the trade of a tinner and followed that 
until he began reading medicine, subsequently en- 
tering the Slichigan University at Ann Arbor in 
1878, where he spent one j'ear. He then entered 
the Bennett Eclectic Medical College in Chicago, 
from which he was graduated in 1881. He located 
first at Hopkins, this State, where he remained for 
eighteen months, from there removing to Kent 
Count}', where he resided for five jears. On De- 
cember 17, 188G, he came to Plainweli where he 



has since resided, enjoying a good practice and oc- 
cupying a prominent position in the coramunit}'. 

Dr. Stuck was married in 1878 to Miss Ella 
Engles, of Otsego, and of this union two children 
have been born, Olin and Ora. In politics, our 
subject is a Democrat and while in Otsego was a 
member of the School Board. He h.as been a mem- 
ber of the Yillage Board of this place for two 3'ears 
and was a candidate for County Commissioner. 
Socially, he belongs to the Odd Fellows and the 
Knights of the Maccabees. He belongs to the State 
and National Eclectic Societies, the Kalamazoo 
Academy of Medicine and the Grand River Yalley 
Medical Association. ' 



^^ 



•i'^^^-r 



AMUEL p. AV^ILSON, who is the manager 
of George Hannahs' real-estate and lumber 
il/_ll) business in South Haven, is a pioneer resi- 
dent of this count}', having come here in 
October, 1854. He was born in Seneca County, 
N. Y., July 15, 1835. His parents were Hugh and 
Jeanie (McMaster) Wilson, the father being a na- 
tive of Ireland where he was born near Belfast in 
January, 1800. He was reared a farmer and also 
learned the trade of a stone mason. His wife was 
also a native of Ireland but of Scotch descent. In 
1834 this couple came to the United States and 
first settled in Seneca County, N. Y., removing in 
1843 or 1844 to Wayne County, the same State, 
where be died in July, 1881, his wife having 
passed away in 1872. They reared a family of 
twelve children, nine of whom lived to years of 
maturity. These are: Hugh, Jane, John, James, 
Samuel P., Rosanna, Elinor, Eliz.abeth and Israel. 

Our subject was reared upon a farm and attended 
the district school until the age of seventeen, when 
he commenced teaching, which occupation he fol- 
lowed for thirteen terms, thi'ee of those being in 
New York, two in Illinois and eight in Michigan. 
In the spring of 1854, he came to this State, first 
settling in South Haven where he followed teach- 
ing. He also taught school in Winnebago Count}', 
111.*, and resided in Lee and Ogle Counties, 111. In 
1863, Mr. Wilson quit teaching and engaged in 
the wood and bark trade at South Haven; he served 



1 







PORTR.UT A^D BlOGliArillCAL RECORD. 



355 



as Township Trcasuior fimr years, Supervisor 
oiglit years, and in tlie fall of 1882 was elected 
CV)iinty Kec'order, serving four years in that ottice. 
Since lM)^7 1ic has been in the employ of the Hon. 
(ieorge Hannahs. 

Mr. Wilson was married in December, I8C8, to 
Alice M. 15ro«n. daughter of Samuel and Angelina 
Hrown. She was a native of Winnebago County, 
111., where she was born -"Slay 17. 1842, in which 
county her father was among the early pioneers of 
18H4, and was one of its most substantial farmers. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have three children, Jeanie, 
Samuel II., ami .\ngelina. Mr. AVilson is a stanch 
Kepulilicm and actively interested in everything 
whicli tends to the upbuilding of his town and 
county. lie is a Royal .Vrcli ^lason, having served 
as High I'riesl of the C'hai>ler for two years. He 
is a Director of the First State Bank of South 
Haven and a stockholder in the West Jlichigan 
Savings llank at IJangor. 

Mr. Wilson and his family hold a prominent 
place in the community, in which he bears the 
reputation of a good business man and a public- 
spirited citizen. 



— ■+'i^+ ^S» *•$•*•$•? 




APT. .lAMES S. DONAHUE. No more 
popular man can be found in this part of 
'i'' Michigan than the gentleman whose name 
heads this sketch, and whose portrait is shown on 
the opposite page. iVs keeper of the lighthouse at 
South Haven, he has distinguished himself for brav- 
ery and liesideshas an enviable record as a gallant 
soldier throughout the late war. A short sketch 
of his life will prove interesting, not only to those 
who arc .icquaintetl with him but to others who 
find pleasure in pin-suing the hi>tory of noble 
deeds. 

('ai)l. Donahue is a native of Addison County, 
Vt., and was born March 18, 18fO. His parents, 
Manday and Nellie (Loan) Donahue, were natives 
of Ireland, where their marriage took place. I'pon 
coming to the United Status they settled in Addi- 
son County, Vt., where they died at the ages of 
.sixty-live .and sixty-four years respectively. Of 
their family of seven children six grew to matur- 
16 



ify, namely: Katie, who married James McMann, 
and resides in Middlebury, \'t.; John, a locomotive 
engineer in California; Nellie, who married John 
!McNulty, and died in Worcester, Mass.; Edward, a 
resident of South Haven; James S. and Henry, a 
horse dealer at Wichita, Kan. ^ 

When twelve years old, our subject went on 
board a whaling vessel, sailing from Greenport, 
L. I., via Cape Horn, to the Pacific and Arctic 
Oceans, and other points. Returning after a voy- j 
age of forty-four months, he worked for three^ 
years in a machine sho|i in Lowell, JL-iss., after 
which he came West to Detroit, .^bout that time 
the Civil War broke out and he enlisted in June, 
1861, .as a private of Compan3^ A, Eighth Michigan 
Infantry, serving at different intervals during tlie 
war with Companies A, P. and K, of that regiment. 
Their first engagement was at Hilton's Head, S. C, 
followed by those of Broad River, Ft. Pnhaski, 
Wilmington Island, Bufort Island, Tybee Island, 
and .lames Island, lu the last-named battle he 
was wounded in the shoulder by a grape shot weigh- 
ing one pound and live ounces, which caused his 
conflnemeut in the hospital on David's Island, 
N. Y., for several weeks. 

AVhen he rejoined his regiment, Capt. Donahue 
participated in the battles of Santilla, South Moun- 
tain, Antietam,l"'redericksburg, campaign of A'icks- 
buig, Jackson, Crab Orchard, Cumberland Gap, 
Louden, Blaine's Cross-roads Bull's Gap, Straw- 
berry Plains, Knoxville, Brandy Station and 
the battle of the Wilderness. May 6, 1861, his 
left leg was pierced by a ininie ball and had to bu 
amputated at the thigh, thus disabling him from 
further service. He then resigned and returned to 
Detroit. Entering the service as a ()rivate, Capt. 
Donahue w.as promoted from time to time and in 
1862 was commissioned Captain of Comi)any A, 
with which rank he retired. 

After leaving the service Capt. Donahue re- 
mained in Detroit for some time and then removed 
to Gratiot County, whence in 1871 he came to 
South Haven to accept the appointment of light- 
house keeper, which he h.as since retained and in 
which he li.as made an excellent record. During 
these years he has ]).assed eighty-eight nights in the 
lighthouse, but of all these, one in October, 1882, 



? 



356 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was the worst he ever experienced. On that night 
the Alpena was lost with one liundred and one 
souls on board. Ever3' sea that struck the pier 
went over the top of the lightliouse and every in- 
stant its keeper expected to be his last. His faith- 
ful wife sat by the window of tlieir house all night 
long, watching tlie light and the form of her hus- 
band inside the tower, and his brother walked the 
shore. It was an awful night never to be forgot- 
ten. 

Keeping the light has not been all of his work, 
for until 1887 there was no life-saving station at 
South Haven, and Capt. Donahue was the means 
of rescuing fifteen persons from drowning. For 
this the United States Government presented him 
with a silver medal on one side of which is inscribed, 
"United States of America, act of Congress June 
20, 1874," and on the reverse side, "To Capt. James 
S. Donahue, for bravel}' rescuing several persons 
from drowning in 1875 — 1889." Surrounding 
this is the inscription, "In Testimony of Heroic 
Deeds in Saving Lives from the Perils of the Sea." 
On the evening of his fortj'-sixth birthday, Capt. 
Donahue was called upon b\' fifty-two seamen who 
presented him a gold medal inscribed on one side, 
"Presented to Capt.James S.Donahue by the seamen 
of South Haven, March 18, 1885," on the reverse 
side is an engraving of the lighthouse of South 
Haven. He also has a personal letter fiom the 
late Secretary Windom, saying although there was 
no law to give him a gold medal j-et he should 
have one. Capt. Donahue also has charge of the 
signal station at South Haven and owns a fleet of 
the very best row boats, some twenty in number. 
His residence, which is furnished him by the Gov- 
ernment, is located on the lake shore and there is 
no pleasanter home in South Haven. He owns 
considerable property in the town. 

Politically, Capt. Donahue is a Republican and 
has served two terms as President of the Village 
Board of South Haven, and also as Township 
Treasurer of Seville, Gratiot County, Mich. He is 
a member of the Society of "Comrades of the Battle 
Field," or "Ninety Days Under Fire," and very few 
soldiers have a better record entitling them to 
membership in such a society. Socially, he is a 
member of Blue Lodge, Chapter and Council in 



the Masonic fraternitj', in which bodies he has held 
important offices. He is Post Commander of M. J- 
Dickinson Post,Xo. 345, G. A. R., and o member of 
the Enterprise Club of South Haven. 

Capt. Donahue has been twice married, his first 
union taking place June ] 7, 1872, to Sophia, daugh- 
ter of Adam Oberlin, who was born in Wayne 
County, Ohio, in 1845, and at the time of his mar- 
riage resided in Gratiot Countj', Mich. She died 
July 3, 1875, leaving one son, Edward M., born 
March 17, 1875, who is now on the United States 
Government Boat "Hancock." The second wife 
of Capt. Donahue, to whom he was married April 
19, 1876, was Ann K^me, daughter of Thomas and 
Ann Kyme, who was born in Oswego County, N. 
Y., April 29, 1854, coming to South Haven from 
Pennsylvania in 1874, and residing with a brother. 

The parents of Mrs. Donahue were natives of 
England; the father was born in Hull and the 
mother in Rounds, Northamptonshire. The mother 
came with her grandparents to this country, land- 
ing in the city of Philadelphia, Pa., in 1827. The 
father was mate on the same vessel that brought 
them over, and in that way becanae acquainted 
with his future wife. To the captain and his wife 
five sons have been born, namely: "Walter L., John 
Bagley, Calvin C, James M., and "Watson B. 

Capt. Donahue is exceedingly popular, being a 
genial, warm-hearted- man whose many excellencies 
draw about him a large circle of friends. 




/ILLIAM ORR, a prominent and prosperous 
farmer, residing on section 26, Ganges 
'^'^ Township, Allegan County, was born in 
1826, on board the Brig "Trusty," of London, on 
the Atlantic Ocean. He is a son of Samuel Orr, 
a native of Bath, Ireland, where he was born in 
1802. There he was reared on a farm and 
studied three years for the ministry of the Church 
of England, but he dropped his profession and 
learned the trade of a shoemaker. "While on the 
farm he was married to Sarah McCaeice, a daughter 
of Patrick and Mary (Camson) McCaeice, and the 
mother of ouv subject. Patrick McCaeice was an 



PORTK.MT A^•D BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



357 



innkeeper in Irelantl and well kmiwn in the vicin- 
ity. Tlie parents of Samuel Oir were William and 
Rachel (Wright) Orr, of Ireland, and lived on a 
farm. 

In a few 3'eai-s after the marriage of tlie parent* 
of our subject, they emigrated to America and 
were fourteen weeks on the water in a sailing 
vcisel. The boat drifted north among icebergs, 
and south to the Torrid Zone. All on board 
nearly starved to death before they reached land. 
On landing. Mr. Orr located in New York State 
and two yeai-s later came to Michigan, locating 
lirst in Eaton County. In 1838 he came to Alle- 
gan County and settled in Gun Plains Township, 
but finally went to Saugatuck Township, where he 
died at the age of seventy-one years. WIi'mi a 
young man, this gentleman enlisted in the Scotch 
Grays in the English Arniv. The mother died in 
1886, at the age of eighty-three years. 

Our subject is one of six children, one of whom 
died in infancy. The others are John, IMargaret, 
James, deceased, and Mathew. Oursubject received 
all liis education before ten years of age, but his wide 
range of reading has fitted him to battle with the 
world. He was nothing but a mere lad when his 
father removed to this county, and since then he 
has cared for himself, lie ran aw.-xv from home 
when fourteen years old and went upon the lakes, 
and for nine yeai-s he sailed in the summers and 
worked in the lumber woods in the winters. 

In 1850 ;Mr. Orr was married to Lucy M. Hale, 
(.tnc of four children born to James C. and Martha 
Hale. They are Mrs. Orr, William. .lulia R. and 
James. Ten children liave blessed the fireside of 
our subject and his estimable wife. Three died in 
infancy. William, James and Thomas died before 
reaching manhood. Edward P.; Matliew S.; Lucy 
S., wife of William C'liart. and Julia, wife of An- 
drew Morris, are still living. The mother of th is 
family was called from earth in 1873. Our sub- 
ject was a second time married, taking as his wife 
Jane Mosey. Our subject's first location was on a 
farm in Saugatuck Townsliip, this county. In 
185^1 he purcha.sed a small farm on section 17, 
Ganges Township, which he improved and, in 
187.5. traded it for the farm where he now lives. 

This gentleman enlisted in the defence of his 



country in 18G3, in the Third Jlichigan Cavalry, 
Company E. and w.as attached to the Armj- of the 
West. He fought in many of tlie most important 
battles of the war. the last one being at ^labcl. 
He was very fortunate in never Ijeing wounded 
or taken prisoner. He had three brothers besides 
himself who fought for the old flag, and James was 
the only one wounded, he dying from this injury 
a few years afterward. Our subject is a meml)er 
of the Jacob Fry Post, No. 1!)G, G. A. R., at Ganges, 
and in politics, is a stanch Democrat. 

He h.as probablj' cleared, bj- his own labor and 
money, as much land as any man in Allegan 
Countj-. In tlie last ten years he has cleared five 
hundred acres and has also taken contr.icts and 
built many of the roads. He is known far and 
wide as a rciuitablc and well-to-do farmer. 



— 5- 



^.-iQ i.^, 



'~<S) 



i>-^^<i 



.(g^_^ 



(05==~ 



eHARLES S. MILLS. This prominent farmer 
and fruit-grower of C.asco Township, Alle- 
gan County, is residing on sections 19 and 
24, where he has an exi client farm of seventy-four 
•acres, twenty-five of which he devotes to fruit- 
raising. He was born in Livingston County, IS'. 
Y., in 1848, and is the son of Philo P. and .Sar.ah 
(Justin) Mills. The father of our subject died 
when Charles was but five years of age, and he was 
doubly orphaned the following year by the death 
of his mother. He was then taken into the home 
of his maternal grandparents, the Rev. Ira and 
Sally Justin, who were natives of Connecticut. 

Charles .S. Mills remained with his grandparents 
until ten years of age, when he went to live with 
Samuel Fuller, of Livingston County-, N. Y'., where 
he remained two years, then returned to his grand- 
parents, where he remained one season. He went 
to the family of Danford Stover, in Genesee County, 
and remained with them until reaching his major- 
it}'. Mr. !Mills wius very ambitious to obtjiin a 
good education, and went to school winters after 
reaching his twelfth year, walking a distance of 
man 3' miles. 

Our subject chose the occupation of a farmer 
when starting out in life on his own account, 
having been leared to that vocation, of which he 



358 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



has made a signal success. When establishing a 
home of his own, he was married Januai-y 31, 1872, 
to Miss Rosalia, daughter of William C. and Mary 
A. (Brooker) Johnson, also natives of the Empire 
State. A few years after their marriage the 3'oung 
couple came to Michigan, locating in Clinton 
County, where they remained a twelvemonth. In 
1882 thev came to their present home in Allegan 
County, where Mr. Mills purchased seventy-four 
acres of land, most of which was improved when 
it came into his possession. 

To Mr. and ]\Irs. Mills of this sketch have been 
born four children: William C, James A., Charles 
J. and Ira Juston. Socially, our subject is con- 
nected with the Ancient Order of United Work- 
men, of which order he is a charter member, and 
has been its first ^Master Workman. Politically, he 
is a stanch Republican and has represented his 
township in the oflice of Treasurer. He has also 
held mau3' other positions of responsibilitj', acquit- 
ting himself in a satisfactory manner. He and his 
excellent wife are members in good standing of 
the Baptist Cliurch, and are greatly respected in 
their community. 

UILLIAM PRATT had nearly attained his 
majority when he enlisted in a Michigan 
^^ regiment, and soon went to the front to 
help fight his country's battles. He won an ex- 
cellent military record for good soldiership, and 
since those trying times has shown himself an 
equally good citizen. Allegan is his native county, 
and on his farm on section 15, Blartin Township, 
he is conducting a general farming business. 

Our subject was born in the village of Plainwell, 
March 5, 1843, the sixth child of Hubbard and 
Martha (McBride) Pratt, of whom further reference 
will be found in the sketch of our subject's brother 
Daniel. Our subject had the misfortune to lose 
his mother, her untimely death occurring when he 
was but four years old. He continued to live with liis 
father until he was sixteen, and at that age he be- 
gan life on his own account, his brain and muscle 
his only capital. He worked out by the month on a 
farm in Grand Prairie, Kalamazoo County, for five 



summers, and in the winter seasons devoted his 
time to completing his education in the public 
schools. At the expiration of that time, he worked 
six months in a rake factory at Plainwell. He 
watched the course of the war with patriotic in- 
terest, and in 18G4, the year that he became of 
age, he enlisted in Company B, Eighth IMichigan 
Cavalry. His regiment was at Jackson one month 
after it was recruited, and was then dispatched to 
Nicholasville, Ivy., to assist in militar}' operations 
in that region. Six weeks later it was sent to do 
dut^' at Pulaski, Tenn., from there went to take 
part in the battle of Nashville, and was again active 
in a skii'mish at Columbus. At the expu'ation of 
his term of enlistment for ten months, our subject 
was honorably discharged from the army at Pul- 
aski, Tenn., and was mustered out at Nashville. 

After his exciting experiences of the war, our 
snl)ject returned to his home in Martin Townsliip, 
and settled down to the life to which he had been 
reared, buying a tract of land on section 15, which 
was the first farm that he owned here. He put up 
a small house, and entered vigorously upon the 
work before him of placing his land under culti- 
vation. He lived upon it until 1887, and made 
of it a line place. He then removed to the farm 
upon which he now makes his home. He has here 
two hundred acres of valuable land, of which one 
hundred and twenty acres are under tillage, and 
lie devotes it to general farming purposes, keeping 
from fifteen to twenty head of cattle, seventv-five 
sheep, and other stock in proportion, all of good 
breeds. 

Mr. Pratt was married in Trowbridge Township, 
this county, March 30, 1869, to Emma Eliza, the 
only daughter of William and Caroline (Bradlej') 
Buchannan. She was born in Wayland Township, 
January 21, 1851. Her parents were natives of 
New York, and pioneers of Allegan County. 
When she was two and a half 3-ears old, her father 
went to California, and she was reared b^- her 
grandparents. Dr. David and Eliza Bradley. The 
Doctor was a very prominent man in the township 
of A\^ayland, and was the first Postmaster at the 
village of that name. He kept a hotel on his farm 
at tlie lime the stage ran on the road from Kala- 
mazoo to Grand Rapids. Mrs. Pratt remained 



rORTR.UT AND BIOGRA.PHICAL liECORD 



3G1 



with her grandparents until ten years old, and then, 
her mother marrying- Allen Wells. she went to live 
with them. Her marriage with our subject ha.s 
been hallowed by the birth of two sons and one 
daughter: Frank A., who is attending school at 
Valparaiso; Glen W., also attending school; and 
baby Uubia. 

Our subject is well endowed witii liiose aUril)Utes 
that are necessary to success in any \vall< of life, 
and these have won him the cordial good-will and 
trust of his fellow-citizens. lie has been [)roinincnt 
in school matters, alwaj's evincing a decided inter- 
est in education, and has held the oflices of School 
Treasurer and Si-hool Director. His (lolitics are of 
the Republican order. Socially, he is an active 
member of the Wheeler Post G. A. R., at Martin; 
religiously, he is identified with the Methodist 
Episcopal Church of that village as one of its most 
conscientious members, and he is well known for 
his generosity in contributing to the support of all 
good causes that will in any w.ny enh.ance the wel- 
fare of the coniniiinitv. 



^OHN W. BRIGHAM, an influential citizen 
of Plainwell, was born in ]5oston, ^lass., May 
27, 1K22. His ancestors for nianj' years re- 
sided in New England, and were of English 
extraction. Lyscom Brigham, his grandfather, 
w!is a farmer in his native place, Westboro Town- 
ship, Franklin County, Mass., and there died at the 
age of .seventy-seven. Curtis, father of our sub- 
ject, w.as the eldest among five children, and was 
a native of Franklin County, his liirth occurring 
May 21, 17D3. His school advantages were verj' 
meager, and he left his home in 1S12 lo seek em- 
ployment in Boston. In order to rcacli the city, 
lie was compelled to walk ninety miles, and shoi-tly 
after his arrival secured a (losition on a ship that 
made ti-ips between Boston and the coast of Maine. 
During the third voyage matlc. the shi|) w.as 
tired on and captured by a British gunboat; the 
cargo was taken, anil all the men with one excep- 
tion were put in a leaky boat and .set adrift. For 
twent^'-four hours the}' were on ihe ocean without 



food, and one man w.as kept busy all the time at 
the piimps m order to keep the boat from sinking. 
I'iiially the exhausted casta waj's reached Bath, Me., 
and were reseiied from threatened death. Mr. 
Brigham returned to Boston, where he soon opened 
a small shoe-shop and w.as successful at his trade. 
About that time he was manied, August 14, 1817, 
to Lydia Woodbury, a native of Salem, Mass. 

In 18.'3.'5, Mr. Brigham determined to come West 
to Michigan, and, proceeding by w.ay of the lakes 
to Detroit, walked from that city to Gull Prairie, 
Kalamazoo County, to prospect for a location. 
The outlook was .so favorable that he returned 
East, and on October .30, 1834, started with his 
wife and ten children for their future home in 
Western Michigan. The journey w.as made over- 
land in a covered wagon drawn by three horses, 
and, crossing Canada, the little party arrived at 
Gull Prairie, December 10. Their first home was 
in a log cabin containing only one room, but the 
spring following their arrival, they removed to 
Gnu Plain, Allegan C'ountj', where they made their 
home in a l(ix2()-foot house. That w.as the first 
frame building put up in the vicinitj', and the 
lumber was fastened in i)lace with wooden pegs. 
Within, the furiiilure was meager, consisting mainly- 
of :i l.ilile and two home-made chairs. 

The father rented eighty acres of land until the 
fall of 1835, when he entered one hundred and 
sixt3^ acres of heavily timbered Government land 
situated in Gun Plain Township. During the sum- 
mer of the following year, he moved into a log 
house on that place, and in the midst of a thickly 
wooded country, ^vllel•e Indians and wild animals 
were nunierous. the succeeding years were p!u<sed 
ill ;nduoiis toil. A zealous Christian, Mr. Brigham 
had been licensed to iireach prior to leaving the 
E.ast, and, upon coming to Allegan County, found 
that no religious meetings had been held here up 
to that lime. Accordingly, he invited his neigh- 
bors to meet in the little log.schoolhouse on March 
8, 183.5. At the appointed time tive persons were 
present and listened to a sermon from Jlr. Brig- 
ham. ( )n -May 1 (t, of the same year, a .Sunday-school 
was organized with fourteen memters. Through 
his efforts the first Baptist society in the county 
was organized, December 26, 1835. 



362 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1 



Through all the j^ears of his pioneer life, Mr. 
Brighani continued to do everything in his power 
for the good of his fellow-men, and was widely 
known and respected. AVhen the first church was 
erected in the county, he was invited to preach 
the dedicatory sermon; he also officiated at manj' 
funerals. His death in 1872, at tlie age of seventj'- 
nine .years, was sincerely mourned and called forth 
testimonies of regard from his large circle of ac- 
quaintances. His wife, who was also a devoted 
member of tlie Baptist Church, survived until the 
fall of 1877, and attained to the good old age of 
eight3'-seven 3ears. 

Our subject was the third in a familj' of ten chil- 
dren, seven of whom are now living. He remained 
at home until he was twenty-three, and in the 
meantime received a meager education, his entire 
schooling covering a period of not more than nine- 
teen months. Upon starting out for himself, he 
bought a tract of land six miles north of Plainwell, 
and built a log cabin, 10x15 feet, upon the place. 
Two }'ears after settling there, he built a more 
commodious structure, where his sister Ivcpt house 
for him about two 3-ears. Working out by the day, 
he accumulated enough money to buy five calves 
and twenty lambs, and thus a beginning was made. 
After spending four years in improving his farm, 
he sold it and cultivated his father's place on 
shares. 

Two years after taking charge of his father's es- 
tate, he purchased forty acres of it and added 
thereto, until, when he sold it in 1868 for I? 100 per 
acre, he owned sixty acres. His farm was one of 
the best improved in the county, and he intro- 
duced all modern improvements in its cultivation; 
he also sowed and raised the first red clover in the 
county. He removed to Plainwell in 1868, where 
he built his present commodious residence. He 
has been administrator for a large number of es- 
tates, among them that of his brother-in-law, the 
settlement of which required six 3'ears. 

In 1849, our subject was married to Mary Ann 
Fox, who was born in Sussex, England, July 8, 
1825, and came to America in 1846, in compan3' 
with a cousin. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Brigham have tiav- 
eled cxtensivel3', and spent about one j'ear in Cali- 
fornia, going there in June, 1875, and returning 



home in April of the following 3'ear. In his pol- 
itics, Mr. Brigham has always been a strong Repub- 
lican. He served as Highwa3' Commissioner for 
twelve years, Notary Public for eight 3-ears, and 
has filled the various school offices. He and his 
estimable wife are identified with the Baptist 
Church, in which he has served as Deacon for 
forty years, and as Superintendent of the Sunda3- 
school for twentj'-six years. 

In this connection the reader will notice a litho- 
graphic portrait of JMr. Brigham. 



' OHN P. WADE. Education ma3- do much 
for a man, but it is an old saving that wit 
and gumption are the most important fac- 
^_ tors in making a man. He of whom we 
write is not lacking in these qualities, and b3' virtue 
of these he lias made his way in the world and 
attained to his present prominent and enviable 
position. He is truly the architect of his own 
fortune and is a self-made man, both in education 
and financial standing. Beginning at the foot of 
the ladder, he is now one of the most popular, 
prominent and euterijrising men in Ganges Town- 
ship, Allegan County. He has a fine farm on .sec- 
tion 11, whidi he devotes largely to the raising of 
fruit, of which he has some splendid varieties. 

John P. Wade was born on the Atlantic coast 
in Massachusetts in 1822 and is the son of Snell 
and Deborah Wade. His father, who was also a 
native of tlie Bay State, was the son of a 
sea captain. Snell Wade learned the cooper's 
trade, which occupation he followed the greater 
portion of his life. His father dying when he 
was quite 3'oung, he was compelled to support his 
mother, so that his educational advantages were 
limited. He worked at his trade in different parts 
of Massachusetts and finallj' purchased a farm 
near Lancaster, where he was very prominent in 
local affairs. 

The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
Deborah R., a daughter of Richmond and Leaf3' 
.Jacobs, and by her union with Mr. Wade she became 
the mother of five children, one of whom died 
when 30ung. The remainder of the family were 



1i 



POKTliAJT AND BlOGlLVrillCAL RECORD. 



363 



named Perez; Leafy, now deceased; Knell 0., 
and Jolin 1'., our subject. Snell Wade stood very 
high in the order of Masonry and in politics wijs 
a Wliijj. Tlie latter years of i\is life wci'e spent at 
liis old home on the coast. 

The original of this skctcli was given an excel- 
lent education in his native State, and, a[>prcciatiiig 
the value of a knowledge of books, made tlic best 
of his opportunities, and is to-day a cultured and 
intelligent gentleman. lie began iu life on his 
own re.-ponsibility when nineteen years of age, b^' 
acting as clerk in a dry-goods store in Lancaster, 
Mass. He followed that occupation for several 
years iu different parts of the liay .State, previous 
to which, however, he worked in a shingle mill for 
his father a few years. 

Li \XH John P. Wade came to Allegan, where 
there were only two stores ou the site of that now 
thriving village. Tie then went to the mouth of 
the Kalamazoo River, where he was engaged m 
selling goods, but for the first si.\ months did not 
realize much from his labors, .as the firm ho was 
working for became bankrupt. Our subject was 
then employed in different stores of Saugatuck for 
the succeeding ten jears, at the end of which time 
he engaged in business on his own account, under 
the style of J. P. Wade & Co., doing a general 
merchandise business. 

After disposing of his mercantile interests, Mr. 
Wade, in 1858, bought a seventy-two-acre tract of 
wild land in Ganges Township on which he lives 
at the present time. He erected a plank house ou 
his property-, 16x24 feet in dimensions, which later 
gave way to tlie commodious and pleasant dwelling 
which ranks among the best in the townshiji. All 
the improvements ou his place liave been the result 
of his own perseverance and good judgment. The 
first few years of life on his new farm, ^Ir. Wade 
was engaged as book-keeper for a firm in Kalama- 
zoo, lie also taught school in his township.at one 
time having five of his own cliildron among the 
pupils. 

Wlicn twenty-four years of age, lie of whom we 
write w.as married to .Sarali A., daughter of Kzekiel 
Oilman, and of their union one ciiild, a daughter, 
Lottie, li.as been born, .\fter the death of Mrs. 
Wade, our subject married Sarali S. IJarnes, the 



daughter of .Tolin and Melissa (Parish) Barnes. 
Nine children iiave been granted to them, who bear 
the respective names of Viola, Linda, Willard, 
Theodosia, Sarah, Leafy; Mary, deceased; Josepli- 
ine, and ,K>hn P., Jr. 

Mr. Wade, of this sketch, is a member of several 
different social orders, among which are tlie Free 
and Accepted .Masons, of which he has attained to 
the Royal .Vicli Degree of Allegan Lodge, No. 50; 
he also belongs to Blue Lodge, No. 19.'!, of Douglas, 
where he is a charter member; the Odd Fellows of 
Fennvillc and the Patrons of Industry. He 
belongs to several temperance societies and in pol- 
itics is independent in local affairs luit in National 
elections casts his vote for the Republican candi- 
dates. Mr. Wade is very popular in his township 
and has been called upon to .serve in numerous 
responsible positions. \\'e are jileased to be able 
to present to our readers a sketch of so worthy a 
gentleman. 



^ ADISON MILLER, who is carrying on 
general farming on sections 16 and 22, 
Lb Monterey Township, Allegan County, 
where he owns one hundred and seven- 
teen acres of highly improved l.-ind, is an early 
settler of Michig.an, of which his parents were 
pioneers. He is a son of Ira and Lydia (Graves) 
Miller, who were natives of the State of New York. 
They came to Jlichigan in the '20s, and located iu 
Macomb County, where our subject was born Jan- 
uary 5, 1832. After residing in this State for a 
short time, they returned to New York State, thence 
coming to Illinois, and in 1845 to this county, 
where the father took up one hundred and sixty 
acres of Government land ou section 14,Montere3' 
Township. 

The subject of this sketch had a very limited 
education, but he was quick and bright, and had a 
natural turn for business affairs, which he used to 
good advantage, and has made a succes.s of what- 
ever he lias engaged in. He has spent almost his 
entire life upon a farm, and is now enjoying the 
re-sults of his industry and per.severance. 

Mr. Miller wa> united in marriage, December 18, 



364 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1859, with Elizabeth Porter, a daughter of Eliphalet 
Porter, who was a native of the Empire State, but 
removed to New Hampshire where Mrs. Miller was 
born. Three children have been born to our sub- 
ject and his wife, as follows: Delora, who married 
Tell M_yers and died Ma.y 24, 1888, at the age of 
twenty-nine years; she left one daughter, May, 
who resides with her grandparents. Georgia, who 
resides at home, has been carefully educated in the 
district and the Allegan High Schools; Gu}' was 
born September 2, 1868, and married Miss Cora 
Bishop. He also was educated in the Allegan 
High School, and lives upon the home farm, assist- 
ing his father in carrying on the same. ]\Ir. Miller 
atHliates with the Kepuljlican party, but has never 
aspired to any political honors, his time being 
fullj^ occupied in looking after his own affairs. 
The family are highly respected and esteemed and 
have a lara;e circle of friends. 



*■ ANNIBAL HART. The subject of this 
sketch, who holds the position of Pros- 




ecuting Attorney for Allegan County, is 
5^^ a prominent citizen of Allegan, who is held 
in high esteem for his personal qualities and also 
for his excellent record as a gallant soldier during 
the late war. He was born in the Province of 
Quebec, July 3, 1839, and is a son of Nathaniel and 
Almira (Pierce) Hart, natives of New Hampshire 
and Canada, respectively. His father was a far- 
mer and lumberman by trade, who came to Michi- 
gan in 1839, settling in Otsego Township, Allegan 
County, of which he was a pioneer. He purchased 
wild land, which he cleared off and on which he 
lived during the remainder of his life. He held 
the office of Assessor of Otsego Township, and 
was a prominent man in his section of the country. 
In his early days he was a Democrat, but was bit- 
terly opposed to human slavery and joined the 
Abolition party, later becoming a Republican. He 
and his wife were the yjarents of seven children, of 
whom four are living, namely: Hannibal; Mrs. 
Andrew Thornton, of Otsego, this countj^; Milo, a 
farmer in Otsego Township; Willard, a resident 



of Hart, Oceana County, this State. The grand- 
father of our subject was a native of New Hamp- 
shire and was an old Revolutionary soldier who 
served throughout the war. Later he became a 
farmer in Canada, where he lived and died, having 
reared a large family. 

Our subject was educated in the district and 
High Schools of Otsego Township, and afterward 
taught one term at Trowbridge. He remained upon 
his father's farm until twenty-two years of age. He 
then read law for one year with Judge Williams, 
of Allegan, after which the Civil War breaking 
out, his patriotism overpowered every other 
consideration and in August, 1862, he enlisted in 
Company I, Fifth Michigan Cav.alry, for three years, 
or during the War. His command was mustered 
in at Detroit, whence they were sent to Washing- 
ton and became a part of the Armj-of the Potomac. 

JMr. Hart was made Commissary-Sergeant while 
at Detroit. His regiment was in the Custer Bri- 
gade and Kilpatrick Divison (Cavalry) and took 
part in twenty different battles. The first engage- 
ment in which Mr. Hart took part was at Hanover, 
Pa., June 30, 1863, and the second at Gettysburg, 
July 3, of the same year. He afterwards partici- 
pated in the following battles: Montgomery, 
Hagerstown, Williamsport, Boonsboro, Snicker's 
Gap, Ashby Gap, Newbuiy Cross Roads, Culpeper 
Courthouse, Brandy Station, and Bucklin Mills. 
At the latter place he was wounded by a shell, 
which broke his left arm, and he was in the hospi- 
tal for three months at Washington, being dis- 
charged from there the 1.5th of Januaiy, 1864. 

At the close of his service in the army, Mr. Hart 
returned home and became a student in the Law 
Department of the University of Michigan, from 
which he was graduated in 1866, and the same 
year was admitted to practice in the State Supreme 
Court and later in the United Slates Court. After 
his graduation he was elected County Clerk, serv- 
ing two terms of two years each. He then formed 
a law partnership with F. J. Littlejohn, under the 
firm name of Littlejohn tfe Hart, which continued 
for some j^ears. He was afterward associated 
with A. H. Fenn, the firm being known by the 
name of Fenn &, Hart and later as Pope ife Hart, 
which latter partnership existed for some twelve 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



367 



3'eai'S. Mr. Hart was a member of the School Board 
for some years and also served as President of the 
village of Allegan. He was elected to his present 
otlice in 18U()aud has filled it witli ci'edit to him- 
self and to the satisfaction of the pulilic. 

l\Ir. Il.irlwas married in April, 18(50, to Jliss 
I'risc'iila M. Parsons, of Wayne County, N. Y. They 
have one ciiild, Grace, who is a graduate of the 
High School. ]\Ir. Hart lias a fine farm, two and 
one-half miles from town, and a beautiful home on 
Crescent Street, which is the resort of a large circle 
of friends, who are most hospitalily entertained by 
his estimable wife and daughter. All the family 
are memliers of the Episcopal Church in which 
they hold an inlluential place. In [Kilitics, Mr. 
llart is a Democrat and socially, he belongs to the 
Masons, Knights of P^'thias, and Grand Army of 
the Republic, 



-=l-^+^§-- 



_® 




UFUS M. BROWN. The gentleman whose 
life sketch and portrait we here present has 
been for many years a resident of Blooni- 
^^^ ingdale, where he is honored as one of its 
representative citizens. He comes of old English 
stock, who earlj' emigrated to this country and to 
whose record he can point with pride, his immedi- 
ate ancestors being brave soldiers in the AVar of 
the Revolution. He has also, himself, proved his 
valor upon the field of battle, and is a worthy de- 
scendant of his patriotic forefathers. 

The grandfather of our subject, Thomas Brown, 
who w.as the son of .James Brown, was born in 
England, and came to Massachusetts with his fa- 
ther in the early Colonial days. He served during 
the Revolutionary War, and was a Sergeant under 
Ethan Allen at the battle of Ticondcroga. He was 
a wheelwright by trade. He married Jane McXett, 
who was born in Scotland, and of their union five 
sons and four daughters were born. He afterward 
removed to Seneca County, N. Y., arriving there 
.January 1, 1800, and settled ui)on a soldier's claim, 
which he cleared and improved, and where he lived 
initil his death at the age of sixty-four. His wife 
survived until seventy-eight years of age. They 
were membei-s of the Baptist Church, and a most 



worthy couple. He held the office of Justice of the 
Peace for some time. 

Rufus Brown, the father of our subject, was born 
in Rutland, Vt., January 17, 1787, and lived in 
Seneca County, N. Y., until the summer of 18^1 
when he removed to I\Iicliigan, settling in Ypsi- 
lanti, where he died in 18,01. His wife, who was 
born February 2.3, 1797, died in June, 1881. The 
father was a millwright by trade, and served as 
a dnunmer in the War of 1812. He held the of- 
fice (if Justice of the Peace and other minor posi- 
tions. In religion he was a I'niveisalist, while his 
wife w.as a Baptist. They had a family of nine 
ciiildren, of whom two sons and five daughters 
grew to maturity, namely: Rufus "SL; Charles, who 
served in the late war .as .Sergeant in Company A, 
Third Michigan Cavalr_y; Ruby, Margaret, Susan, 
Eliza and Mary. The mother of our subject was 
born in Cayuga County, N. Y. Her parents were 
Thomas and Margaret (McKiiiiiey) O'Dell, her 
father being a native of Holland, and the mother, 
of Ireland. jNIr. O'Dell was a farmer by occupa- 
tion and served in the War of 1812. 

The subject of this sketch was born May 13, 
1816, in Faj-ette, Seneca County, N. Y. He re- 
ceived a common-school education, .and learned the 
trade of a wheelwright with his father. When 
twenty-three ^-ears old, he began working for him- 
self, following his trade until 1856 where he re- 
moved to Michigan, .settling in Bloomingdale in 
18.04, when he bought eighty acres of land in sec- 
tion IG, and cut down the fii-st tree ever felled 
where the village now stands. He has sold all of 
his land but six lots. In 1855 he built a sawmill 
here which he operated for six j-ears. He was elec- 
ted Justice of the Peace in the spring of 1855 and 
served twenty-one years. AVhen the war broke 
out, .Mr. Brown enlisted in Company A, Third 
]Michigan Cavalry, being elected First Lieutenant, 
but resigned about two months later. 

Mr. Brown married Lucretia Melvin. a daughter 
of John Melvin, and a native of Burton, Ohio. Of 
the union four children were born: (ieorge, who 
died when twenty-eight yeai-s of age; Math ias, who 
died at eight years; .Mice, wife of .Milfred (iilltert, 
and Eddie, who also died when eight years old. 
The mother of these children who was a most esti- 



368 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



mable woman, and a member of the Disciple Church, 
died in November, 1875. Mr. Brown has served as 
Notary Public for twelve years, is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, and a stanch Democrat. He 
relates some interesting stories of his life in the 
early days of Bloomingdale. In 1856 he put up a 
store which was the first one erected in the place, 
and there sold the first yard of calico and the first 
pound of tea ever sold in the village. Indians were 
still living in the vicinity and he carried on quite 
an extensive trade with them. He witnessed the 
ceremony which united in marriage the son of 
Chief Bear of the Pottawattomie tribe and the 
daughter of Chief Kinewhip, of Canada. 



€^ 



'^' OHN C. FOX, who has a beautiful home on 
his farm on section 17, Allegan Township, 
is entitled to a high place among the pioneers 
of Central Michigan, of which he was a res- 
ident several years prior to settling in Allegan 
Countj^ He was born in the town of Byron, Gen- 
esee County, N. Y., in 1820. His parents were Dr. 
Cliauncey D. and Rosanna (Lenox) Fox, who were 
natives of Onondaga County, N. Y. His father 
was a physician of some repute, and was also a 
farmer. In 1842 he removed with his familj^ to 
Michigan, and settled among tlie pioneers of the 
township of Burns, in Shiawassee County, where 
he followed his profession and farmed until his 
death deprived his community of one of its most 
valued and honored citizens. He was a man of 
large public spirit, and, notwithstanding his" pro- 
fessional labors and the care of his farm occupied 
a great deal of his time, he accepted the office of 
Highway Commissioner, and w.as instrumental in 
the improvement of the traveling facilities of his 
section. He and his wife reareil a family of eleven 
children to maturity, eight of whom are now liv- 
ing, namely: Cliarles L., Robert L., Sarah, our sub- 
ject, George, Lucy, Albert and Mary. 

.lohn C. Fox, of this biogra[)hical review, received 
a sound education in the schools of his native 
county, and taught school one term after he came 
to Michigan. He was reared on a farm, early be- 
came expert in agricultural pursuits, and at the age 



of sixteen, desiring to be independent and to make 
his own way in the world, he sought a situation as 
a farm hand, and worked out until he came to 
Michigan in 1842, in the month of October. He 
spent the ensuing six years in Shiawassee County, 
and then he purchased timber land, comprising 
three different farms, that he opened up and after- 
ward sold at a good price. He subsequently went 
to Clinton Countj', and bought forty-five acres of 
land, to which he added fortj' acres adjoining at a 
later period, buj'ing it of the Government. He 
cleared thirty-five acres of the whole tract, and 
then disposed of it at a good advance on the orig- 
inal cost. His next move was to an eighty-acre 
tract, three miles distant, two acres of which were 
cleared. He cut off sixty-eight acres of timber on 
that farm, and in the comfortable home that he 
built up there lived thirty-five years. In 1883 he 
sold that place and purchased his present farm in 
Allegan Township. This comprises one hundred 
and four acres of valuable farming land, and, with 
its fine set of farm buildings, and all the modern 
appliances for carrying on agriculture, is one of 
the model farms of this localit^y. Mr. Fox has 
given his son charge of the farm, and has built 
for himself another dwelling upon it, which is a 
handsome residence, standing nearer the street than 
the farmhouse. 

Mr. Fox was united in marriage in 1849, to Miss 
Caroline M. Richmond, of Green Bush, Clinton 
County'. She was born at Leroj\ N. Y., a daughter 
of Pieserved and Maiy (Luther) Richmond, who 
bad nine children, of whom she is the only survivor. 
She is a lad^y of rare culture and literary attain- 
ments, and was formerly eng.iged in the profiission 
of teaching in this State. She and our subject 
have a family of four children: Franklin B., who 
married Miss Lizzie Cook, and they have one child, 
■Palmer J.; Frances L., who has one son, Clifford; 
Milton A., who married Miss Celia Judd, and has 
two children, Grace and Clare; and Florence E. 

Our subject possesses an independent, energetic, 
decisive character, and has always been a force in 
any community where he has lived. He has 
aclivelj' assisted in the administration of public 
affairs as an incumbent of various responsible 
offices, such as that of Supervisor and School In- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



369 



spector, and has alwa^ys thrown the weight of his 
inrtiicnce to secure local improvenieuts. lie is a 
member of the (irauge, and is deeply interested in 
its advancement. Politically, he is a prominent 
Democrat of the township. 



3'?*"l*'5*'l*;i 



^.•{•♦■{••{•l; 



^l***-!-*^^ **++!= 



1^ ARSIIALL BUGDEN, a rcprcscntativc 
/// ' IV fanner on section 15, Casco Township, 
jlj lii Allegan County, is a native of the Mother 
* Country. He was born JIarch 11, 183'J, 

near Sutton, Kent County, England, to John and 
.Marv (Crisp) Bugden, both natives of the same 
place as their son. The father was reared in his 
native place on a farm, and to him and his wife 
were born ten children, our subject being the 
youngest. ^larshall Bugden remained in the place 
of his birth until nineteen years of age, when he 
came to the United States and located in Kosciusko 
County, liid., where he worked until llie breaking 
out of the war. 

Our subject enlisted in the defense of his 
adopted country in 1861, in Company B, Forty- 
fourtii Indiana Tnfantr\'. He was with the Army 
of the Cumberland, and fought in many of the 
most important battles, namely-: Pittsburg Land- 
ing, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Ft. Donel- 
son, Stone River and Chickamauga. This gentleman 
was fortunate in never having received a wound 
nor was he taken prisoner during his service. He 
re-cnlisted in 186;3 in the same company, and 
served gallantly until the close of the war. 

On returning from the war, Mr. Bugden pur- 
ciiased eigiity acres of land in Ganges Township, 
this county. The land was covered with a dense 
forest and he at once set to work and improved a 
portion of it. In 1870 he sold it and purchased 
eighty acres of his present farm, and afterward 
purchased one hundred and twenty- acres on sec- 
tion 1 of this township. His farm was all unim- 
proved when he settled on it, and by his own 
industrious labor he has ninety' acres under tlie plow, 
besides ten acres which are set in fruit. He h.as 
gained his farm and all that he (assesses by his 
own hands, for wiien he arrived in the United 
Stales he had but a few dollars in his pocket, and 
he miijht well be termed a self-made man. 



In 1866 Mr. Bugden married Helen Chaplin, a 
daughter of M. P. and Sarah A. (Morris) Chaplin, 
natives of New York and Ohio, respectivelj-, .and 
verj- early pioneers in Kosciusko County, Ind., 
locating there before their marriage in 18.30. 
To this worthy couple six children Jiave been born, 
one dying in infancj': Edith, Rose, Bert, Marian 
and Jennie. Edith died when fourteen years old. 
Our subject is a member of Zach Chandler Post, 
G. A. R., and is also a member of the Patrons of 
Husbandry. He and his wife have been members 
of the Grange for eighteen years. Mr. Bugden was 
Supervisor of his township for six years, and has 
held many responsible and minor offices of his town- 
ship. He was also Assessor of his School District 
fifteen years. Himself and familj- are prominent 
in the social circles of the communitj-. 




EXRY BIRD, Postmaster of Douglas, Allegan 
County, is one of the leading citizens and 
business men of the pl.ace. Besides his 

©; duties as Postmaster, he gives his attention 
to conducting a drug store which is one of the 
best in the village. Henry Bird was born in Wash- 
tenaw County, this State, .January 7, 1843. His 
parents were Henry and Desiah (Van House) Bird, 
natives of New York State. 

Our subject was two years of age when his 
parents went to AVheaton, 111., where he grew to 
manhood and received a good education in the 
common schools, and at AVheaton College. In 
1866 he came to .\llcgan County, and in 1878 
entered into the drug business, and at the jiresent 
time is a registered pharmacist. 

Nt)vember U), 1869, Henry Bird was happily 
married to Ellen S. Collins, a native of Lockport, 
HI. That union has been blest by the birth of six 
children: Frederick H., Edith, Harold; Helen, who 
isdeceased; Leon and Kenneth M. In his political 
relations, our subject is a thorough Republican, 
and socially is a member of the Knights of Honor 
and Van Aredale Post, No. 148, G. .\.R. In May, 
186:5, he resi)onded to his country's call and en- 
listed in Company II, One Hundred and Forty-first 



370 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Illinois Infantry. His regiment formed a part of 
the Army of the Tennessee, and our subject en- 
dured all the hardsliips and privations of war 
until 1865, when he received his honorable dis- 
charge. He is very prominent in local affairs in 
liis township, and is Secretarj' of the Pomological 
Society, in which position he has served for three 
years. He is one of the enterprising fruit- growers 
of this section, and in all his undertakings has 
been more than ordinarily successful. 






m>-^<i 



(piv— 



jy? OVETT EAMES. The early life of this 
I /?S) pioneer of Kalamazoo was a struggle against 
j ILAV^ adverse circumstances, but with indomitable 
will and unfaltering trust, he kept the even tenor 
of his way, and his last years were brightened by 
the consciousness of a well-spent life, with some- 
thing done for humanity. 

Born in Rutland, Jefferson County, N. Y., April 
22, 1810, our subject was the son of Daniel and 
MoUie (Wight) Eames, members of old New Eng- 
land families, whose ancestors settled at Dedham, 
Mass., at an early day. The first representative 
of the Eames familj' in America was Thomas Eames, 
who emigrated from England in 1620, settling 
in Dedham ten j'ears later, and building a house 
there which was burned by the Indians during 
King Philip's war. 

Lovett Eames was the thirteenth and joungest 
child in the parental family, and his youthful da\'S 
were passed in the Empire Slate. In 1833 became 
to Michigan, spending one year in Jackson County, 
and then settling in Grand Prairie, Kalamazoo 
County, where he continued farming operations 
four years. He was married, June 23, 1835, in 
Adams, N. Y., to Miss Lucy C. Morgan, who was 
born in Watertown, N. Y., June 22,1811. Her 
parents were the Rev. Elisha and Policy (Babcock) 
Morgan, natives of Connecticut, and descendants 
of three brothers who emigrated from Wales and 
settled in different parts of the United States. 

In 1834 Mrs. Eames came to Ann Arbor to visit 
her brother, E. W. Morgan, and while teaching 
there met the gentleman whom she soon afterward 
married. After residing four j'ears on their farm. 



the young couple located in Kalamazoo and pur- 
chased the place where the widow now resides. No. 
775 W. South Street. The first work of Mr. Eames 
was the manufacture of wooden pumps, in connec- 
tion with which he conducted a chair and bedstead 
factory. 

Having naturall}' a mechanical mind, Mr. Eames 
turned his attention to the invention of appliances, 
and his first one was a mortising machine for hubs. 
He also invented an engine for use in raising water, 
and a grain meter for measuring grain passing 
through elevators. While he neitlier sold nor man- 
ufactured his patents, he was constantly perfecting 
some machine, and continued in that line until his 
death, September 6, 1863, when he was flft3'-three 
years old. He had also purchased considerable 
real estate, and sold town lots, the college standing 
on a part of his original tract. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Eames are as 
follows: Elisha D., of Watertown, N. Y.; Lucia A., 
who married II. F. Blount, of Washington, D. C; 
Fred W., deceased; Wilfred, a manufacturer of 
pumps in Ypsilanti, this State; Judson M., who 
died when ten years old; Gardner T., who is a 
manufacturer at Chattanooga, Tenn.; Charles B., 
who is conducting a loan and collection agency at 
St. Louis, Mo., and Nellie D., wlio is the wife of 
C. DeGraff, of Evansville, Ind. 

Mrs. Eames still occupies the old homestead. 
She has been active in ladies' societies and attends 
the Presbj^terian Church, of which she has been a 
liberal supporter. Since the organization of the 
Ladies' Library Association, she has been actively 
identified with its growth, and has never shirked 
when duty called for her assistance. Every enter- 
prise where woman's brain and hands have been 
necessary has found in her a champion, and she 
is to-day a lovely, cultured ladj-, whom it is a 
pleasure to know. 

The children have been imbued with much of 
the inventive genius which characterized their 
father, and all but one of the sons have been 
granted letters-patent for some labor-saving in- 
vention. Fred W., whose inventive genius car- 
ried liim back to the old homestead in New York, 
Jjecame interested in patents covering safetj' brakes 
for railway service, and was connected with their 



PORTILUT AND BIOGRArilTfAL KKCORl). 



371 




nianiifacfuro and sale. lie met witli nmeli oppo- 
sition fniin niDiiied corporations, whose products 
were infriugenients iiptin his patents, and struggled 
unceasingly to jterpetuate his rights. He was 
killed in 1 88:5, at the earl\- age of thirty-nine, by 
a ni.ui who iiad formerly been befriended liy him 
liut who was endeavoring to wrest from iiim tlie 
products of energy and toil. During the Civil 
War lie h;ul onli,-U'(l under llic gallant Va\)i. May, 
for service, and was the second man in Kalamazoo 
who enlisted. 

\., YER C. PUTNAM. This honored gcntle- 
11/ man is one of tlie leading merchants in 
the tiiriving little village of Douglas, 
Allegan County. He launcheil out in his 
present business in 18G(> and since that time has 
made a signal success of his undertaking, being 
gentlemanly and courteous in all tiis dealings. His 
parents were Dyer and Lucy (Conger) Putnam, 
natives of Connecticut and New York, respect- 
ively. 

The subject of this sketch is a native of the 
Empire State, having been born in Osw^ego County, 
December 20, 1843. Young D^'er was onl}- eight 
years old when his parents removed to South Bend, 
Ind. There his father died, and he remained with 
his mother,caring for her until reaching his major- 
ity. The limited circumstances of the family ])n'- 
vented him from lieing given many advantages in 
the way of an education, but he was very bright 
and quick to learn and is to-day intelligent and 
well read. 

In 18(),5 Dyer C. Putnam came to Douglas, Alle- 
gan County, and the succeeding year started in 
business in the same building which he occupies at 
the present time. He was very popular among his 
fellow-townsmen and was honored with the posi- 
tion of Postmaster, being the first in the village, 
which office he held for twenty years. His mar- 
riage with Catherine .1. Enoch tc»ok place in 1872. 
Mrs. Putnam w.as born near Hoekford, 111., and was 
the daughter of Hon. A. J. and Catherine (Davis) 
Enoch. Her union with our sul)ject lias been 
blessed with the birth of lour children: R.ali)h E., 



Ethel, Dyei' C., Jr., and Ila/.el O., all of wliom are 
at home with their parents and are receiving tlie 
training which will make of them good and useful 
citizens. 

The gentlcniiin of whom wc write has been very 
active in the development of various enterprises in 
Dougl.as and is a stock-holder in the Douglas ^lan- 
ufacturing Company, also acting in the capacity 
of Treasurer of that company. In politics he easts 
his vote and inllucnce for Uepublican candidates, 
and .sociall}' is a member of Dutchess Lodge, A. !•". 
& A. M., No. 193. .\t the present writing he is 
AVorshipful ^Master in that order, and a Trustee of 
the Congregational Chui'ch, in which he and his 
family are active members, from the date of its or- 
ganization. His interest in education is manifested 
b^' the fact that he has been on the School I'.oai'd for 
fifteen years; he has also been connected with the 
Village Hoard and held the various town offices. 
All in all, he is one of the leading citizens of Doug- 
las and wc are pleased to lie able to present his 
sketch to our readers. 



ARRY A. WALKER. It gives us pleasure to 
jf)f inscribe on these pages the life record of 
this venerable pioneer of Allegan County, 
who settled here when Michigan was a Ter- 
ritory, and when Nature had fidl sway in the track- 
less forests and on the lonely [iiairies of this re- 
gion, and who labored hard with his fellow-pioneers 
to redeem the rich virgin S(jil of this part of the 
country from its original wildness. Oiu' subject 
was one of the first to settle in Martin Township, 
locating on section 22, where he cleared a fine 
farm from the woods, and is now comfortalily pass- 
ing the sunset of life, living retired from active 
business in the pleasant home that he built upon it 
when he was in the [U'ime of manhood. 

Mr. Walker was born in the town of Ilighgate, 
I-Vanklin County, Vt, May G, 1811. His father, 
John Walker, was also a native of the Clreen 
Mdiintaiii State. He was a son of James Walker, 
who was of Sicotch birth and antecedents. He 
came to An;erica when a young man, and during 



372 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the Revolution cast in his lot with his fellow-col- 
onists to free his adopted countr}- from British op- 
pression. He enlisted in the Continental army as 
a private, and was promoted for meritorious con- 
duct in battle to the rank of Corporal. In one of 
the battles in which he was engaged he -was 
wounded in the hip by a musket Imll. The old 
hero lived to be seventy years old. He was a 
prominent man in his time in that part of Vermont 
where he settled. Our subject's maternal grand- 
father, Jeremiah Brewer, was also a brave soldier 
in the Revolutionary War, and he sacrificed his life 
for the cause, dying from the effects of a wound 
caused by a ball from an enemy's musket, while 
he was fighting at the front in one of the hotly- 
contested battles of that war. 

At the age of twenty-one, .John Walker left the 
hills and valleys of his native State and betook 
himself to Quebec, Canada, where he worked in a 
ship-yard some three j-ears. Returning to "\'er- 
mont at the end of that time, he began business as 
a general farmer. He married Hannah Brewer, 
who was also a native of that State, and they re- 
moved to Lower Canada, locating in the town of 
Stanbridge, in the District of Montreal, where he 
bought a farm, and gave his attention to its culti- 
vation the ensuing fourteen years. His next move 
was to New York, where he died at the age of 
sixtj'-five. His wife died at the same age and at 
the same pLace. He was a man of strong intelli- 
gence and of broad views of life. In politics, he 
was a Whig until the Republican party came into 
existence, and then his allegiance was transferred 
to that partv, as he was heartily in sympathy with 
the object of its formation. Religiously, he was 
a Universalist. To him and his wife were born 
six children, two sous and four daughters, all of 
whom grew to maturity, namelj^: Harry, Ferdi- 
nand, a resident of Wisconsin; Miranda, deceased; 
Laura, widow of James Haskin, and a resident of 
Ionia, Mich.; Abigail is still single; Teressa 
widow of James Wood, and a resident of Saranac 
Ionia County. 

The subject of this biographical review was seven 
years old when his parents went to Canada, and he 
remained with them until he attained his majoritj-. 
He then set out in the world empty-handed, but 



with a brave heart, to try life for himself. He found 
employment on a farm and in a sawmill, working 
by the montli. and was thus engaged for about 
two years. He then bought his father's farm in 
the town of Stanbridge, District of Montreal, Can- 
ada, and carried on general farming thereon the 
ensuing two 3-ears. He then sold that place and 
came directly to Allegan County, and bought 
eighty acres of the farm where he now resides. 
Michigan was then under territorial government, 
and this part of it was but veiy little settled. 
His land being in the midst of the primeval forests 
he had to find his way to it by marked trees. His 
first work was to clear a space upon which to 
erect a dwelling, and of the logs thus cut down he 
built a house, 16x26 feet in dimensions. The flour- 
ishing city of Kalamazoo at that time contained 
onl}^ about six houses, and but very little had been 
done in the way of making roads, except for some 
that were almost impassable in certain seasons of 
the year. No wagons were in use here, but sleds, 
drawn by oxen, took their places summer and win- 
ter. 

Our subject's was the second family to settle in 
the township, and his nearest neighbor was four 
miles away. He worked diligently to develop 
his farm and put it in good order, and has suc- 
ceeded in making it a valuable place, with excel- 
lent improvements, and all the appointments that 
go to make a good farm. He has increased its 
original size by the addition of twenty more .acres 
of subsequent purchase, and now has one hundred 
acres of choice land. He has retired from its man- 
agement, and it is now under the charge of his son, 
who keeps it up to a high standard. Our subject's 
fellow-citizens have always held him in high re- 
gard, and have desired him to take part in local 
affairs, electing him to offices, but he would never 
serve. His first Presidential vote was cast in favor 
of Andrew J.ackson. He voted the Democratic 
ticket but once, and ever since the Republican 
party was organized he has stood firmly by that. 

Mr. Walker's first marriage, which took place in 
his native State, was with Miss Louisa Cory, who 
was also a native of Vermont. She departed this 
life in 1846, leaving two children: John W., a resi- 
dent of Martin Township; and Laura, wife of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



S7.T 



Michael McDonoiigb, of Martin Township. Our 
subject's second marriage w.is with Jliss Jane 
Pratt, anil tlioy liave had two children: Berton A., 
who lives with his father; and Teressa, wife of 
Hiram Babcock, who is a jeweler, and is now in 
Minnesota. 



I I I I I I I i 



I ' I 'I 




TKPI1]:N UDELL, a veteran ol' the late 
war, is engaged in general farming on sec- 
tion 21), Trowbridge Township, Alleg.in 
County, His father, B. W. Odell, w.is a 
native of .Seneca Count}', X. Y., and married Caro- 
line Smith, who was also born in the Kinjiire State. 
In 1850 he brought his family to Michigan, loca- 
ting on section 22, Trowbridge Township, where 
from the wilderness he developed a good farm. 
His wife died in 1846 and he married Wealthy 
Odell, who is still living at the age of fifty-eight 
years. Seven children were born of iiis first mar- 
riage, six now living, and there are also six siir- 
vivoi-s among the children of the second union. 
Two of the sons served in the Civil War. Mr. 
Odell was a member of the Baptist Churcii, and in 
politics was first a Whig and then a Republican. 
He died in 1877. 

Our subject w.as born in Seneca County, X. Y., 
April .30, 18.3.5, and when a young lad went witli 
his parents to Huron County, Ohio. M'iicn about 
fifteen years of age, became to I^Iichigan and three 
years later liegan life for himself, working .as a 
farm hand l)y the month, but when the late war 
broke out he offered his services to his country, 
enlisting in September, 1861, .as a member of Com- 
panj- A, Third Michigan Cavah-y. Prom Cor|)oial 
he was promoted to Sergeant and performed the 
duties of Orderly-Sergeant. The regiment w.as or- 
ganized at (irand Rapid, under Col. Misner and 
was sent to Benton Barracks, St. Louis. Our subject 
took part in the raid after Dick Tiiompson, the l)at- 
tles of New Madrid. Corintli, Holly Springs. Talhi- 
hatchee River, .lackson. Miss., and more than fifty 
skirmishes. Then proceeding to Pittsburg Land- 
ing the following battles were afterward foiigiit: 
luka, Mobile and Baton Rouge. Tiie regiment 
then went up tlie Red River into Texas, where. 



after sei-ving for four veal's and mvcm immtlis, 
]Mr. Odell received his discharge. He w.as one of 
sixty-four men who crossed the Tennessee River 
at midnight and made a raid on Clifton, capturing 
the town, destroying a large amount of supplies 
and taking eigiil^'-seven prisoners. Mr. Odell was 
never off duty except during two months of sick- 
ness but w.as always found at his post and partici- 
l>;itc(l in all the engagements of the regiment. 

It was ill 1861 tiiat tiie marriage of Mr. Odell 
and Martha ,1. Pairchild was celebrated. Her par- 
ents, Asa and Elizabeth (Lockliart) Pairchild, were 
both natives of Ohio, the former born in 1817, the 
latter in 1822. The father w.as a mechanic by trade 
.and died in Iowa. The mother is still living at 
the age of sixty-eight j'eai-s. Of their seven chil- 
dren only two survive: Andrew J., and Mrs. 
Odell. The brother was a soldier of the Eighty- 
second Ohio Infantry, served throughout the war 
.and with Sherman marched to the sea. He now 
resides in the tapper Peninsula of ^Michigan. Mi's. 
Odell was born .Tune 6, 1812, in ^Vshland County, 
Ohio, and came to Michigan in 1863. By the mar- 
ri.age of our subject and his wife, ten children were 
born, nine yet living: Jl.aylon V., born in 186.">; 
Caroline E., in 186{;; Arthur U., in 1868; Ella 
;\L, in 1869; Delia M.ay, in 1871; Flora Blanche, in 
1873; Johnnie Tully, in 1875; Nina Vivian, in 
1884; and Ernest Leroy, in 1887. .Tesse, born August 
12, 1878, died September 12, following. 

Jlr. and Mrs. Odell began- their domestic life 
upon an unimproved farm on section 29, Trow- 
bridge Township, of which he cleared fifty acres. 
Subsequently they removed to another farm of 
one hundred and sixty acres in the same township 
and of this he placed thirty acres under cultiva- 
tion. Afterward he cleared and improved twenty 
acres on section 31, then removed to Allegan, 
where he resided for four years. At the expiration 
of that time he took up his residence on the farm 
which is yet his liomc and made many improve- 
ments thereon. He now has one hundred and nine 
.and one-half acres, of which one hinuh'cd yields 
tribute to his care and cultivation. He built his 
pleasant dwelling, his barns, and made other im- 
provements which be^peak the thrift and enterprise 
of the owner. 



374 



POETRAIT AND ElOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Odell is a warm friend of the cause of edu- 
cation and has given his children excellent advan- 
tages in this line. Caroline, Arthur and Delia 
have all engaged in teaching and the first-named 
is now studying medicine in Detroit. In politics, 
our subject is a stanch Republican and has served 
as Township Tre.asurer, Commissioner of High- 
ways, Assessor, Road Supervisor and School Di- 
rector. Socially, he is a member of C. J. Bassett 
G. A. R. Post of Allegan and of the Grange; 
his wife is a member of the Methodist Church and 
has been a teacher in the Sunda^^-school, and both 
are members of the Pioneer Society of Allegan 
County. This worthj' couple are held in the higli- 
est esteem by all who know them and have a wide 
circle of friends and acquaintance throughout the 
community. Their liome is a hospitable one and 
cheerj' greeting and good-will always welcome 
their guests. 



^^^yCV 



lil^-i^lli 



g3si£20_ 



^<^5o" 



-J 




TEPHEN D.; ROCKWELL is a prominent 
farmer residing on section 32, Trowbridge 
Township, Allegan County. His father, 
Roswell Rockwell, w.as born in Vermont 
in 1809, and was a farmer by occupation. His fa- 
taer was .James Rockwell, and a native of Connec- 
ticut. The maiden name of our subject's mother 
was Hannah Foster, and she was born in Danby 
County, N. Y., in 1812. She was the daughter of 
Stephen and Sarah (Dunham) Foster, farmers and 
early settlers of Seneca County, Ohio, whither they 
removed in 1825. They are deceased and were 
the parents of six children, only two of whom are 
living. 

The parents of our subject were married, in 
1832, in Seneca Count}', Ohio, where they resided 
until 1847. They then came to Michigan and made 
tlieir home on one hundred and one acres of wild 
land, which the father had taken up from the Gov- 
ernment. Neighbors were few and far between in 
that early day, there being only two families be- 
tween their home and Paw Paw, fourteen miles 
distant. AVild animals were plentiful, as were also 
Indians. There were no roads laid out and Mr. 
Rockwell assisted greatly in preparing the coun- 



try for those who should come after. He died in 
18.55 and his wife was again married; she is now a 
widow. 

Eight children were included in the parental 
family of our subject, five of whom are living: 
.James R., Stephen D.; Sarah E., who is now Mrs. 
Southward; Cornelia E., Mrs. Connery, and Caro- 
line L., Mrs. Henry. The elder Mr. Rockwell was 
an active Whig in politics and greatly interested 
in school matters, helping to organize many of the 
school districts. He was a first-class farmer and 
devoted most of his time and attention to the cul- 
tivation of his land. 

Stephen D.Rockwell w.as born Januar}' 19,1835, 
in Seneca County, Ohio, and was ten j-ears of age 
when his parents came to the Wolverine State. lie 
was given a good education in the district schools 
and remained at home until reaching his twentieth 
year. He then learned the carpenter's trade, and 
after the death of his father carried on the home 
farm. He was engaged for five j^ears in Allegan, 
manufacturing shingles and following his trade. 

He of whom we write was married, in 1857, to 
Hannah Sophia, daughter of Charles and Mary 
Ann Wentworth. Her parents removed from New 
York to Maryland in an early day, and in 1857 
came to Michigan and settled in Trowbridge 
Township, where the father died in 1885; the 
mother is still living and married to Mitchell 
Brown, and lives on the old farm. She became the 
mother of five children. Mrs. Rockwell was born 
in 1840, in New York State, where she was given 
an excellent education, and taught school several 
years l)efore her marriage to our subject. 

Mv. and Mrs. Rockwell have become the parents 
of three children: Ida M.,who is the wife of Martin 
C. Brest, lives in Trowbridge Township, and has 
one child; Effie M. and Edith Floy. They have all 
been given good educations, and Ida has taught 
school. They are all good performers on the 
piano and are much sought after in the societ}- of 
Trowbridge Township. Mr. Rockwell is a member 
of the Gr.ange, in which body he has been Secre- 
tary and Treasurer, holding the latter ofllce for 
four years. He has alwaj'S taken great interest in 
educational matters and has been on the School 
Board for a number of vears. He has also been 




Alvin Chapman 




^ 







MRS. Alvim Chapman 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



379 



Township Treasurer for four years and is greatly 
respected in his community. In politics, he is 
independent. 

(^ur subject owns thiity-eiglit acres of land, 
and carries on a ifcneral farming business. His 
place is stocked with good grades of horses, cat- 
tle and sheep, and is enibellislied with a flourish- 
ing pear and apple orchard. His aged mother 
makes her home with him. 




^.| LVIX CHAPMAN, who resides in Arling- 
((^Ol ing Township, ^'an Buren County, is des- 
cended from Robert Chapman, a native 
of Kngland, whose name is found in his- 
tory as one of tlie first settlers of Saybrook, Conn. 
The family was a prominent one in those d.-iys, 
and its members have a good record as men of 
sterling integrity, who in the Coloui.al days did 
much to aid in building up the great Common- 
wealth of Connecticut, always so prominent in 
New England history. 

Robert Chapman emigrated from England in 
1635, and located in Boston, where he remained 
but a short time, afterward settling in Saybrook. 
From this sturdy pioneer and his family of seven 
children, have sprung manj- of the enterprising 
and progressive spirits, who, leaving their native 
mountains, have founded for themselves new 
homes in tlie prairies of the West, and have been 
instrumental in building up these States, as their 
forefathers were those of New England. The 
children of Robert Chapman were John, Rijbert, 
Anna, Hannah, Nathaniel, Mary and Sarah. 

Our subject's paternal grandfather, William 
Chapman, was born in Westbrook, Conn., and 
served during the Revolutionary War, and in af- 
ter 3'ears related man^' stories of that terrible 
struggle. He was at one time cooking for the 
ofHcers of a division of the army, when an eighteen- 
pound cannon liall |)assed through the house, 
alarming the inmates, but doing no serious damage. 
Our subject was the son of William and Anna 
(Kelscy) Chapman, and the parental family con- 
sisted of six children; William, Elihu, Emily, Al- 
17 



vin, Benjamin, and Susan. The latter is still re- 
siding at Westbrook, Conn. 

Alvin Chapman was born in May, 182 1, at AVest- 
brook, where he grew to mature 3ears, receiving 
a good common-school education and being 
trained to haliits of industry and api)lication. In 
1850, he was married to Miss Laura Wright, and in 
a few j'ears after the j'oung couple decided to see 
what life might hold for them in the far AVest, 
whore land was more plentiful and opportunities 
for making money much greater tliaii in the New 
England States. Accordingly, m 18.J5 Mr. Chap- 
man, witli his wife and one child, removed to 
INIichigan, settling in VanBuren County, where he 
h-is ever since resided. Here he purchased a farm, 
which was wild land on wiiich a furrow had never 
been turned, but'which now, under his industrious 
hands and careful management, has been met- 
amorphosized into a fertile farm of two hundred 
acres. 

In 18GI Mr. Chapman enlisted in Company I, 
Thirteenth Michigan Infantry, serving until the 
close of the war, and marching with Sherman's 
command from Chattanooga to W.ashington. 
Since that time he luas devoted most of his atten- 
tion to agricultural pursuits, being very successful 
in all his enterprises. When the West Michigan 
Savings Bank was organized at Bangor, Mr. Chap- 
man was made Vice-president, which position he 
i has held ever since, also being the owner of the 
building and fixtures of the bank. This institu- 
tion is doing a good business, for which it is in- 
debted to the wise counsel and correct judgment 
of its oflicers. 

The wife of our subject departed this life 
in 1877. She was a devoted wife and tender 
mother and her loss w.as irreparable. Not only 
in her own home is she greatly missed but in 
the many social relations in which she took such an 
active part and which benefited by her precepts and 
example. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman were the parents 
of seven children, as follows: Flora, wife of 
Theodore Reynolds; Eva, who married George 
Reynolds and is now deceased; Mary, wife of Prof. 
Allen Redding, of Findlay, Ohio; William who 
lives at the old homestead, and Abbie, a teacher, 
also residing in Findlay, Ohio. 



380 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In connection with this sketch will be noticed 
lithographic portraits of Mr. Chapman and his de- 
ceased wife. He is noted for his benevolence, 
having been lilieral almost to a fault in the aid of 
every worthv enterprise which has been projected 
for the advancement of the community in which 
he resides, and his many kind deeds will be re- 
membered long after he shall have passed away 
from earth. He has been an extensive traveler, and 
during his many journeyings has made a large col- 
lection of curios, relics of various kinds and valu- 
able bric-a-brac, which he prizes highly and which 
aid in the decoration of his beautiful home. His 
librarj' IS n.ade up of choice books, works of the 
most noted authors of this and other countries and 
one can gain a fair estimate of the character of the 
man b^' noticing the class of literature in which 
he is most interested. He has a fine residence one 
and a half miles from the town of Bangor, which 
is a model of comfort and convenience, and in 
which he is happily spending the latter years of 
his life. His children have been well educated and 
well trained, and are occupying enviable positions 
in societj-. ]\Ir. Chapman is a through-going Re- 
publican and socially', is a prominent Mason, hav- 
ing taken the Thirty-second Degree and is now 
Commander of the A. Lincoln Post, No. 9, G. 
A.R. 



"^■ 



■ i^- 



/^ILES A. PH'ER, D. D. .S. This well-known 
(II ,— -, and highl_v respected resident of Allegan is 

-\^(J) one of the finest dentists in the county. He 
is the son of Dr. William A. Piper, and was born 
in Boston, Mass., November 25, 1840. His father, 
although a native of New York State, lived in 
Massachusetts, where he successfully followed the 
profession of a dentist. The parental family in- 
eluded two children: Dr. Piper, of this sketch, 
and Lotta, now Mrs. William Boice, of Chicago. 

Dr. William A. Piper removed from Massachu- 
setts to Chicago, 111., where he remained a short 
time, and then came to Kalamazoo County, Mich. 
There he was engaged in dental surgery until 1851, 
the date of his coming to Allegan. He was ac- 
tively engaged in practice until his death, which 
occurred in 1877. His partner in business, after 



coming to Allegan, was Dr. Streeter, and they soon 
established a reputation for doing some of the 
finest work in the county. 

Our subject was given an excellent education, 
being a graduate of the Alleg.an High School. 
After finishing his studies, he clerked in a store, 
and, when deciding to choose a life work, learned 
the dental business m his father's office. On the 
outbreak of the Civil War, our subject, together 
with his father, enlisted in Company I, Fifth Michi- 
gan Cavahy, and was under the command of Gen. 
Custer. His father was wounded in the battle of 
Gettysburg, and received an honorable discharge, 
with the rank of Sergeant. Giles A. served his 
country three years, and was wounded three times, 
first in the battle at Yellow Tavern, where he was 
shot in the ankle; then at Cold Harbor, where 
he was wounded in the side, and the third time at 
Morton Ford, receiving a wound in the col- 
lar-bone. He was taken prisoner on the 11th of 
June, in the battle of Treviliau Station, Ya., and 
was kept in captivity for six months and eleven 
days, being in Libbj', Belle Island, Andersonville, 
Florence and Charleston prisons. lie suffered 
greatly during his confinement in those vile dens, 
weighing one hundred and sixtj'-flve pounds when 
taken prisoner and when released, only eighty- 
five pounds. When in Andersonville, his ra- 
tions consisted of one pint of corn and cob 
per day, put in water, and one spoonful of salt 
per week. The soldiers were so frantic for 
water that they would dig down in the ground 
seventy-three feet, and our subject, among 
others, went down that distance without the well 
being curbed or stoned up. 

Dr. Piper received an honorable discharge from 
the army the .3d of July, 1865. After his return 
home his health was so shattered that he lay a 
month, not being able to recognize any of his 
friends. When fully recuperated, he began the 
practice of his profession at Allegan, in which 
he has been successfullj' engaged since that time. 
Dr. Giles A. Piper and Miss Ida Campbell were 
married in Allegan, October 9, 1884. She was the 
daughter of John and Mary (McDuffee) Campbell, 
natives of New York State. Her parents came 
to Allegan County in 1872, where the father en- 



PORTRAIT AMD lilOGRAPlUCAL RECORD. 



381 



gaged as a boot mid slioo mcrclinnf. ITc followed 
that husine.ss until lii.s death in 1H.S7. 'rho mother 
is t.till a re;<ident of this county and lias become 
the mother of two children: Mis. Dr. Piper, and 
Jennie. In politics, Mr. Campbell was a Heiuibiican. 
Our subject is an active and inlluenlial member 
of the Hcpulilican party, and is idcntilicd with the 
(irand Army of the Hcpublic. Dr. Piper is a veiy 
prominent man in hi.s profession, and is the center 
of a wide circle of friends, meriliiiir the esteem 
and confidence which is accorded him on every 
side. 

^^ G. SIIKFFKK. This old pioneer, who is 

^^^ one of the sturdy representatives of tlic 

!ll/\flj agricultural community, was born in Oneida 

County, N. Y., in 182.'). lie is at present 

residing on a beautiful farm on section 36, Casco 

Township, Allegan Count}-, and is the .sou of 

George and Polly Sheffer. The father was born in 

Schoharie County, N. Y., in 1800, where he spent 

his early life (ni a farm. His parents were pioneers 

of the above named county, and were well-to-do 

people. 

George Sheffer, when eighteen yeare of age, met 
with a serious accident by cutting his knee, and 
for several years he wa.s very lame. He was a self- 
made man in the truest sense of the word, for while 
his school days were veiy limited, he was an intelli- 
gent and well-read man. The elder Mr. Sheffer re- 
mained at home until his marriage, which occurred 
when he was about nineteen yeai-s of age, 
Miss Hester A'aughn becoming his wife. Their 
union resulted in the birth of two children, Will- 
iam and Maria, both of whom are deceased. 

After the death of his first wife, the father of 
our subject was married to Polly Chamberlain, of 
Oneida Count}-, N. Y., where he had previously 
gone. Mrs. Polly Sheffer w.as the mother of the 
original of this sketch, and was the daughter of 
Nichol.as and .Sarah (Gates) Chamberlain. Her 
parents were of Puritan stock, and natives of Massa- 
chusetts; Mrs. .Sheffer was born in Oneida County, 
N. Y., in 1799, on the spot which is the present 
site of Clinton College. Her parents were the first 
white settlers jij that county, and her i)laymates 



were theTndian children, whose language she could 
speak as well as her own. 

The [jarents of our subject had born to them ten 
children: S. G., our subject; Sarah, who is the 
wife of K. K. McLouth; Clark; Mary, Mrs. D. Mar- 
latte; Lowell; Clara, the widow of Albert Smith; 
Martha, ^Irs. Charles Lee; John, deceased; and two 
who died when young, one of whom w.as a twin of 
our su])ject. Soon .after his second marri.age, the 
father of our subject learned the trades of tanner 
and shoemaker, which he followed the remainder 
of his life. In 1840 he came West to Washtenaw 
Count}', where he was among the earliest pioneers. 
His last d.ays were spent at the home of a daughter 
in Lenawee County, this State, his death occurring 
in 1861. His wife had preceded him to the belter 
land by ten years. He had united with the Free 
and Accepted M.asons while a young man residing 
in Schoharie County, X. Y., in which order he be- 
came INlaster Mason. He was a Paptist in his early 
years, but his later life was spent as a member of 
the Mcthfxlist F'piscopal Church, he having united 
with that denomination because there w.as no Bap- 
tist Church in his vicinity. His wife was a Pres- 
byterian. In politics, he w.as first a Jacksonian 
Democrat, but later joined the Whig party. 

The grandfather of our subject was John Sheffer, 
a native of New York. His father was a Baron in 
Germany, and in the early i)art of the seventeenth 
century emigrated to America .and purchased the 
Township of Sharon, in Schoharie Count}', N. Y, 
He named the township in honor of the rose of 
Sharon, found in Germany. Both the paternal and 
maternal grandfather of our suliject fought in the 
Revolutionary War. 

S. G. Sheffer, of this sketch, was given a good 
education,attcnding an academy in Cayuga County, 
N. Y., until reaching the age of fifteen. He then 
engaged to work on a farm by the month, and con- 
tinued so employed until his marriage in 1818. The 
ladv who became his wife, bore the name of Lavina 
M,, daughter of Henry P. Snyder. Mrs. Sheffer 
was a native of Columbia County, N. Y. and came 
of German descent. A few years prior to his mar- 
riage, Mr, Sheffer had come to Michigan, locating 
in Lenawee County, 

In 1851, the original of this sketch came to AUe- 



382 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



gan County-, and in November of tliat j'ear located 
on his present farm iu Casco Township. Here be 
purchased eighty acres of land from a Jlr. Fowler, 
who had entered the tract from the Government. 
The township was l)nt thinly settled at the time of 
his locating here, and our subject has done valu- 
able service in helping to lay out roads, erect 
schoolhouses, and otherwise oi)en up the country 
for those who would follow. The mail was brought 
to the settlers twice a week, sometimes by a boy, 
but oftener liy a neighbor who happened to be 
passing the postofBce. 

The first house of our subject was a board 
"shanty," 12x14 feet iu dimensions, which served 
only to keep the sun out, for when it rained every- 
thing inside was "soaked." The cabin has given 
way to a comfortable and commodious residence, 
in which our subject and his family make their 
home. Mr. and Mrs. Sheffer liave been granted 
four children: Charles W., residing in Casco Town- 
ship; Agnes v., who is a teacher in Washington ; 
Sarah, Mrs. A. E. Briggs, and Byron, also re- 
siding in Casco Township. 

Mr. Sheffer is a member of the Free and Accepted 
Masons, belonging to the Blue Lodge of South 
Haven; he has attained to the Roj-al Arch Degree. 
He is also a Knight of the Red Cross, a Knight of 
Malta and a Knight Templar, of Kalamazoo. In 
politics, he is non-partisan, although he was sent 
as a delegate to the first National Republican Con- 
vention, in 1858. He also served in a like position 
to the first National Greenb.ack Convention, at To- 
ledo, Ohio. The following is an original poem, 
read by S. G. Sheffer at the Allegan County Pio- 
neer Society, August 19, 18111: 

"Another year, and here we meet 

To clasp the hand of friendship true; 

And welcome to our hearts our friends. 
Our social friendships to renew. 

"We've met to-day to welcome those 
AVho sought the wilderness long ago, 

To grapple with those lofty trees, 
And have their lofty tops laid low. 

"And to live o'er those wondrous scenes 
That crowd around our cabin door, 

AVhen howl of wolf at night was heard. 
And red men slept on our cabin floor. 



"Our neighbors few and far between, 
Yet always true in time of need. 

And joyously we welcomed them 
To our cabin by the mead. 

"And when the day of work was done 
And we sat around the frugal board, 

With pleasant sounds our memorj' stirred 
When at the door our friends were heard. 

"And when strong arms and hearts of steel 
Have conquered the forest there 

And broad rich fields and barns well stored, 
And homes are seen both rich and rare. 

"AVhen we o'er the wild domain. 
That years ago was one wild wood, 

That's planted now with tree and vine, 
We enjoy just as we should. 

"Though storms arise, and troubles come, 
With patience strong we stand the test, 

Nor think of aught but pleasure good 
That fills the home th»t we love best. 

"And as old age creeps on apace. 
Time's hoary hand is on us laid. 

Yet smiling still our work pursue 

And cheerful meet what change has made. 

"We like to cast a backward thought 
To those rude days of early years. 

And live .again in memory dear. 
Those da_ys when we were pioneers." 



^ 



=^ 



^ ONATHAN M. HOWARD. This gentleman 
who has resided on his present farm on sec- 
tion 34, Cheshire Township, Allegan Count}', 
for more than a quarter of a century, is the 
present amiable Treasurer of his township, serving 
his fifth year in that office. He was born, March 
17, 1836, in Monroe Count}-, N. Y., being the 
youngest of two children born to his parents. His 
sister, Adeline B., is tlie wife of Willard A. Cooley, 
a resident of Monroe County, N. Y. Our sub- 
ject was reared to farm pursuits and has 
always followed this as his life vocation. When 
fourteen years old, he commenced to work out for 
others, receiving but small recompense for his 
labors. 

Jonathan M. Howard came to Micliigan in the 
fall of 1854 with bis parents and assisted his fa- 



PORTRATT AMD BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



383 



ther in clearing liis farm and here has ever since re- 
mained. He was nianit'il, A|iiil 1.H, !«(;(;, to .Sarah 
C. Mooro, who w.as born .luiy O, 1811, in ^lonroe 
County', N. Y., and there received a good educa- 
tion. .She has become tiie mother of two children, 
named Emma and Artinir. He has added forty 
acres to his estate and nt)w has a hundred acres. 
Eighty acres are higlil3- tilled, with splendid build- 
ings thereon, and general farming and stock-raising 
is carried on. Mr. Howard is a member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Blooming- 
d.ale, YanBuren County, tliis State, and h.as passed 
all the chairs in tiie lodge. He is a member of the 
Grange, of which he was Grand blaster. The of- 
fice of School Director w.as his, and the oflice of 
Assessor of the district has been iield by liim 
twenty yeai-s, and he is at present Treasurer of his 
townshi[). His political influence is cast with the 
Republican party. He is well liked by every one 
with whom he comes in contact. Tlie parents of 
Mrs. Howard were William C. and.Tulia (.Toimson) 
Moore, natives of New York, wlio came from that 
Commonwealth to Michigan about 1845, and set- 
tled in YanBuren County. The mother passed 
from this life in 18,5t), wliile the father survived 
until 188-t. 

Jonathan Howard, the father of the gentleman 
of whom wc write tills history, w.as a n.ative of 
Rome, N. Y., and w.as born May 19, 1808. He 
was a son of Timothy Howard, and followed the 
vocation of a farmer. His good wife, tlie niotlier 
of our sul)ject, bore the maiden niinu' of .Sopliia 
Johnson, a native of M(jnroe Count\', N. Y., she 
having been born in April, 181.'}. Her fatlier w.as 
Ransom Johnson, a native of Connecticut, who 
followed farming. Her mother wa.s Hannali (Ben- 
nett) Joluison, also a native of Connecticut, wlio 
bore her husband tliirtecn cliildrcn, only two of 
whom yet survive. Tlie father of our subject 
died in ISl'.t, and the motlier passed aw.ay the 
year following. They were married in January, 
1839. and located on a farm in .Monroe County, 
N. Y. They lived live years in Orleans County, 
■when they returned to Monroe County and resided 
until 18.")4, in which year they came to Michigan. 
In the spring of 1855, they settled on their farm, 
erected a log house and commenced to hew down 



the immense forest. They at first had but forty 
acres, and lived to see the place wonderfully im- 
proved and a good house erected. He died Janu- 
uarv 10, 188:5, the mother jwssing aw.ay January 20, 
1892. She was a member of the Baptist Church, 
while her husband was a AVhig in politics and la- 
ter joined the Republican party. He was Post- 
master at Cheshire for six years and was a well- 
educated man. 

V^ / 



% 



M OHN XIES is one of the class of Holland 
citizens who have done so much to aid in 
the upbuilding of the AYestern States, where 
their industrious habits and perseverance 
have been rewarded by the acquirement of comfort- 
alile fortunes and an honored record in the history 
of their adopted country. Mr. Nies is a promi- 
nent hardware merchant of Saug.atuck, where he is 
also engaged in the pension business. He is a son of 
Derk and Ikien (Niewenhuis) Nies, natives of Hol- 
land, where the subject of this sketch w.as born in 
Groningdeii, P'ebruary 29, 1836. Mr. Nies is one 
of the few peoi)le who can celebrate their birthday 
but once in four years. 

The parents of our subject emigrated to America 
in 1854, when he was sixteen years old, and located 
in Fillmore Township, Allegan County, where he 
w.as reared upon a farm and there lemained until 
the breaking out of the rebellion. On September 
10, 18C], he enlisted in Company D, .Second Mich- 
igan Cavalry, being assigned to the Armv of the 
Cumberland, under the command of Gen. .Sheridan. 
This regiment participated in the one hundred 
engagements which are the subject of a book 
TTritten by Lieut. Thatcher, entitled '"One Hundred 
Battles." Mr. Nies w.as never absent from duty 
during his service of three years and forty-two 
daj'S, and narrowly escaped death several times, 
on one occasion, at Marietta, Ga., having his 
horse shot from under him. 

He was discharged October 22, 1864, and at once 
returned to Michigan where he was occupied at 
farming until 18()5,at that time becoming interested 
in the hardware business which he carried on by 



384 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



himself until 1887. At that time he took as his 
partner John Koning, who had been a trusted em- 
ploye for thijteen years, and in 1888 he began to 
solicit pensions, in which he has been highlj' sucess- 
ful. 

Mr. Nies was married December 15, 1864, to 
Johanna Kruisenga, a daughter of Everhardus 
Kruisenga, also a native of Holland. Thirteen 
children have been born of this union; those living 
are as follows: Ida, Mrs. Fred Wade, residing in 
Saugatuck; Kate, Mrs. Harry D. Moore, who resides 
in Montana where her husband is an attorney-at- 
law; Eva married Rev. C. East, who resides in St. 
Louis, this State; John, Ray, Harry, Edwy, Florence 
and William. John is attending the Agricultural 
College at Lansing in the civil and mechanical de- 
partment. jMr. Nies is a stalwart Republican and 
has been frequentlj^ called to serve his fellow-citi- 
zens in various offices. He has been Supervisor 
for five terras. School Director and a member of 
the Village Board. His family are members of 
tlie Methodist Episcopal Church and are popular 
in their community. His mother is still living at 
the age of eighty years, in possession of all her 
mental faculties. 



—5- 



=^>^^<i 



(iQ>-^ 



WJLLIAM L. O'BRIEN is very prominent in 
local affairs in Cheshire Township, Alle- 
gan County, having held the office of Sup- 
ervisor for three years and Assessor of the 
School Dictrict for twenty-two j-ears. He is at pres- 
ent residing on section 21, and carries on general 
farming. He was born May 19, 1839, in County 
Roscommon, Ireland. His parents were William 
L. and Sarah (Devnish) O'Brien. The father died 
July 3, 1888, when seventy -five years of age; the 
mother still survives at the age of seventy-two 
years. They came to America in 1850, and lo- 
cated in Lorain Count}^, Ohio. In the fall of 
1859 they emigrated to Michigan and located on 
section 28, Cheshire Township, Allegan County, 
when it was raw land. They reared a family of 
eight children, all of whom are living, with one 
exception. They were members of the Episcopal 
Church, and in politics INIr. O'Brien was a Republi- 



can and a strong temperance man. He held the 
position of Highway Commissioner of this town- 
ship. 

William L. O'Brien of this sketch was the eldest 
of the parental family and was eleven years of age 
when crossing the Atlantic. He was given a good 
education and remained at home until twentj'-two 
years of age. When starting out for himself, he 
purchased a farm on section 21, from the Govern- 
ment, and immediately cleared and improved 
twenty-five acres. April 20, 1870, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Lizzie Smith of Blooming- 
ton, 111., and a native of New York State, her 
birth occurring in 1844. Mrs. O'Brien was the 
daughter of James and .Jael Smith, who came to 
the Wolverine State in 1858 and located in Bloom- 
ingdale Township, Van Buren County, where they 
died. They were the parents of eight children, 
four of whom are now living. 

Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien have been granted two 
children: Ethel and Alice J. Our subject has 
eighty-four acres of land, forty of which are under 
the plow. His daughter Ethel has been a student 
at IIoi)e College at Holland, this State, and has 
taught school for three years. The familj^ are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church where 
the father has been Steward, Class-leader and Sup- 
erintendent of the Sunday-school. Our subject 
and his wife are toth members of the Grange and 
in polities Mr. O'Brien is a Republican. He has 
been Clerk of Cheshire Township for twenty-one 
years and is the present incumbent of the office. 



' • ' ^B 



:h^:h: 



11^4^ 



^Undrew J. MUNGER. deceased. In the 
'@/-j I death of this gentleman, Casco Township, 
1 !) Allegan County, lost one of her most pros- 
<^ perous and respected citizens. He was 

born in New York, Niagara Count}', December 28, 
1828, and was reared in his native State on a farm, 
attending no educational institution excepting the 
common schools. He had always been a very close 
reader and was conversant with all the topics of 
the day. 

The gentleman of whom we write was the son 
of Clark and Minerva (Sylvester) Munger, both 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



385 



natives of New York. Tliey wci-e tlie worthy par- 
ents of eight chililrt-n, of whom our subject was 
the seventh in order of liirtli. He remained with 
his parents on tlie farm until he was nearly' 
eighteen years old when he came to Michigan, set- 
tling in Cass County. He there worked on a farm 
a few yeai-s and after his marriage rented a farm 
until 18()0. In the last named year, Mr. ]\Iungcr 
decided to make his home in Allegan County, and 
purchased forty acres of land on section 7. A 
part of this was improved, and after breaking the 
remaider, he added to this eighty- acres more, 
making in all one Iiundred and twenty acres, all 
of which is now under the best of cultivation, the 
greater part being done b^' his own strong 
hand. Twenty-five acres of this estate are devoted 
to the raising of fruit, both .small and large. He 
also erected a very beautiful and spacious residence 
in which his family now reside. 

While in Cass County, Mich., Mr. Munger was 
married to Kliza .1. Boyd, a native of New York 
Cit}- and a daughter of Robert and Jane Boyd, 
■who were also natives of New Y'ork State. The 
father was a sea captain by occupation and roamed 
over the waters from his early youth until his 
death, which occurred when ^Irs. JMunger was but 
three years old. The good wife and mother was 
also taken awaj' at the same time and she went to 
live with an aunt residing in Cass County. 
She received a good education in the common 
schools of New York, completing it at a boarding 
school at Staten Island. 

The home of our subject and his wife h.os been 
blessed by the birth of two children, one of whom 
died in infancy. The other, Robert C. makes his 
home with his mother. He married Etta .S. Smith 
and they are the parents of two children: Ida M. 
and Oran A. In September, 1864, our subject 
entered the late war, enlisting in Company F, 
Twelft4i Michigan Infantry. He served in the 
Mississipi)i Department, but a few months after 
entering the service was taken sick which neces- 
sitated his going to the hospital, where he re- 
niaineil until nearly the close of the war. He was 
honorably disciiarged at Little Rock, Ark., for 
piiysical disability. He contracted a disease in the 
war from which he never recovered and from 



which he died, April 18, 1888. His memory still 
lives and his honorable and successful career 
stands forth as a fitting example of what can be 
done bj^ earnest and constant effort. He was a 
member of tlie Grand .Vrmy of the Republic, .Jacob 
Fry Tost, and he was a worthy memlier of the Me- 
thodist Episcopal Church of which liis wife and 
son are still consistent members. 



>»'OHN W. HUMPHREY is tiie proprietor of 
the ilodel Peach Farm, at South Haven. He 
is a native of Ireland, liaving been born in 
^ County Antrim, April 13, 1832, and is 
the son of Hugh Humplirey. His father was born 
near Belfast and was a nail-maker, a trade also 
followed by his father. Hugh Ilumphrej' mar- 
ried .fane McAllister, a native of Scotland, and in 
1H.'!2 emigrated to Canada and resided at Dur- 
ham. Soon, however, they came to the States and 
located at Malone. Franklin County, N. Y., where 
they carried on farming. 

Tiie father of our subject received an injury 
which resulted in his death four years later. He 
was fifty -six years old at that time. His good wife 
survived him many years and died at the age of 
eighty-five years. Tliey reared a family of eight 
children: Margaret, who married John K. Graham 
and resides in Franklin County, N. Y.; our sub- 
ject, who was the second in order of birth; James, 
who died in Berrien County, ]Mich.; Robert, who re- 
sides in Van Buren County; Mary, who married L 
II. Mayott, a merchant of Springfield, Mass.; Eliza, 
who is Mrs. J. B. Moore, of Manchester, N. H.; 
William, who died in Franklin County', N. Y.; and 
Joseph, who makes his home in the above-named 
county. Our subject's father had seven brothers, 
two of whom came to America: John, who was 
married and died in Canada, and Thomas, who 
was a resident of Franklin County, N. Y. 

John W. Humphrey was but eleven weeks old 
when his parents removed to Canada, his boyhood 
being passed upon the farm in Franklin County, 
N. Y. When fourteen years of age, he commenced 
to work in a sawmill, and when reaching his ma- 



386 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAI=HICAL RECORD. 



jority came to Michigan, first stopping at Ply- 
moutli, Wayne County, where he was engaged in 
an agi'icultural implement factor^'. In 1855, he 
married Mary, adopted daughter of the Hon. T. 
T. Lyon, whose slvcteii will be found on another 
page in this volume. 

Our subject was a resident of Plymouth for 
eight 3'ears, and then went to Berrien County 
with his brother James and E. E. Ilendrick, 
where they were occupied in the manufacture of 
staves. lie was in business only a twelvemonth, 
however, when his factor}' was destroj'ed bj' fire. 
The succeeding two .years were spent in Grand 
Rapids, and he again engaged in the manufacture 
of staves in St. Joseph. He remained so occupied 
for three years, at the same time purchasing five 
acres of land, which he laid out as a peach orch* 
ard. He then returned to Plymouth and was en- 
gaged in farming and fruit-growing until 1877, 
when he came to South Haven. After locating 
here, he purchased the property of the West Lake 
Shore Nursery Association, and conducted the 
same for live years, in connection with T. T. 
Lyon. He then owned one hundred and seven 
acres of land, but much of it was swamp land and 
covered with stumps and logs. He cleared his 
property, drained it and pi-epared the land for 
cultivation. Fruit-gi-owers said he was very 
foolish to set out peach trees on such ground, 
but, notwithstanding the advice given him, he 
planted trees, and now has an orchard of three 
thousand bearing trees, to which the name of the 
Model Fruit Farm has been veiy appropriately 
given. 

The original of this sketch now owns sixty-six 
acres of land within the city limits of South Haven, 
and, besides his fine peach orchard, raises many of 
the smaller fruits. In 189.1 he built a handsome 
residence, which is one of the attractive homes of 
the village. It is located on Paw Paw Street, in 
the southern part of the town. IMr. and Mrs. 
Humphrey have a familj' of six children: Car- 
rie E., who is the wife of Arthur D. Wright; 
Charles G.; James A., who died at the interesting 
age of twenty years, while attending the Com- 
mercial College at Detroit; William L., Frank; 
and Marilla, who died aged four years. 



In his religious matters, Mr. Humphrey is a 
Baptist, holding the position of Deacon in that 
society. Sociallv, he is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and has passed all 
the chairs in that order. The Republican party 
numbers him as one of its most active workers. 
He is a life raembei of the State Horticultural So- 
ciety, from which he has obtained many premiums 
for fine fruit exhibitions. He is also a member of 
the West Michigan Horticultural Society and 
South Haven Pomological Society. Mr. Hum- 
phrey's health has been poor for several years, and 
the winter of 1887-88 he passed in California. 
He had no sooner reached the Golden State than 
a position was offered him to superintend the 
work in a nursery, which he did. In 1861 he 
offered his services to the Union, but was not ac- 
cepted. He is one of the enterprising and pros- 
perous residents of South Haven Township, and is 
greatly respected in the count\-. 



^ t ^ « I « i -*^ 



\l7 EVI MORSE is at present residing on sec- 
I C(S, tion 7, Gan.ges Township, Allegan County, 
/I'^VN where he is engaged in the cultivation of 
his fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He 
was born December 8, 1813, in Washington Count}-, 
Vt., and is the son of Levi and Louisa (Miller) 
Morse. His father was the first white child born 
in what is now Washington County, Vt., and the 
first male child born in that portion of the State. 
To add to that honor, the State gave him a large 
tract of land. 

The education of Levi Morse was received in the 
common schools, and he remained at home assist- 
ing his father until reaching his twenty-fourth 
year. About that time he was married to the mo- 
ther of our subject, whose maiden name was Louisa 
Miller, the daughter of Robert and Amj' -Miller. 
Mr. and Mrs. Morse after their union immediately 
located upon their tract of one hundred and sixty 
acres of land in Washington County, where they 
made their home until their death. The father 
served his country as a volunteer in the W.ir of 
1812. 

Levi Morse, Sr., was the son of John Morse, a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



389 



native of England, who, with two brothers, emi- 
grated to the T'nited Stjitcs, two locating in Mas- 
sachusietts, and Jolin, the grandfatlier of our siih- 
jeet, settling in Vermont. Thej' were all three in 
the Revolutionary War, Benjamin fighting at 
Bunker Hill. The maternal grandfatlier of Levi 
Moi-se, Jr., was also in the Revolutionary War and 
held an official position. 

The subject of this sketch with his seven brothers 
and sistere received a good education in the com- 
mon schools of the Green Mountain State. When 
eighteen jxars of age, he began to make his own 
waj" in the world by working out for other parties 
on farms. In 1837 he was married to Lyda, 
daughter of Isaiali and Ruth (Stockwell) Preston. 
To them have been granted seven children: 
Ix)uisa. wife of tlie Rev. William Russell, of tlie 
Free-will Baptist Church; Sarah, who married A. 
Harris; Emma, who became Mrs. Gilman Harris; 
Joseph, Benjamin, Levi and Nellie, now Mrs. Or- 
rin Norcross. 

After his marriage, jNIr. Morse bought a farm in 
Vermont and there lived for about thirty years, 
when, in 18()C, he came witli his family to Allegan 
County and purchased sixt3'-nine acres of his pres- 
ent one hundred and sixt^'-acre tract. It was 
then in it^ primitive condition and beautifully lo- 
cated on the banks of Ilntchins Lake. He has put 
his property under good cultivation and finds that 
the best methods and latest improvements in the 
waj- of machinerj' net the largest returns. In 
polities, he is a stanch Democrat. 



"52:: 



^|-^h-I^|i^#!#5 




ON. RICHARD FERRIS, who is engaged 
j) in general farming on section 17, Cheshire 
Township, is one of the prominent citi- 
_^ zens of Allegan County. He has a wide 
acquaintance in this coininunity, also throughout 
surrounding counties, and his friends will notice 
with especial interest his life sketch and portrait. 
He was born in the town of Butler, Wayne County, 
N. Y., August 7, 1822, and is the seventh in a fam- 
ily of nine children, who.se parents were Leonard 
and KMzabeth (Ryan) Ferris. His father was a 
native of the Highlands of New York and a fanner 



by occupation. For a few years after lii.» marriage 
he resided in Cayuga County, N. Y., and then re- 
moved to Wayne County, where he hewed out a 
farm in the midst of the forest. His wife died at 
the age of eighty-three ye.ars and he reached the 
advanced age of ninety-three. Mrs. Ferris was a 
member of the Catholic Church. Of their six sons 
and tliree daughters, six are now living. The fam- 
ily was represented in the late war by John A., 
who served in an Indiana regiment. 

I'pon ills father's farm our subject was reared to 
manhood, and in the district schools of New York 
partially acquired his education. Empty-handed, 
he began life for himself at the age of eighteen, 
and two years later sought a home in the West. 
In Jlishawaka, Ind., he worked in a sawmill yard 
and afterward was employed at harvesting. Sub- 
sequently he spent eight months as a farm hand in 
Cass County, then returned to Mishawaka, where 
he attended a select scliool during the winter. In 
the spring he again went to work in the mill-yard 
for $20 per month and boarded himself. lie did 
tlie work of two men and his employer, AVilliam 
Jlilburn, seeing his usefulness, made him a sawyer, 
and he was afterwards given entire charge of the 
mill, being there employed from the spring of 
1845 until 1851, with the exception of ten months 
in 1848-41), when he was a student at Notre Dame 
(Ind.) University. The year 1850 witnessed his ar- 
rival in Michigan, and for one summer he was em- 
ployed in a mill in Lawrence, Van Buren County, 
after which he there taught school in the winter of 
1850-51. The following spring he returned to 
Mishawaka and bought a one-eighth interest in a 
new steam sawmill, having charge of the saw de- 
partment. 

About this time, on the IKtii of April. lS,',l.Mr. 
Ferris wedded Hannah Milburn, sister of his 
former eirpl03-er. .She was born in England, Jan- 
uary 1, 182G, and in 1818 came to America with 
her brother William, making her home in Jlisha- 
waka. In August, succeeding their marriage. Mi'. 
Ferris sold out and removed to Lawrence, Jlicli., 
where he bought a third interest in a mill, 
helped to rebuild it and followed that business un- 
til 1854. He then again sold, and removed to his 
present farm in December of that year, having 



390 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



here resided since. The home has been blessed by 
the presence of four children: "William M., who 
married Minnie Wood, and is now living in 
Waldo, Kan.; Mary E., wife of Robert C. O'Brien, 
of Chesliire Township, by whom she has four 
children; Marcus A., a farmer of the same town- 
ship, who married Florence Motter, by whom he 
has one child; and Joseph G., who died at the age 
of nineteen years. 

Mr. Ferris settled upon a four hundred and 
eighty-acre tract of wild land, eleven miles from 
Allegan, and built a double log cabin. Indians 
were still frequent visitors in the neighborhood, 
few roads had been cut through and the worli of 
development and progress seemed scarce!}' begun. 
In May, 1855, Mr. Ferris began building a saw- 
mill, which he operated for a number of years, 
when it was totally destroyed by fire. He then 
built about eight}' rods from the old site, but the 
water afterward failed and he discontinued its 
operation and began improving his farm. Since 
then he has given his entire attention to agricult- 
ural pursuits and now has three hundred and eigh- 
teen acres of valuable land, two hundred and forty 
of which are highly cultivated. He has cleared and 
fenced his farm himself, and added greatly to its 
value and attractive appearance by many improve- 
ments. He pays considerable attention to the rais- 
ing of fine grades of sheep and draft and coach 
horses. His home, which was erected in 1860, is 
the finest residence in the township and is the 
abode of hospitality. The members of the family 
liold a high position in the social world and their 
friends throughout the community are many. 

Mr. Ferris is member of the Catholic Church. 
His wife belonged to the Congregational Church 
in England, but of late j^ears has been an active 
worker in the Methodist Churcli. With school 
interests he lias been activel}' identified, has given 
his children good advantages, and two have Ijeen 
teachers. So efficient was he as member of the 
Board, that those who first opposed him were after- 
ward vociferous in their entreaties for him to con- 
tinue in office. He cast his first Presidential vote 
for Henry Clay and supported the Whig party 
until the organization of the Republican party, 
with which he has since been identified. He is one 



of the prominent Republicans in this community 
and has fought many hard practical battles, espe- 
cially in trying to get the party to embody tem- 
perance principles. He served as Clerk in Law- 
rence Township, Van Buren County, was also 
School Inspector, and in 1855 was elected Clerk of 
Cheshire Township. He held the office of School 
Inspector here until the organization of the school 
districts. 

Elected as Representative from his district, Mr. 
Ferris served in the Legislature in 1871 and 1872, 
when he declined a re-nomination. During that 
time, he helped elect Tliomas W. Ferry to the 
United States Senate, was Chairman of the Lumber 
Committee, a member of the Committee on State 
Prisons and also of the joint committee to visit the 
penal and reformatory institutions of the State. 
The cause of temperance ever found in him a 
stanch advocate, and all social, educational and 
moral interests receive his hearty support. His 
public and private life are above reproach. He 
has been a faithful public officer and a valued citi- 
zen of the communit}', who has done much for the 
upbuilding of the county during his many years 
of residence here. He has the respect of his manj' 
acquaintances and the warm regard of a large 
circle of friends. 



;, ANIEL PRATT, who is a son of one of the 
pioneer families of Allegan County, was 
*^ reared under the primitive influences that 
prevailed in the early years of the settlement of 
this region, and has taken his place among the 
bus}', practical farmers of Martin Township, where 
most of his life has been passed since he was 
brought here in childhood from his native State. 
He is a son of Huljbard Pratt, and was born in 
Seneca County, N. Y., June 27, 1830, Phelps 
Township being his birthplace. His father was a 
native of "\'ermont, but was reared in New York, 
and was married in Seneca County, that State, to 
Miss Marth McBride, who was born and reared in 
that Common wealtli. He was a farmer by occupa- 
tion, and after marriage he located on a rented 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



391 



farm. IIo ami liis wife removed to Oliio in 1834, 
and tiic foUowiiii,' yi'arcame toMicliiijan, coming di- 
rect to Allegan C'ount^'.lieing among the first .settlers 
in Martin Township, where the father selected a 
tract of land on section lit. He built a typical 
pioneer abode of logs for the shelter of his family, 
and then entered upon the liard labor re(iuired to 
fell the timber with which his place was covered. 
In time ho hewed out a good farm from the for- 
est*, and lived thereon in comfort and ccmtent- 
ment the remaining j-ears of his life, which was 
brought to a close at a ripe old age in 1880. lie 
was a sturdj' Democrat in his politics, and was in 
every way a good jiioneer citizen, who was useful 
in developing the agriculture of this count}'. lie 
was a son of William Pratt, a .soldier in the War 
of 1812, and he came of good old New England 
stock, as dill his wife's people also. She died some 
j-ears after the family came to Michigan. She 
was the mother of eight children, three daughters 
and five sons, all of whom grew to maidiood and 
womanhood, except one that died in infancy. 
The others are Lewis, a resident of Wayland; Dan- 
iel; Jane, wife of Henry Walker; Mary, who mar- 
ried John Corning, both of whom are now dead; 
Alonzo, a resident of ^Martin Township; William, 
who also lives in that township; and Martha, who 
married William Chapman, and is now dead. 

Daniel Pratt is the second son of the family. He 
was five years old when the famil}- came to Michi- 
gan, lie obtained his entire education in a little 
log schoolliouse. on section 22, Martin Township. 
He early became familiar with the details of farm- 
ing, through having to assist his father on the old 
homestead, hel|)ing him to clear and improve the 
fann until he was twenty-one years old, when he 
began life on his own account. He worked out by 
the month until his marriage, which took place Jan- 
uary 2-1,185 j,to Miss Sarah Spooner,a native of New 
York. In her, be had a helpmate kind .and true, a 
veritable homeniaker.who looked carefully after the 
comfort of her liousehold, and Wius a wi^e and tender 
mother to her children. She died August 27, 1891, 
leaving behind her the record of a life well spent. 

Three children were born to our subject b}- his 
marriage, namely: Harriet, who married Moses 
Ward, and has a little girl, Jessie Ma}', eight years 



old: Willis, a resident of Martin Township, who 
married Miss Eva Rurnham, and had two children: 
IJcrt, and Maliel, who is deceased; and George, 
who died at the age of sixteen months. 

^Ir. Pratt and his wife began their married life 
ill a liouse tliat he liuiltof logs, on his present farm, 
wiiicli :it tlial time formed apart of the forest that 
prevailed here. f)iily five acres of it were cleared 
when it came into his possession, and he cut the 
logs for his dwelling, which he built 16x24 feet in 
dimensions. He now has the sixty .acres compris- 
ing his homestead under fine tillage, and amply 
provided with all the necessary improvements for 
carrying on agriculture conveniently. He does a 
general farming business, and raises a good cl.ass 
of stock. 

Mr. Pratt is a man of excellent sense and sound 
understanding, whose career as a farmer refiects 
credit on his township, in wiiose development as 
a prosperous and wealthy agricultural center, he 
h.as liecn an important factor. In him the I^epub- 
lican parly finds a steadfast adherent. 



■ft 



g=^ 



"SD 



^i^l 



PANIEL D. HARRIS, Postmaster and gen- 
eral merchant at Shelbyville Station, is 
classed among the active and enterprising 
3'Oung business men of Allegan County, who are 
so potent in sustaining and extending its commer- 
cial and other interests. lie is a native of South- 
ern Michigan, born in the town of Calesburg, May 
.5, 1859. His father, D. Harris, and his grand- 
father, James Harris, who were both natives of 
New York, the former born in Otsego County in 
1825, were both earlv pioneers of Kalamazoo 
County, where they settled in 1834. The grand- 
father w.as one of the first to settle in Charlestown 
Township, that count}-, where he took up a tract 
of land from the Government. He was a son of 
an Englishman who came to America when a 
young man and made his home in the Empire 
State. 

The father of our subject was but a boy when 
his parents settled in tlie forest wilds of Kalamazoo 
County, and in after years he was there married 
to Miss Adeline Ralph, a native of that count}-. 



392 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Her parents, George and Hettie Ralph, who are 
natives of England, are lionored in the annals of 
that count}' as pioneers of Charleston, where they 
settled in 1835. They have attained the venerable 
ages of ninety-one and eighty-nine years respec- 
tively, and have enjoyed an unusually long wedded 
life of sixty-nine years. Tlie parents of our subject 
have four children, three sons and one daughter. 
Their son Willard died at the age of seven months; 
their son Jay is clerking for his brother Daniel, and 
their daughter Cora is also with him. 

D. D. Harris is the second child and the second 
son of the family. He passed his bo3"liood in his 
native town, and was well educated in its schools. 
He gained his first experience of the mercantile 
business as a clerk in the store of Messrs. Schroder 
it Olin, of Galesburg, with whom he remained 
eighteen months. He then went north to Keweenaw 
Count}', where he clerked in a general store a like 
length of time. Retuining to this part of Miclii- 
gan, he located where lie now resides, and formed 
a partnership with Mr. Schroder, Jr., to conduct a 
general store. They were together two j'ears and 
nine months, and then Mr. Harris Ijought his part- 
ner's interest in the concern, which he has since 
carried on alone. He lias a neat and well-arranged 
establishment, which is completely stocked with a 
fine assortment of dry-goods, groceries, crockery, 
paints, oils, etc. He has built up an extensive and 
profitable trade on a solid basis,a^ he has a thorough 
understanding of his business, gives it his undivided 
attention, has a keen comprehension of what is best 
suited to the wants and tastes of his patrons, who 
always find him courteous and obliging, and strictl}' 
reliable in all his transactions, his credit standing 
high in financial circles. Mr. Harris, as before 
mentioned, adds the duties of Postmaster to his 
other business, having been appointed to that pos- 
ition in 1889. He began life with but little means, 
and though still in the prime of early manhood 
has already won an assured place among the mon- 
ied men of this section of the county. He is 
popular socially, and is a member of Prairie Lodge, 
No. 92, A. F. & A. M., at Galesburg. He was at 
one time Justice of the Peace. In his political 
relations he stands with the Republican party. 

Mr. Harris was married in his native town in 



April, 1882, to Miss Louise, a daughter of Luke 
Keith, of that place. They have established one 
of the coziest homes at Shelbyville Station, and 
their pleasant household is completed by their 
three children: Lavern, Floyd and Leone. Their 
little son .Jay died at the age of four years. 



<^- 



^¥ 




Andrew PYL, a resident of Kalamazoo 
Citj', where he makes his home at No. 842 
South Burdick Street, is a native of the 
land across the sea. He was born in Hol- 
land, February 2, 1826, and is a son of Benjamin 
Pyl, who was a mason by trade. Our subject be- 
came a mason also, by trade, but in tlie winters 
made wooden shoes, continuing in this until he 
came to the United States in 185.5. 

Upon coming to the I'nited States, Mr. Pyl came 
direct to Kalamazoo, and began working at his 
trades until 1370, the last five years of that time 
being emplo3'ed in masonry at the as3'lum, under Dr. 
Van Dusen. The year 1870 he was engaged quite 
extensively in making soap with Mr. Franzee. They 
sold out and engaged in the grocer}- business for 
some sixteen years very successfully, on South 
Burdick Street, at the corner of Alcott. Since 
that time, Mr. Pyl has not been engaged in any 
active labor. He is living retired in a pleasant and 
happy home, surrounded with all the comforts of 
life. His daughter and son reside in adjoining 
houses which he has built. 

The date of the marriage of our subject to Miss 
Synthia Wagemaker was December 16, 1858, at 
Kalamazoo City. Mrs. Pyl was also a native of 
Holland, coming to this country two years after 
Mr. Pyl did. She was called from her home and 
children April 9, 1888. She bore her husband the 
following named children: Benjamin, Jennie 
(who died at the age of four and one-half years), 
Jennie and John. Benjamin is a graduate of 
the State University, and is practicing medicine at 
Grand Rapids, where he has a lucrative practice. 
Jennie is the wife of Sirk Wykkel, of Kalamazoo. 
John is a jeweler in company with liis brother-in- 
law, Mr. Wykkel. Mr. Pyl was a second time 
married, .June 10, 1889, to Mrs. Johanna jSLariah 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



393 



DeRoo, of Roseland, Chicago, and the widow of 
Hiram Vanderbilt, to whom she was married in 
Keokuk, Iowa. Jlrs. I'yl was born iu Holland, and 
is the mother of two daughters b}' her first hus- 
band, .Johanna and .Tennie Vanderbilt, both resid- 
ing at Roseland. 

Our subject and his wife are both members of 
the Dutch Reformed Church, and have been ver_y ac- 
tive in church work, lie iiolding the offices of Elder 
of the church, and Superintendent of the Sunday- 
school for twenty-six years. >Ir. Pyl, of this 
sketch, has been a successful man in his business 
undertakings, crediting his prosperity to strict at- 
tention to business. For the last twenty years he 
has occasionally dealt in real estate, and has like- 
wise built several houses in the cit_v of Kala- 
mazoo, which he has sold. He has gained a com- 
petenc}' and is now living a retired respected life. 
He and his good wife are lield in tlie highest es- 
teem by the people of the community. 



3 *1**J* •«••»• 



•^•{••{••{•i- 



JACOB (iUJ^SAUI.. is the popular Postmaster 
at Covert, and also holds the office of Su- 
pervisor of Covert To-Rnship, Van Buren 
County. His residence in the place dates 
from November, 1871, he being one of the earliest 
settlers of tliat town. He wjus born in Guilford 
Township, Medina Count}', Ohio, October 10,1840, 
and is a son of Benjamin and Catherine (Long) 
Gunsaul, natives of Pennsylvania. Ilis parents 
were married in their native State and removed to 
Miami County, Ohio, where tlie^y were among the 
early pioneers. There they bouglit a tract of un- 
improved land which they cleared up and im- 
proved into a fine farm, where the father died 
at the age of sixty-three. The mother is still liv- 
ing at Chatham, Ohio. Thej- reared a family of 
thirteen cliildren.of whom our subject is the ninth 
in order of birth. 

The earl}' life of Mr. Gunsaul was passed upon 
a farm, and his school advant.ages were very lim- 
ited, as he was able to give but very little time to 
attendance at the common school. He has, how- 
ever, made uyi for any deficiency in this respect by 
careful reading and study since arriving at man- 



hood and has thus acquired a good business educa- 
tion. In 1861, Mr. Gunsaul emigrated to Miehi- 
<;an and for a short time was engaged in cutting 
cordwood in (ianges Townsliip, Allegan County. 
He was married, August 9, 1862, to Miss Harriet .1. 
Bostwick, daughter of William R. and Eliza Bost- 
wick, who was born in Edinburg, Portage County, 
Ohio, August 20, 1842. The AYar of the Rebellion 
w.-is at that time being waged, and two d.ays after 
his marriage, on August 1 1, Mr. Gunsaul left liis 
young bride and enlisted on the side of the Union 
in that great struggle. He was mustered into the 
service in Company B, Nineteenth Jlicliigan In- 
fantry, going at once to Cincinnati and from 
there marching through Kentucky to Chattanooga. 
The ciy was then, "'On to Richmond," and with 
his command he took part in the battle of Spring 
Hill, March 4, 1863. The brigade was captured, 
our subject being among the number; he was held 
a prisoner for one month, being in Liljby Prison 
for nine days at that time. He was at the time 
Corporal of his company. After being released 
from prison he went to Camp Chase, Ohio, and 
was for thirteen days at home, when he was called 
back, soon afterward taking part in the campaigns 
from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and participating in 
most of the skirmishes and battles incident to that 
campaign. He marched with Gen. Sherman to the 
sea, and from thence to Washington, where he wit- 
nessed the Grand Review. During his service in 
the army, he was in tliirteen regular engagements, 
besides numerous skirmishes, etc. 

On his discharge from the army, .June 10, 1865, 
Mr. Gunsaul returned to Allegan County, Mich., 
and purchasing land cng.iged in farming. In 1871, 
he removed to Covert .and was in the employ of 
the I'ackard Lumber Compan}- for some three years. 
At the end of this time he again went on a farm, 
where he remained until 1889, when he sold out 
and purchased property in Covert, where he w.as 
soon after appointed Postmaster. He also carries 
on the grocery business and is one of the leading 
men of the place. He h.as one child, a son, Charles, 
who wa.s born August 20, 1867. In politics, !Mr. 
Gunsaul is a Republican. He was Treasurer of 
Covert for two yeai"S and is now serving his fourth 
term as member of the Board of Supervisors. He 



394 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 




is a member of George Allen Post, No. 351, G. A. 
R., of which Le is Post-Commander. He also be- 
longs to the Independent Order of Good Templars, 
in which he has been an active member. He is ac- 
tive in temperance work and is a member of the 
Temperance Club, which is an organization formed 
for the purpose of enforcing the laws controlling 
the liquor traffic. Mr. Gunsaul is a man of great 
force of character and believes that whatever is 
worth doing at all is worth doing well. 



AMUEL IIADAWAY, a representative 
farmer residing on section 8, Casco Town- 
ship, Allegan County-, was born in Kent 
County, England, on December 17, 1830. 
He is a son of John and Sarah Iladaway. The 
father was also born in Kent County in 1791, and 
was reared to farming pursuits, which he followed 
all his life. His education was vcrj- limited. 
"When quite a young man he married Sarah Startup. 
To this couple were born eight children, three of 
whom died when 3'oung in life. Those who grew 
to years of maturity are John, of England; Sarah; 
William, now deceased; James and Samuel. 

Our subject, like many others of his day in 
England, began to make a portion of his living 
when a mere child, going to work for twopence 
a day. His school days were few, for from the 
time he was large enough to do anj-thing, he had 
to work. Thus he struggled along until nearly 
reaching his majority, when there came a financial 
panic in his country, and he could not get an}'- 
thing to do. He became entirelj' destitute, and 
was compelled to go to the poorhouse. He suc- 
ceeded in borrowing SSO to pa}- his passage to the 
United States, and landed in New York in 1849 
with but one shilling. He soon found work, which 
was quite encouraging to the young mau. He 
located in Wayne County, N. Y., where he worked 
on a farm four years. Thus he was enabled to 
return the borrowed money during his first eight 
months' residence here. 

While a resident of Wayne County, N. Y., Mr. 
Hadaway was married to Elizabeth Goodwin, Sep- 
tember 6, 1853. This union has been blessed by 



the birth of eight children, four of whom died 
when young: Sarah J.; Julia, deceased; Martha, 
deceased; .John, Grace, and Dwight A.; Edward and 
William, twins, deceased. In 1856 our subject re- 
moved with his family to Kosciusko County, Ind., 
where he remained on a farm several years, and 
in 1863 moved to Michigan, locating at once in 
Casco Township, on his present farm. But instead 
of a beautiful farm of one hundred acres, with 
nice buildings, etc., which it now is, it was naught 
but a wilderness, with a small board shanty, as 
crude as a barn. Mrs. Iladawa}' died in September, 
1878, and our subject was married to Mrs. Rachel 
A. Fowler, the widow of John Fowler, and 
daughter of Benjamin and Maria (Lee) Ostrander. 
She was the mother of one child by her first union. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hadaway are valued members of the 
United Brethren Church, and politicall}-, the hus- 
band is a Republican. 







j,^., YRON A. POWELL. We are pleased to 
present to the consideration of our readers 
a citizen of Monterey Township, Allegan 
County, who stands high in the estimation 
of his neighbors and is justly locked upon as one 
of the most prominent men in the count}-. He is 
a progressive and successful farmer and stock- 
breeder, whose beautiful estate of two hundred and 
ninet3--three acres lies on section 16. He is one of 
the most extensive horsemen in this county and 
breeds fine standard and thorougbred animals, de- 
voting one hundred acres of his estate to the 
horse farm. He is an excellent judge of horse- 
flesh and has in his stables some very valuable .ani- 
mals. In his farming operations he finds thai the 
best methods and latest improvements bring him in 
the largest returns. 

Myron A. Powell is the son of William and 
Catherine (Wright) Powell, the father a native of 
New York State and the mother born in Stuttgart, 
which is the capital of Wurteraberg, Germany. 
Our subject was born May 8, 1838, in Defiance 
Count}-, Ohio, where his father was the second man 
in Farmer Township. He was reared on a farm 
and came to Monterey Township, Allegan County, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



395 



in 18.58. After his arrival Iiere lie went to work 
in tiie lunilier woods, continuing in that line of 
work until 1862, when he enlisted in Company 1, 
Fifth Michigan Cavalry and w.is attaclied to the 
Army of the Potomac. He served under Gens. 
Sherman, Custer and Kilpatrick, and participated 
with his cf)mpnny in tlie various engagements in 
tlie Shenando;ih N'alley. At the close of hostilities, 
he received an honorable discharge and retunK'(l 
to Michigan. 

The gentleman whose name we place at the head 
of this sketch was married in IS.'jIt to Mar\ K. 
Dalrymple, and to them were horn four ciuldren: 
Annie, who became Mrs. Martin Stineman, resides 
in Grand Rapids; Carrie married .lames Schuler 
and makes her home in South Bend, Ind.; Gertrude 
is unmarried and teacliing in the Jlonterey schools. 
She has been given a tine education, being a grad- 
uate of Ilolden College, at IIolden.^Eo., and Alma 
College, in Michigan. Charles, the fourth child, 
was accidentally killed on the railroad when a lad 
of sixteen. .Mrs. Powell is the daughter of Samuel 
Dalrymple, a native of New York State. 

In politics, our subject is a true-blue Republican 
and is an active member of Post No. 180, G. A. K., 
at Monterey. He has been honored by his fel- 
low-citizens I\y being elected to the various 
township oflices and has been .lustice of tiie Pe.ace 
for a [leriod of over twent}- years. His fine estate 
is truly the work of his own hands, as he started 
out in life without a dollar. His place is now 
stocked with thirty head of line horses, in which 
branch of farming he is very successful. He is a 
lover of horses and thus finds it nf> very great task 
to care for them. 



[L^EMAN A. FOWLER is a prosperous farmer 
*>»' residing on section 18, Casco Township, 
Allegan County, and was born in Waldo, 
^ Me., in 1824. His parents were George and 
Sarah (Ward) Fowler, natives of Maine, where the 
father was reared on a farm. He remained with 
his parents until about tweutj'-flve years old, at 
which time he was married to the mother of our 
subject. They reared a family of seven children. 



named as follows: Sarah, wife of Josiah Ward; 
IK'man A.; Martha, who is now deceased; Nathan, 
Hosea, Joseph, and Jennie, the wife of J. K. Plum- 
mer. After the marri.agc of the parents ^of our 
subject, they settled on a farm in Waldo County, 
Me., and (in this farm of seventy acres the father 
lived until his death. He fought bravely in the 
War of 1812. The grandi)areuts of our subject 
were Mathew and Sarah (Ward) Fowler, the former 
a native of Ireland, who with a brother came to 
.Vmerica in the eighteenth century. After arriv- 
ing in this country, the brother was never heard 
from. Matthew served in the Revolutionary con- 
diet. 

Ilcman A. Fowler lived with his parents until 
eighteen jears of age when he started in the world 
for himself by working in the lumber woods in the 
winters and in the sawmills in the summers. This 
labor he continued until the age of twenty-five 
years when he was married. He chose as his life 
companion Caroline Leighton, whose parents were 
Smithson and Eliza Leighton, natives of the State 
of jMaine. After the marriage of Mr. Fowler, he 
remained with his parents for some years and then 
engaged in the general merchandising business at 
Lewiston, j\Ie. In the year 18iVJ, he came to Ot- 
sego, Allegan County, where he rented and car- 
ried on a farm for three years. He then came to 
Casco Township where he purchased his present 
estate of one hundred and si.xty .acres of land in 
the wilderness. lie at once put forth his persistent 
efforts and cleared away enough brush to Ituild a 
small board house. Thus he began with limited 
means in a new country and by his own industri- 
ous lal)ors and .sagacious judgment, united with 
economy and good husiness qualifications, he has 
secured a competency and is now living in the en- 
joyment of the comfort-s and lu.Kuries wealth 
affords. He has placed upcm his farm the beauti- 
ful buildings we now see to-day; he also has a fine 
orchard of forty acres. 

The union of our subject and his estimable wife 
has been blessed by the birth of seven children, 
[\vc now living, and all of whom are now married: 
Llewellyn; Clarence; Lillie, wife of Willis Baker; 
.\rthur; and .Vddie who married M, Power. Mr. 
and Mrs. Fowler are worthy members of the Meth- 



396 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



odist Episcopal Church and politically Mr. Fowler 
IS a stanch Republican and has Ijeen called upon to 
hold different local offices in his township. Our 
subject and his family move among the best social 
circles of the township and are held in the highest 
esteem bv all who know them. 



=^S 



^^\ 



\'{^A 



■B 



ll^M* 




^ AYETTE L. H0LLI8TER. This prominent 



resident of Casco Township, Allegan 
Countjr, was born in Cattaraugus Count3', 
N. Y., in 1840. He is at present residing on sec- 
tion 24, where he is engaged in tilling the soil in a 
most profitable manner. His parents were Andrew 
and Mary Hollister; the father was born in Genesee 
Count}', in 1806. 

Andrew Hollister was reared on a farm, and 
when quite young, went to live with a familv by 
the name of .Smith. He remained witii them until 
becoming of age, at vvhich time he commenced the 
battle of life on his own account by teaching 
school. He afterward learned the trade of a car- 
penter, which occupation he successfully followed 
the remainder of his life. The maiden name of 
our subject's mother was Mary, daughter of George 
Duulap. In 1842 she accompanied her husband to 
Michigan, where they located on Silver Creek, Al- 
legan County. There the father puieh-ased a farm, 
which he continued to reside upon and improve 
until 1849, when he moved to Blunimerville, Gan- 
ges Township, same count3^ He made another 
move, however, in 1852, at which time he came to 
the farm which is owned by our subject, and 
which contained one hundred acres of wild laud. 

The first work of the senior Mr. Hollister on 
coming to Casco Township was to erect a cabin for 
his famil}'. He then worked out by the day in 
order to obtain the necessities of life. He soon, 
however, traded his farm on Silver Creek for a 
yoke of oxen and a cow, and thus began the cul- 
tivation of his property. He was veiy industrious 
and lived to see tlie greater portion of his estate 
placed under good cultivation. 

Four children were born to our subject's parents, 
viz: Emmaranda, now deceased, was the wife of 
John Kennedy; Harland, deceased; Anna, who be- 



came the second wife of .John Kennedy, and our 
subject. The father of these children died February 
8, 1883, and the mother, December 23, 1871. Fay- 
ette L. Hollister remained with his parents until 
their death, taking charge of the farm and caring 
for them. He now owns seven tj--flve acres of the 
old homestead, which is highly improved, twenty- 
five acres being devoted to fruit-raising. 

In 1869 our subject was married to Caroline 
Kennedy, the daughter of Erick and Matilda (Lar- 
kin) Kennedy, natives of New York. Mrs. Holl- 
ister was born in Wisconsin and was one of nine 
children born to her jjarents. To ]\Ir. and Mrs. 
Hollister have been granted five children: Edith, 
Mrs. Byron Hopkins; Cora R., Mable, who died in 
1891, aged fourteen j'ears, Claud and Eula. Mr. 
Hollister is a member of the Township and County 
Grange and is also connected with the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows at South Haven, and the 
Patrons of Industry. In politics he is a Repub- 
lican. 



SAMSON FOX, a resident of section 5, Casco 
Township, Allegan County, was a native 
! of the Mother Country, where he was born 
in Sussex, in 1831. His father was Thomas 
Fox, a native of the same place as his son, where he 
was reared on a farm, gaining but a limited educa- 
tion. When he was yet quite a 3-oung man, he was 
married to Elizabeth Dan, a daughter of Thomas 
Dan, of Sussex, England. They had born to them 
four children: Samson, our subject; William, de- 
ceased; Richard, of this township; and Thomas, a 
resident of England. The father of this family 
was called to the other world when our subject was 
quite joung and his mother was again married to 
James Ridley and to them were born six children: 
One who died in infanc}', James, Ileury, Joseph, 
Daniel and Ellen. 

When the subject of this sketch was but ten 
years of age, he had to make his own living by 
working on a farm for six cents a day and pay his 
own board. His earl}' life in England had many 
trials and he had to struggle hard to keep soul and 
body together. In 1856 he set sail for the United 







i% 





PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RI-XORD. 



399 



States and located in the western part of New 
York Slate where be was quite successful in farm- 
inj; nnd remained there eight years. AVhilo tlicrc 
he was married to Emily Ashdown and to them 
were born two children, both of whom died in in- 
fancy. 

In 1H()1. our subject and his wife started for 
Michiifan and on reaching this ])lace located on his 
present farm of forty acres. It was then an un- 
broken and wild piece of land, and his first house 
consisted of a board cabin. 12x14 feet, with only 
one room. In this humble abode and new coun- 
try the young couple settled, but the wife becom- 
ing a little dissatisfied returned to her people in 
New York. IMr. Fox was married again, taking as 
his wife Margaret Patterson. This home h.as liecu 
blessed with no children, but their home and hearts 
have itecn thrown open to Maggie Gilmey, daugh- 
ter of Samuel and Martha Gibney and a niece of 
Mrs. Fox. Our subject is a most worthy memljer 
of the I'nited Brethren Church, while his wife is a 
consistent and faithful member of the Methodist 
llpiscopal Church. Politicallj', Mr. Fox is a stanch 
Repul)lican and he and his estimable wife are held 
ill high esteem in the community. 

AVhcn Mr. Fox first came toMi(;higan, he liad no 
money except ^1 in silver. But he had a strong 
hand and a willing heart and he was determined 
to make a success. Bj' his own persistent efforts 
and sagacious judgment, he has brought his estate 
to wliat it now is to-d.ay — a fertile and attractive 
place, with good and substantial buildings erected 
thereon. 



^7®-^^<- 







•A , a prom- 
also widely 
igliout Van 
ies. Consid- 
ering what he has done for the community and his 
influence therein, his life sketch and portrait are 
valual>le additions to this work. He was born in 
Cliainpioii, .lefTerson County, N. Y., March 11, 
1H22. Ills father, Alexander Copley, Sr., was Ixjrn 
in (iruiidy, Hartford County, Conn., Novemlter 22, 
17110, and w.as the youngest of seven children, 
18 



The grandfather came from England in the early 
part of the eighteenth century. His wife died, 
leaving him witli five sons and two daughters, the 
eldest, eighteen years of age and the youngest a lad 
of six summers. The father, however, managed 
to eke out a living for his family with the as-ist- 
ance of thirty acres of poor land and the income 
from a quarter interest in a gristmill and a half 
interest in a sawmill, where there was little to ^a\v 
and less to grind. However, he kept his children 
together, and provided for their sujjport until the3' 
were able to care for themselves. In April, 1851, 
the oldest brother sold the property in Connecticut 
and removed the family to Worcester, Otsego 
County, N. Y. 

There young Copley, father of our subject, at- 
tended the district schools until fifteen years of 
age and at home studied surveying. In 1810, he 
was apprenticed to his brother AYilliam to learn the 
carpenter's trade in Jefferson County, N. Y., and 
from 1811 until 1814, worked with his brother as 
a journeyman. On the 25th of September of the 
latter year, he married Esther Nott, in Ciiampion, 
N. Y., where he followed his trade with varied suc- 
cess until June, 1822. In 1817, however, when 
work was scarce, he made a trip througli Western 
New York and as far as Cleveland, Ohio, looking 
for employment, and spent part of the summer 
working in Fredonia, N. Y., but bettering his con- 
dition little. In 1822, he removed to Hartford, 
N. Y., where his brother AVilliam had located, and 
spent two j-ears in the manufacture of cotton ma- 
chinery for companies located in New York Mills. 

In 1824, with his brother, Mr. Copley, Sr., re- 
moved to Waldron on the Iludscni. where the suc- 
ceeding two years of his life were passed in the 
manufacture of machinery for spinning and weav- 
ing. In 182() he went to Matteawan, N. Y., ac- 
cepting a position as superintendent of the m.achine 
shops, which he filled for three years. On Seiitem- 
ber 12, 182".), he left for the West, intending to lo- 
cate near Laf.ayette, Ind., but instead went to 
D.ayton, Ohio, arriving on the 18th of November. 
There he |>ut into operation the machinery in the 
first cotton mill at that place and, purchasing fifteen 
.acres of limber land near the city, experimented in 
the culture of silk. Coining to Michigan in 1832, 



400 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he located land on which Nicliolsville, Cass Countv, 
is now situated. Retuiiiiug, he spent the winter in 
preparations for removal and on .June 9, 1833, 
started witii two wagons, three yoke of oxen, one 
span of horses, four cows, poultry, etc. The horses 
were disabled in the Swamp of St. Marys and he 
then bought a yoke of oxen, arriving at Little 
Prairie Round, .July 1, 1833. lie traveled two 
hundred and thirty-five miles in twenty-one days. 
"With the exception of one night spent in a de- 
serted cabin on Sugar IJili in the Ellkhart Ijottoms, 
the family was compelled to camp along the way- 
side and the trip was a hard one. 

Mr. Copley built the sawmill in Nicliolsville, the 
first in the township, beginning its operations De- 
cember 20, 1835, and afterward added a turn- 
ing shop for the manufacture of chairs, tables, 
etc. He had brought with him from Ohio two fine 
Durham cattle, the casting for three sizes of Wood's 
plows, Isabella grape vines and pie plant. He thus 
introduced several important articles into the 
county and he experimented with new varieties of 
crops and modes of culture. Hearing a revolvino- 
hay rake described, he made one. 

In politics, Mr. Copley .was not ambitious but 
served as Road Commissioner and Assessor, and 
with Dr. Tlioraas and A. E. Bull acted as commis- 
sioner in lajing out the State road from School- 
craft to St. Joseph, in 1839. He built tlie first 
schoolhouse in his district at liis own expense. At 
the age of twenty-two, he joined the Free INIasons 
and was an active member of the Swedenborgian 
Church. For tiie last three years of his life his 
health was very poor and he died of consumption, 
Januarj' 6, 1842. No man did more for the county 
in its earl}'^ history than did Mr. Copley, and his 
death proved a great loss to the community. One 
of nature's noble men, he lived an upright, honor- 
able life and was highly respected by all. He left 
three sons and six daughters and his widow sur- 
vived him until May 12, 1852. 

On his father's death, our subject, then twenty 
years of age, was left with a widowed mother, one 
brother and five younger sisters to care for. For 
many years he continued the head of tlie family 
and manager of affairs. In his youtlihe attended 
the district schools but his education was 



mostly of the kind that a man acquires from eon- 
tact with the world when he is forced to make his 
own way in life. The resources of his nature were 
thus developed and industry, enterprise and faith- 
fulness characterized all he did. He was practi- 
cal, and became a successful farmer, and followed 
that pursuit in Volinia Township, Cass County, 
until 1874, whin he removed to Decatur, where he 
has since made his home. He was one of the 
original stockholders of tlie First National Bank 
and served as its President for the greater part of 
its time until,its charter expiring in 1890, it was suc- 
ceeded Jiy the State Bank of Decatur, of which 
Mr. Copley is President. He is also interested in 
farming and owns a prairie farm of two hundred 
and fifty-nine acres of v.aluable land which yields 
him a good income. 

In 1850, Mr. Copley was married to Miss .Jane 
Helen, sister of B. Hathaway, of Cass County, and 
unto them have been born two sons: Edwin B.,thc 
elder, who married Esther McKain, operates his 
father's farm in Cass County; A. "W. married 
Miss Minnie Morse and is now pursuing a course 
of law study in Ann Arbor University. The 
mother was called to her final rest Septeml)er 20, 
1890, and interred in the cemetery in Volinia 
Township, Cass County. She was a lady whose 
many excellencies of char.acter made her beloved 
by all. February 29, 1892, Mr. Copley was again 
married, his wife being Mrs. Emma W. Pritchard, 
of Cherry Valley, 111., a sister of his former wife. 

Mr. Copley is a member of the Swedenborgian 
Church and in politics, is a Republican. He takes 
an active interest in political affairs and has been 
called upon to fill many offices. For six j-ears he 
was a member of the Board of Supervisors of Cass 
County and in 1865 he represented the Northern 
District of that count}- in the State Legislature, 
and again was its Representative in 1871 and 1872. 
In 1875 he represented the Eastern District of Van 
Buren County, and was re-elected in 1881. He 
proved a competent member of the General As- 
sembly and made niaiiy friends among the most 
prominent men of tlie State. Much of his time has 
been devoted to public improvement. He was instru- 
mental in constructing the main road across the 
swamp southeast of Decatur and is now laboring 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPH'CAL RECORD. 



101 



(or the drainasje and reclaiming of the Dowagiac 
Swamp. Wiiat lie lias done for Decatur and the 
county cannot he estimated hut his lahors will live 
after him and make him honored long after he 
shall have passed away. His life has indeed been 
well and worthily spent and both his public and 
private career are alike above reproach. He pos- 
sesses a genial manner, a benevolent and philan- 
thropic spirit and the high regard of all who know 
him. 



^KOHGK W. GRIFFIN. Among the push- 
ing, energetic and successful farmers and 
fruit-growers of Allegan County is the 
subject of this biographical notice. He is the pos- 
sessor of one of the finest fruit farms in the 
county, which contains fifty-three acres, and is 
located on section 25. He was born in 18-48, in 
Dane County. Wis., and is the son of Hiram and 
Helen Griffin. The father was born in Connecti- 
cut in 180;». but his parents removing to New 
York, his boyhood days were p.assed on a farm in 
Chnutau<iua County. 

Mr. Ihram (irillin was an agriculturist, and in 
1810 emigrated to Lal'ortc County, Ind., where he 
cultivated the soil for four years. Later, with an 
iix-team, he moved his family and household 
goods to Dane County, Wis., when neighbors were 
few and far between. He there purch.ised from 
the Government one hundred and sixtj- acres of 
land, paying therefor 1)1.2;') per acre. He at once 
began the innirovement of his Land, and for ten 
years hauled his grain to Milwaukee to market, 
which was ninety miles distant. 

In 1868, the father of our subject came to 
Michigan and located near what is now the present 
home of Tieorge W. He bought a small peach 
farm, and turned his attention to raising fruit 
until his decease. When twenty-seven ^'eare of 
age, he wa,s married to our subject's mother, who 
hore the maiden name of Helen McCall. Their 
union resulted in the birth of five children, viz: 
llmily, now Mrs. .]. L. Colby; .Judith E., Mrs. R. 
1,. Wood; Horace E.; Mar\-; our suliject. They 
were both memlwrs of the I'nited brethren Churcli, 
and in politics Mr. Griffin w;is a Republican. He 



was prominent in township affairs, and was tlie 
recipient of many public offices. 

When twenty -one years of age, oui subject pur- 
chased a porticin of his present farm, and took 
unto himself a wife and helpmate in the person of 
Emma .1., daughter of Washington and Martha 
Potter, pioneers of Casco Township, now re- 
siding in South Haven. To Jlr. and Mrs. Griffin 
have been granted three children: Harry M., R03' 
S., and Ruth. 

George W. Griffin began for himself in life by 
working his father's farm on shares. He now is 
the proud possessor of one of the finest fruit farms 
in the county, and which nets him a handsome 
income. Mrs. (uiffin was one of four children 
born to her parents: John II.. Eva M., and one 
who died in infanc3\ Mr. Griffin's motlier resides 
on the old homestead, at the age of seventy-five 
years. 

Socially, our subject is a member of Lodge No. 
140, A. O. U. W., at South Haven, and has served 
acceptably in the oftices of Township Supervisor 
and Treasurer. He is a Prohibitionist politically, 
and h.as done much toward furthering the cause 
of temperance in his community. He and his 
wife are members in good standing of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church at South Haven. They 
have two sons who are also connected with that 
denomination. The familj- are greatly respected 
in this county, and have a large circle of friends 
among its residents. 



y 



'5f|()llX M. IIKATII. Among the prominent 
citizens of Allegan, who l^y their enterprise 
and ])iiblic si)irit have done so much for the 
dovi'lopniciil of this town and county, is 
the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, and 
who is the proprietor of the Allegan Iron AVorks. 
He is one of the old settlei-s of Allegan County, 
coming here with his parents, James M. and .Susan- 
nah (White) Heath, in 181;'). They were natives 
of Cayuga County. X. Y., in which State our suli- 
ject was born, his liirth taking pl.ace November 
17, \S^2'^, in Nunda \'allp\-. Livinirston County. 



402 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



His fatlier was by trade a car])cnter and joiner, 
learning the business in Caj'uga County, wlience 
he removed, in 1819, to Livingston County, and 
helped to build a gristmill and sawmill. He also 
took up land in Nunda Valley, two miles from the 
place where the mills were built, and was the first 
settler in that valle}'. Here he purchased two 
hundred acres, on which he built, but later sold the 
property and moved four miles south, where he 
again engaged in farming. Later he returned to 
Nunda Valley and built the Eagle Hotel which he 
rented and continued working at his trade. He 
lived there until 1839, when he sold his interest in 
the hotel and came to Michigan, purchasing two 
hundred and fort3- acres of land one and a half 
miles from Flint, Genesee County. He then re- 
turned to New York, trading his farm at Flint for 
a farm on Oak Hill, Mt. Jlorris, Livingston Count}', 
where he settled and remained until 1842. In the 
latter year he again sold and removed to West 
Almond Center, Allegany County, N. Y., where 
he bought a farm and lived on it until 1845. 

At this time, Mr. Heath again concluded to try 
his fortunes in the West, and, coming to Allegan, 
this State, bought four hundred acres of land four 
miles northwest from the village. It was all wild 
laud, and he was the first settler in that county. 
He petitioned the Legislature to set off a portion 
of the township which belonged to Allegan Town- 
ship, and the act was passed, it being named for 
him. Heath Township. He lived there for a num- 
ber of years, being an eye-witness to the settlement 
of the land and its conversion from a w-ilderncss 
to fertile fields and thriving villages. He after- 
ward removed to Allegan, in which he spent his 
last days, dying there in August, 1865, at the age 
of seventy-two. The mother died on the farm 
when sixty-eigiit years of age. During the whole 
time Mr. Heatli resided in Heath Township, he was 
Justice of the Peace, being appointed by the State 
and being the first one given that office in that sec- 
tion of country. He also held the office of Supervisor 
and various other local positions. He was a stanch 
Democrat and a soldier the War of 1812. He be- 
longed to the Masonic fraternit}-. 

The Heath family are of Scotch descent, and the 
grandfather of our subject, Daniel Heath, was a 



native of Vermont. He was a soldier during the 
Revolutionary War and was severely wounded. 
He removed to Massachusetts, afterward owning a 
farm in Cayuga County, N. Y., and thence remov- 
iug to Buffalo when there were only three houses 
where that flourishing city now stands. Later he 
came to Indiana and lived in Rising Sun Townsliip, 
Ohio County, until iiis death. 

The parental family consisted of ten children, 
of whom five are living, namely: Horace B., a mer- 
chant of Melbourne, Australia; John M.; Amanda, 
J\I., who lives in Illinois; Orra L. (Mis. Davis), re- 
siding in Holland, Mich.; and Martin N.,of Cadil- 
lac, Mich., who is a broker. 

The subject of this sketch was educated in the 
Kalamazoo branch of the University of Michigan, 
and remained upon his father's farm until twenty- 
one years of age. He then purchased laud in Heath 
Township, on which he farmed two years. Tliis 
life, however, proved too monotonous and affairs 
moved too slowly to satisf\' liis ambitious disposi- 
tion. When a boy he would take his rule and 
me.asure the corn morning and evening, but as it 
did not grow fast enough, he determined to en- 
gugc in something which would bring in returns 
more quickly. He therefore engaged in the lum- 
lier liusiness, purchasing timber land in Heath 
Townslii[i, from which he cut the logs and floated 
them down the Kalamazoo River to Saugatuck, 
where he readily found a market. He also bought 
a sawmill four miles from Allegan, which he car- 
ried on for eight years, when he sold out in 18(;5 
and bought the machine shop and foundry whicii 
he has been operating since tliat time. He employs 
from three to fifteen men and is doing a flourish- 
ing business. He also deals in real estate and o|)- 
erates a sawmill five miles west of the town. In 
addition to this, he raises peaches, having a half- 
interest in twelve thousand peach trees. For 
twenty j'ears he has also been attorney for procur- 
ing patents for inventors. 

Mr. Heath was married to Mrs. Delia G. Atkins, of 
Allegan, their union taking place in August, 1872. 
By a former marriage Mr. Ileatli had three chil- 
dren; Ellen (Mrs. Cai)t. Turnbull); Nellie (Mrs. 
Wright), and James INI. Annabel is the only chihl 
by tiie second mari-iage. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



405 



Mr. Ilo.-itli i.s a Doiiiocifit in his political views 
iind li.oti licld all the township ollicesexcc;.! thai of 
Treasurer. lie has been Justice of the IVacc for 
nine years. Supervisor and one of the Village Trus- 
tees for two years. He lias a beautiful home, wliich 
is one of the finest residences in the city. Here he 
leads a liappy life, surrounded by his family, and 
Hiiding time in spite of all his numerous business 
cnterpiises to indulge in his love of reading and 
investigatitm. lie is an original thinker and h.is 
a genius for inventing. The family occupy a 
prominent jiosition in the social circles of Allegan. 



^+^ 



.(==«= 



-^ 



^^ APT. .lOHX H. McKENZIE, keeper of the 
(l( _ Tnited .States Life Saving Station at South 
^^^' Haven, is a man of cool judgment, great 
cour.-ige and decided executive al)ility, traits of 
char.acter which stand him in good stead in the 
resiwnsible position wliich he so ably tills. He w.as 
born on the Island of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, 
.lanuary 28, 1851, and is a son of Alexander and 
.M.iry(McLean)I\IcKenzic, natives of Scotland, born 
in 182-1 and 182;'), respectivel}'. They emigrated to 
Cape Breton in about 1850, the paternal grand- 
father of our sul>ject silso coming to that place. 

The father of our subject w.is a seaman and re- 
moved from Cape Breton to Bruce County, Cana- 
da West, and one year later to Goderich, in Huron 
County. In connection with his fatiier and 
brother-in-law, Alexander McKenzie, he owned a 
liont and followed fishing off the co.ast of Nova 
Scotia, marketing his fish in Boston. AVhen resid- 
ing at (ioderich, nnich of his time was em- 
ployed in sailing on the lakes. He also owned a 
farm but gave most of his attention to his other 
pursuits. The parental famil^^ consisted of ten 
children, of whom four grew to maturity, namely: 
.lohn II., Kate A., and .lohanna, who are at home; 
and Isaac, who is a tailor by trade and resides in 
South Haven. 

Capt. McKenzie was but a boy when the family 
settled in (ioderich. His parents were limited in 
means but they were willing to give their son a 
good education. He, however, was more ambitious 
to tiecome a sailor than a scholar, and thus at the 



age of fourteen he came to Michigan and en- 
gaged as a sailor and fisherman on the lakes, also 
being employed one season iu the life saving sta- 
tion on Thunder Bay Islands. In 1881 he came 
to South Haven, where he was employed as a 
fisherman on Lake Michigan, and for one summer 
worked for George Hanna in the lumber business. 
In Octolier, 188 I, he went to Muskegon and for ten 
months wasem])loycd in the life saving station at 
that place. March 7, 1887, he was coinmi.ssioncd 
keeper of the station at North Manitou Islands, 
where he was in charge until January, 1888, when 
he received the appointment of keeper of the sta- 
tion at South Haven. 

Capt. McKenzie w.is married, March 17, 1880, 
to Marcie, daughter of Thom.is and Sarah (Stover) 
Thom.as, the latter being a native of England. 
She was born in Chatham, Ontario, September 7, 
1808. They have been the parents of five chil- 
dren, one of whom died in infancy. Those liv- 
ing arc Alexjinder Thomas, Mary Adelaide, Henry 
Woods and Nancy Emma. Our subject became 
a naturalized citizen soon after he came to his ma- 
jority and for two years voted with the Demo- 
cratic party, since which time he h.is supported 
the Repulilic.an ticket in national matters, but in 
local affairs votes for the best man. He resides at 
the station, which is cozily furnished and finely 
equipped with all the apparatus necessarj- for the 
saving of life. Besides the keeper, there is a crew 
of seven men who are constantly on hand to assist 
in the rescue of wrecked vessels. Capt. McKenzie 
owns two cottages and five lots in South Haven. 
He is a Royal Arch JIason and a member of both 
the subordinate and encampment lodges of the 
Odd I-'ellows and also belongs to the Ancient Order 
ofl'nited Workmen and the Knights of the Mac- 
cabees. He is very jjopular with his associates, has 
a large circle of friends, and no better man could 
have been chosen for the position which he fills. 
In connection with this sketch his |)ortrait is pre- 
sented to our readers. 

A short record of the transactions of the South 
Haven Life Saving Station since its establishment 
may be of interest to our readers. This station 
w.as founded in the spring of 1887 with B. A. 
Cross as keeper, and is e(|ui|i|ied with nil the ap- 



406 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



paratus necessary for any lake station. It has a 
crew of eight men, including the keeper in charge. 

The first service rendered was on .June 20, 1887, 
when the steam yacht "Myrtle McClure" sank in 
the river. No lives were endangered. July 3, 
1887, a sloop was being dismasted two miles out 
and was towed into the harbor with two men on 
board. August 10, 1887, the '-Lillie Emiot" was 
water-logged and sank in the harbor. September 
10, 1887, the schooner "W. II. Hawkins" was water- 
logged fifteen miles out and was towed into h.ar- 
bor. October 3, 1887, the "City of Green I5ay" went 
ashore near tlie harbor, loaded with iron ore, and 
of the crew of seven men only one was .saved, 
Albert Slater. October 12, 1887, four persons 
were rescued with a surf boat. 

In .January, 1888, Capt. McKenzie succeeded B. 
A. Cross as keeper and took cliarge of the prop- 
erty, and under his command the crew was first 
called upon July 11, 1888, to assist the "Cora 
lielle." September 11, 1888, thej- assisted the 
"Libby Carter," and October 29, the "H. W. 
Williams." November 30, 1888, the "Magdalena" 
called for their aid, and April .5. 188;), the schooner 
"Dais}-" stranded and sank in the harbor. May 6, 
they assisted the "11. W. Williams" in getting out 
of the harbor. July 20. 18K0. the steamer "Joseph 
Farnani" was discovered on fire twenty miles from 
shore. The life saving crew was towed out by the 
steamer "Glenn," and the entire crew of the 
"Farnara," consisting of eleven men and one 
woman, the captain's wife, was rescued. .June 6, 
the same .year, they assisted the "Charles J. Smith," 
and October 12, the schooner "Rambler." January 
16, 1890, the schooner "Cora" went ashore, and a 
crew of three men was saved. October 14, the 
"Charles J. Smith" went ashore. Its crew of three 
men was also saved. June 7, 1891, an unnamed 
boat went out on a pleasure trip and could not 
get back and was assisted l\y the life saving crew. 
July 3, a schooner was helped ashore. July 4, a 
man was capsized in a row lioat and rescued by tlie 
life saving crew. July G, the yacht "Spray" lost 
her spar, and was brought into port with two men 
and three women on board. August 14, the 
schooner "Phantom" was in distress and her crew 
of two men were rescued. November 18, the 




schooner "Roekaway," loaded with lumber, water- 
logged eight miles from port. There was a heavy 
sea and the weather was cold. The crew of five 
men were saved in a surf boat. The "Roekaway" 
sank soon afterward and was a total loss. 



MLI^ARD E. GILKEY, a prominent horse- 
Ijl breeder of Plainwell, was born in Prairie- 
ville, Barry County, this State, March 24, 
18.54. William Y. Gilkey was his father, and was 
born in \ermont, June 10, 180.5. lie remained in 
his native State until nineteen years of .age. when 
he went to Boston, spending eight years at various 
pursuits. 

The f.ather of our subject came to Michigan in 
1832. making the longjourmey from New England 
overland with horse and cutter. His brother, Fos- 
ter Gilkey, had preceded him to the State and 
settled on Gull Prairie, in Kalamazoo County. 
The brothers entered into partnership in cultivat- 
ing their land and remained together until the 
death of our subject's father, January 13, 1H68. 
Thej- were pioneers on Gull Prairie, and became 
very wealth}', owning large tracts of land in Kala- 
mazoo, Bai-ry and Allegan Counties. Mr. Gilke}' 
also engaged extensivel}' in stock-raising and was 
one of the prominent and intluential men of his 
locality. Among his personal characteristics 
were those of love of truth, justice and progress, 
and a cordial, kindly spirit which made warm 
friends and standi adherents. He was an active 
member of the Repul)lican party and a zealous 
member of the Baptist Church. 

The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
was Lydia llrigliani. She was a native of the 15ay 
State, her birth occurring January 11, 1820. She 
was a most capable and worthy lady and respected 
alike by neighbors and friends. Her death oc- 
curred August 27, 1891. She was a life-long Bap- 
list. An extended notice of her parents* will be 
found elsewhere in this volume. 

The family of which our subject is a member in- 
cluded four sons and two daughters, of whom 
five are still living. Mr. (iilkej' was reared on a 
farm and attended the common schools of his 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



407 



iu'iijhli(irlu)ii(l until rojicliiiig his flftepnth year, 
after which he entered the Plainwell High School. 
Hi' has kept up liis studies and systematic rcadinsj, 
and is to-day one of the cultured and educated 
;,'entleinen of the county. 

Wiien about twenty years of age, Mr. Gilkey and 
his l)n:)ther, C. ()., engaged in tiie boot and shoe 
business in Plainwell. They continued together 
in that line for two years when tliey disposed of 
their stock and opened up a hardware store. A 
twelvemonth later thej' sold out their business and 
our subject turned his attention to farming, own- 
ing at tiiat time a farm near All>ion, this State. 
He subsequently purchased a .small farm within 
the corporate limits of Plainwell, and gave his 
time and .attention to the improvement of that 
beautiful tract of land. He erected on his place, 
in IMKI, a handsome frame dwelling which is sup- 
plied with all the modern improvements and con- 
veniences and is one of the finest in the county. 
He also built at the same time a large stalile w itli 
comfortable quarters for his horses, of which he 
has some fine specimens. 

For till" [)ast few j^ears Mr. Gilkey h.as given his 
attention to the breeding of standard-bred horses, 
having at the he.ad of his excellent stud of twenty 
animals, "President Garlield". He is the first 
horse bred and raised in Michigan that, at the age 
i>f nine years, had one of his get trot in 2:20. 
"Star I.illic," the mare accomplishing this feat, is 
now owned liy C. I. Hood, the great sarsapa- 
rilla maniif.acturer, who paid ^9,000 for her. Mr. 
Gilkey ha> sever.al very valuable animals and his 
success thus far in breeding them has been verj- 
llattering. 

In 1878 our subject w.is married to Miss Lizzie 
Waldo, a native of the "Wyoming County, N. Y. 
Mi's. Gilkey is the daughter of S. S. Waldo, who 
for a number of years was a woolen manufacturer 
in the Empire Stale. IJoth of her parents arc re- 
siding in Plainwell, where the father has been en- 
gjiged successfully in the grocery business for 
several years. They now reside at (Janges, where 
.Mr. Waldo is engaged in fruit-raismg. 

Our subject and his most estimable wife have 
adopted a little girl. Marguerite, who is being 
trained by tliein in all those accomplishments that 



will make her a cultured woman. Mr. Gilkej' has 
forty-four acres of excellent land in his home 
|)lace, also f)wnii'.g forty acres south of Plainwell 
and two hundred .acres in Prairieville Township, 
Parry County. He is also a stockholder in the 
.Michigan l'a[)er Company in Plainwell, where ho 
is rated !us one of the prominent and intlucntial 
citizens. With his estimable wife, he is a member 
in good standing of the Presbyterian Church, to 
the su[iport of which body he is a liberal contribu- 
tor. In politics, he votes with the Repulilican 
party. 



'jylOIIN F. ll.VLK, of Otsego, who Ims been 
variously identified with the interests of 
Southern Michigan for many years, and is 
^5^^ now associated with the agriculturists of 
Allegan County, is a fine representative of our 
self-educated and self-made men, as he has a high 
personal standing wherever known, and is hon- 
ored for his exemplary, upright life, and for the 
wholesome inlluence he has exerted upon the re- 
ligion and morality of his community b}' his ear- 
nest work in the church in behalf of temperance 
and other reform movements. 

Mr. Hale is of New England birth and breeding, 
born in the historic town of Bennington, Vt., June 
25,1821. For ancestral history see sketch of C. 
P. Hale. His parents were Zedock and Hannah 
(Chapin) Hale, natives of Massachusetts, the 
mother born in Franklin County. .She died in 
183;5, while yet in the prime of life. The father, 
who was a carpenter, removed to the West, and 
lived in Wisconsin several years. He died in 
1866 at a ripe age. 

Our subject was the fifth child of his father's 
first marri.age. He w.as reared on a farm until he 
was fourteen years old, his mother having died 
when he was nine ^years old, at which time he had 
gone to live with others away from his father's 
home. The little education that he secured in 
those years was obtained in the common district 
schools. .\t the age mentioned, he went to work 
in a woolen factory in Roe, M.a-ss., and, ambitious 
to have more learning, he worked nights to pay his 



408 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



board and went to school in the day time. Dur- 
ing the seven years that he was employed in that 
factory Ins wages langed from 15 to $9 a month. 
At the expiration of that time he went to North 
Adams, and was similarly emplo3ed in a factory 
in that place. He was frugal and of steady hab- 
its, and in 1849 he was enabled to establish him- 
self in business. Accordingly, he returned to his 
native town among the hills of Vermont, and for 
three j'ears successfully operated a factory on his 
own account, manufacturing the cloth at so much 
per yard. 

Actuated, perhaps, by a spirit of adventure as 
well as by a desire for more rapid gain, oiu- sub- 
ject settled up his affairs at Bennington in order 
to embark for the gold fields of California in 
1852. He proceeded to his destination in a steamer 
crossing the Isthmus, by the Nicaragua route. 
The steamer was wrecked on the Mexican coast, 
causing a delay of two months before the voyage 
was at last completed. Mr. Hale engaged in min- 
ing in the Golden State two j'ears, and in 1854 re- 
turned home with his gains by the way of Nic- 
aragua. The ensuing three years he spent in a 
woolen factory- in North Adams, Mass. In April, 
1856, he sought a new home in this State, locating 
on Gull Prairie, in the township of Richland, Kal- 
amazoo County, on a tract of three hundred and 
twenty acres of unimproved land that he had pur- 
cliased twelve years before. He at once actively 
entered upon the pioneer task of clearing and pre- 
paring it for civilization, and liad brought it to a 
fine condition when he disposed of it at a good 
advance on the original price, in the fall of 1870. 
He then came to Otsego Township, where he was 
variously engaged the ensuing two years. In 
1872 he entered into partnership with the Stew- 
arts, and built a large chair factory. The firm 
employed from thirty to fifty men, and did a good 
business. At the end of five years Mr. Hale sold 
his interest in tliat factory, and became connected 
with a flour manuf.actory at Il.astings. He retained 
his interest in that nearlj' three jears, and his 
next move was to buj' a farm in Otsego Town- 
ship. In the summer of 1883, he visited the West, 
spending the principal part of his time in Mon- 
tana, and after his return he purcluased a farm of 



two hundred and forty acres on section 4, Otsego 
Township, upon which he lived until the fall of 
1890, when he removed to Otsego, where he is 
ver}' pleasantly situated, and is enjoying the hand- 
some compentency that he has accumulated by in- 
dustry and good business management, he having 
begun life with no other capital than a sane mind 
in a sound body. 

January 21, 1854, is the date of an important 
event in the life of our subject, as he was then 
united, in what has been a true marriage, to 
Miss Charity D. Hoskins, of Middletown. Yt. Her 
parents, Ezra and Phebe (Grand}-) Hoskins, re- 
moved from the Green Mountain State to Wiscon- 
sin, where tliej' died. Mr. and Mrs. Hale have 
been blessed in tlieir marriage by five children, 
namely: Ada, wife of William De Forest; Lillie, 
wife of Clarence Anderson, a clerk in the Post- 
otflce at Helena, Mont.; Hattie, wife of William 
Healy, of Otsego; Allie, wife of .lohn Andrew, a 
business man of Elkhorn, Mont.; and Irving B., 
who is married and lives on the home place. 

Mr. Hale is a inan of a deeply religious nature, 
wliose life is that of a consistent Christian. He 
has always taken a deep interest in whatsoever 
would benefit his fellow-men, and all righteous 
causes find in him an earnest champion. Espec- 
ially has lie been active in temperance work, 
throwing the weight of his influence on the side 
of Prohibition, thinking that to be the best means 
of dealing with this monstrous evil — the drinking 
habit. He was reared as a Whig of the Abolition- 
ist type. Consequently upon the birth of the Re- 
publican party, while he was a resident of Massa- 
chusetts, he found himself in sympathy with its 
tenets, and gave it liis lieartj- support for many 
years, until he identified himself with Prohibition- 
ists. He has held various offices of trust, and al- 
ways discharged the duties thus incumbent upon 
him with an eye single to the good of the commu- 
nity. He was Justice of the Peace for eight years 
during his residence in Richland Township, Kala- 
mazoo County, and lield that position four years 
in Otsego Township. In 1878 he was elected a 
member of the Allegan County Board of Super- 
visors, and is distinguished as being the first can- 
didate of that office elected on the Prohibition 



I 





'^2^ 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



411 



ticket, his partj' winning a signal triumph over 
tlie combined tickets of the Democrats and Re[>iil)- 
lieans. He has lieen Drain Commissioner for five 
years. Our subject and his family are among tlie 
leading menil)ers of tlie Melhudist I';|)iscopal 
Cliurch. lie and his wife have been connected 
with that denomination tliirty-tive years, and have 
contributed greatly to its upbuilding wherever 
they have resided, and Mr. Hale has held all the 
church oflices. 



eYRUS H. LEWIS, who h.as a (inc farm on 
section 31, Covert Townshij), has been a resi- 
dent of A'an Buren County since 18G8. He 
comes of old Revolutionary stock and has proved 
that ho inherited the patriotic sentiments of his 
ancestors by his gallant service during the late 
Civil War. Mr. Lewis was born in Troy Town- 
ship, Geauga County, Ohio, August 6, 1838, and 
was a son of Samuel C. and Martha (Roberts) 
Lewis, natives respectively of New York and I'ly- 
nitiiith, ^Vindsor County, \'t. The paternal grand- 
father of our subject, Nathan Levvis, was a native 
of New York, and emigrated to Ohio, where he 
settled in the forest and cleared up a farm being 
one of the pioneers of Geauga County'. Here he 
spent his life and died in 1840. He reared a 
family of six sons and one daughter, namely: Ro- 
land, Lent, Samuel, DeWitt C, Harvey W., George 
W. and Susan. 

Samuel C. Lewis, the father of our subject, was 
born in New York, February 26, 1801. He was a 
small boy when his parents emigrated to Ohio, 
where he grew to manhood, and Sejitember 4, 1832, 
was married to Martha Robert*;. She was born in 
Plymoutii, Windsor County, A't., .lune 8, 1804, 
and was the daughter of Giles and Catharine 
(Knight) Roberts, (iiles Roberts resided in \qv- 
mont and for seven years served as a soldier in the 
Revolutionary War, four of his brothers also being 
sf)ldiers during the same war. He was the father 
i)f twelve children, tw(j of his sons serving in the 
War of 1812. He died in \ermont, and his wife 
in Mass.achusctts in 1H1!(. The mother of our 
s\ibjecl emigrated to Ohio with her brother Lj-man 



in IR.*)! and tlie following year uu.-- married to 
SaiTnicl C. Lewis. 

After their marriage, the parents of our subject 
settled on a new farm in the forest in Troy Town- 
ship, Geauga County, Ohio, which they im])roved 
into a finely cultivated i)l.ace and (Hic of the liest 
farms in that section of the country. Mr. Lewis 
cultivated a fine growth of maple trees on the 
place and it is still known as Maple Grove Earni. 
In 1819 he sold out and removed to Defiance 
County, Ohio, where he purchased another farm, 
o|)erating it until 18.57. He then removed to 
Hillsdale County, ]Micli., where he again purch.ased 
new land and improved another farm. He had 
the genuine pioneer instincts which led him to 
take up unimproved land and use his best and 
endeavors to leave it in fine sliape for those who 
came after him. In 1873 he emigrated to Kansas, 
settling in Wabaunsee County, where he resided 
with a son until 187o, when he returned to Michigan 
and died in Covert Township, \"an Buren County, 
May 23, 1876. The mother of our subject is still 
living and resides with him. 

The parental family consisted of four children 
as follows: .lane, who was born April 27, 1834, 
married .lolin Barker and resides in Cassville. 
Barry County, Mo.; Cyrus H.; Eben JI., born May 
4, 1840, resides in Morley, Mecosta County, this 
State; Nathan B., born June 2, 1842, is a resident 
of the same county. All of the sons were .soldiei-s 
in the Civil War, Eben M. being a memlwr of 
Companj- K, Tenth Michigan Infantiy, serving 
from the spring of 1862 till the close of the war. 
Nathan B. enlisted in the spring of 1863, being a 
member of the Twenty-seventh Michigan Infan- 
try, and served throughout the war. He wjis 
wounded in the leg by a gunshot and in cpnse- 
([uence receives a pension from the Government. 

Cyrus H. Lewis, the sul)ject of thissketeh, passed 
his early life upon the farm, remaining under the 
parental roof until the Civil War broke out. when 
on July 13, 1861, he enlisted and in September w.ns 
mustered into service as a memiier of Compan\- A, 
Bis,sel Engineer Regiment of the West. They were 
sent first to St. Louis, Mo., and thence to Ln Mine 
River, which they Itiidged and there built Ft. La 
.Mine. They also cut a channel around Island No. 10, 



412 



POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 



and opened tlie Mississippi River to Yicksburg. 
They then completed the Nashville & Northeastern 
Railroad, building block-houses at every trestle 
along the line of the road. The_v then went on the 
Atlanta Campaign and thence to the sea, participat- 
ing in all the engagements incident thereto. Tliej- 
also accompanied the army to Washington, and 
participated in the Grand Review. During their 
service, the3' were in every confederate State ex- 
cept Texas. Mr. Lewis took part in the following 
battles, New Madrid, Mo.; Island No. Id, the two 
battles at Corinth, Jonesboro, and in all the skirm- 
ishes and marches in which his command partici- 
pated. He had his ankle injured in a railroad 
wreck l)ut otherwise escaped injuiy during his four 
years of service. 

Returning to Michigan, Mr. Lewis resumed 
farming. August 1.3, 186J5, he was married to 
Louisa Holmes, the daughter of Chauncy and Lucy 
A. (Slocum) Holmes. She was born in Ashtabula 
County, Ohio, November .5, IS-IS. Her father was 
a native of Chautauqua County, N. Y., born Janu- 
ary 2;"), 1814. He married Lucy Slocum, who was 
liorn in Otsego, N. Y., October 8, 1813. To them 
were born six children: Edwin C, born May 27, 
1837, enlisted in August, 1861, in the Twenth- 
nintli Ohio Infantry, and was taken prisoner at 
Winchester, afterward being exchanged and dis- 
charged on account of physical disability. He 
subsequently re-enlisted in the Twenth-seventh 
Michigan Regiment and was killed at the Battle of 
the Wilderness. Herman O., born September 20, 
1839, was a member of Compan3' B, Twenty-ninth 
Ohio Infantry, and died while in the service; Car- 
oline L., born October 1, 1841, married George 
Allen and resides at Austin, Minn.; H. Louisa is 
the wife of our subject; Seymour G., who was born 
September 9, 1846, resides in Lake County, S. Dak.; 
and Levi D., who w.as born February 1, 1853, is a 
resident of Austin, Minn. The birth of all these 
children took place in Ashtabula County, Ohio. 
The father died in May, 1870; the mother is still 
living and resides in xlnstin, Minn. 

After his marriage, our subject resided in Hills- 
dale County until 1868 when he came to Yau Buren 
County and settled in Geneva Township, where 
lie iminoved a farm. Here he lived until 1872 



when he went to Wabaunsee County, Kan., re- 
maining there until the fall of 1875 when he re- 
turned to Michigan and has since resided at his 
present place where he has cleared up and improved 
a fine farm of fifty acres. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have 
one adopted child, Stephen S. In politics, Mr. 
Lewis is a Republican but does not take an active 
part in political affairs. He was Supervisor of his 
townsliip for two years. He is a charter memlier 
of George Allen Post, No. 351, G. A. R., and for- 
merly belonged to Garfield Post, No. 30, of Col- 
oma, Berrien Count}'', Mich., of which he is a char- 
ter member and was Adjutant. He and his wife 
occupj" a prominent place in the community and 
are highly esteemed lij' their fellow-citizens. 

A lithograiiiiic portrait of Mr. Lewis accom- 
panies this brief mention of his life. 



LIYER E. GOLDSMITH. This prominent 
citizen is the proprietor of the Plainwell 

^^ Hambletonian Stables. He is counted among 
the old settlers of the county and has been very 
eflicient in the upbuilding of the village of Plain- 
well. He is a good judge of horseflesh and keeps 
some very valuable animals in his stables. 

Oliver Goldsmith was horn in Tioga County, 
Pa., October 23, 1837, and is the son of Abraham 
D. Goldsmith, whose birthplace was Berne, Al- 
bany Count}', N. Y. The latter-named gentle- 
man went to Tioga County, Pa., wlien a }'oung 
man and eng.aged in lumbering and farming. He 
later made the Empire State his home by locat- 
ing in Steuben County in 1843, whence he re- 
moved to Monroe County. In 1845 he came to 
Gun Plain Township, Allegan County, where he 
purchased a tract of land. The country was very 
new at that time, and the hardships and priva- 
tions which he endured made a lasting impression 
upon his mind. Indians were plentiful, as were 
also wild animals, thus the dangers were great 
through which they passed in making the country 
accessible to those who came after. He died in 
1865, when in his fifty-fifth year. 

Joshua R. Goldsmith, the grandfather of our 
subject, was a native of Long Island, and w.as a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAnilCAL RECORD. 



41.3 



man of fine crtiication, having taught school for 
forty yeai>. lie Avas the author of a Ixiok and 
eontiihutcd many al)lc articles to the newspapers. 
He wa^ a patriot in the AVav of 1812, and died in 
.laekson County, tliis Stale, at the advanced age 
of ninety-three yearts. lie rememliered shaking 
hands with (ien. Washington wlien a sehoolboy. 
The great-gran<lfallH'r was a soldier in the Revo- 
lution. The early settlers of this family eanie 
from Kngland. Our sulijeet's mother was Henri- 
etta (Krusen) (ioldsmith, and she w.ms horn in Xew 
.lersey, January 13, 1816. She was married to 
Mr. (ioldsmitli in New York. Our suhjoet is tiie 
only one of their six children now living. The 
mother of our subject died on the 8th of March, 
181)2. at the home of our subject, aged seventy- 
six yeai-s, one month and twenty-one days. 

Oliver E. (ioldsmith was eight years f>f age at 
the time liis parents removed to Michigan and 
located in (iun Plain Township. He attended 
school in a little log .selioolhouse wilii slab seats 
and stationary desks around the wall. So anxious 
was he to obtain a good education tliat he walked 
three miles to and fro daily in attending school, 
and tliere ae<piired a good elementary education, 
wliii li he has later supplemented with judicious 
reading. 

Our subject assisted hi.s father in the work of 
clearing the farm from timber and nndcrlnnsli. 
He often drew logs to the sawmill in winters and 
applied himself industriously to whatever he was 
called upon to do. ^Fr. (Ioldsmith was very fond 
of hunting, and. indeed, in those early days, when 
wild animals were so plentiful, he had many op- 
portunities for showing his skill as a marksman. 
He could kill a deer running as well as standing 
still, and w.as considered a good shot. Indians 
often came to their home iiegging for food, and 
many times staid all night with the family, sleep- 
ing ui)oii the lloor in front of the (ire. 

After attaining his majority, the gentleman of 
wiiom we write worked at lumbering, having 
charge i>f a gang of men in Allegan County. 
He later farmed one huudrcd and twenty acres of 
land in Oun Plain Township for awhile, and 
then had charge of a gang of men in the gr.'iding 
of the Michigan A Ohio Itailroad. In August, 



1879, he exchanged his farm property for prop- 
erty ill Piaiuwell. where he has a cherry orchard 
of about three hundred bearing trees. He began 
in his present business by breeding horses, hi.s 
fir.st standard-bred being "Countersign." He has 
since handled such horses as '•Thatcher Hainblc- 
tonian," '"'Jreat Western," "American lioy." 
"Tramp. .Ir.," "tioldfoil," and ".Viger,"" all noted 
sires. 

Miss Caroline Davis became !Mrs. Oliver E. 
(ioldsmith in 187.'). She was a native of Maine 
and came to Michigan with her parents. They 
have no children of their own, but are perform- 
ing the part of parents to an adopted son, John 
D. In politics, Mr. (ioldsmith is a Democrat, and 
socially, is identilied with the Masonic order. 
Mrs. Goldsmith is a consistent member of the 
Presbyterian Church. 

Our subject has been Secretary of the Piaiuwell 
Fair Association. :iiid is given the credit of being 
the pioneer horsebreeder in Allegan County. 



-i^ 



■^T' AMES S. HUD.SON. Among the prominent 
residents of Ganges Township, Allegan 
County, wlio are living retired from the .act- 
ive duties of life, we are jileased to mention 
James Hudson. He makes his home on his tine 
fruit farm of forty .acres, on section 14, but through 
the industry of earlier years li.as accumulated a 
competency, and is now enabled to spend his latter 
d.ays in peace and (piiet. 

(^ur subject was born (October 16. 18:?1. in Sara- 
toga County, X. V.. and is the son of Polodore 
and Harriet Ihulson. The father was horn in 
Williainstown, Mass., October 2, 17;)7, and by his 
studious habits was enabled to educate himself, as 
his father died when he was (juite young, and he 
w.os thus compelled to do for himself. He went to 
work on a farm when fifteen yeai-sof age, and con- 
tinued in that line (<{ work until reaching his ma- 
jority. 

When twenty-two yeai-s of age, Polodore Hudson 
w.'is married to the mother of our subject, whose 
maiden name was Harriet G. Morehouse. Mrs. 
Hudson was bom AiiLru>l l*^. 1 7'.t;i. and w.as the 



414 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



daughter of Aaron and Parthena Morehouse. Her 
father was a tanner and shoemaker by trade, and 
during the War of 1812 he contracted with the 
Government to furnish the soldiers with shoes. 
Mr. and Mrs. Morehouse reared a family of nine 
children. 

After their marriage the parents of our subject 
came to the Wolverine State, and located in Battle 
Creek, where were but two houses where that 
prosperous city now stands. He was the first .Jus- 
tice of the Peace in the aljove-named city, and 
married tlie first couple in Calhoun County. The 
following seven eliildren were the brothers and 
sisters of our subject: Aaron G., Charles D., Hon. 
Bradley P., Sarali P., Sophia; Hiram, who married 
Ann Billings; and Andrew K., now deceased. All 
of the above-named children, with the exception of 
Aaron G. and Hiram, are deceased. In politics, 
Mr. Hudson was a Whig, and later a Republican. 
In religious matters he, with his wife, was a Presby- 
terian. 

Our subject is a truly self-made man, as lie never 
attended school but three months in his life, and 
is to-day tlioroughly conversant upon all toiiicsof 
general interest, having acquired a fund of infor- 
mation by systematic reading. Like his father, he 
started out in life at the age of fifteen 3ears, work- 
ing for 1.5 a month. Several j'ears of his life were 
spent in railroading on the Michigan Central Rail- 
road. So capable was he in performing the duties 
assigned him, that, within a twelvemonth after 
entering the service of the company, he was pro- 
moted to the position of fireman. He remained 
thus only three months, when he w.as given an en- 
gine, which he ran for seven years. 

After abandoning the railroad, Mr. Hudson lo- 
cated eighty acres of land on section 14, Gauges 
Township. In 1856 he moved to his present place, 
where, instead of the beautiful house and pleasant 
surroundings which the traveler ma.y now see, was 
nothing but a log cabin, set in the midst of an un- 
broken wilderness. He began thus in life with 
but fiftj' cents in his pocket, and is to-daj' one of 
the well-to-do citizens of his township. Mr. Hud- 
son was quite a musician, and taught that art dur- 
ing the winter montlis, giving his attention to his 
farm in the summer. After taking a course in 



music, he accepted a position to travel with a con- 
cert company, and was thus engaged for several 
years. He is the author of many beautiful vocal 
compositions, and was much sought after in musical 
circles in liis earlier 3ears. 

Mr. Hudson became general traveling agent for 
Walter Wood, who was engaged in the binder and 
mower business, his territory lying in ten different 
States. He w.as married to Miss Rebecca J. French, 
.lanuary 1, 1853, and of their union were born 
seven children: Stella M., Edith M.; Minnie M., 
deceased; Herbert D., Victor, Roy C. and .James, 
.Jr., the latter two at home. Mrs. Hudson died 
.June 23, 1879, and our subject was a secon<l time 
married to Susan H. Wilson. 



■jflAMES D. GRAHAM, a representative far- 
mer residing on section 13, Cheshire Town- 
sliip, Allegan County, was liorn April 8, 
^^l' 1830, in County Sligo, Ireland. The fam- 
ily came to America in 1847, and settled in Canada, 
our subject being then seventeen years old. In 
1849 he went to the State of New York and com- 
menced working on his own account in a sawmill 
where he remained employed for eight years. 

Mr. Graham was married, in 1853, to INIiss Ca- 
therine Fuller, a native of New York who was born 
in 1838. Six years after their marriage they 
came to Michigan and settled in this count}^ and 
township, and the next year settled upon his jires- 
ent farm. He has added to his original purchase and 
now has one hundred and ninety acres, one hun- 
dred of which are under fine cultivation. On this 
place general farming is carried on, and Mr. 
Graham himself has done all the clearing. He 
erected his present residence about twelve years 
ago and one barn, 30x45. with a wing 12x15; lie 
had also erected two other barns. He has a fine 
orchard of four acres of apple trees. When he 
first settled here there were no roads at all and the 
place was in an entirely wild state. He erected a 
board house in which he and his family lived for 
some time. 

The gentleman of whom we write and his wife 
have been blessed bj' the birth of nine children. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



415 



all now living, namely: Jolin I?.; .liilia Ann (Mrs. 
Horace Kldred); Geoifre (1.; Alice K. (Mrs. L. Hunt- 
ley); James ]).; Andrew F.; Laura A. (Mrs. C. 
Hillman); Charles D.; and Bertie H. The parents 
are mcmhers of the Baptist Church in good stand- 
ing anil Mr. (iraham is a Deacon and also a Trustee. 
He has taken an active part in the Sunda}'- 
scliool, having lieen a teacher and Superintendeut 
in the same. He has given all his ciiildren a good 
schooling, and five of them are now married and 
have homes of their own. The office of Assessor 
of the School District lias lieen his for twelve 
years; in politics he affiliates with the Repub- 
lican party. He has served as Drain Commissioner 
of Cheshire four years and had the township 
drained, hut little having been done before this. 
His son, John I!., is engaged in breeding fine 
draft horses. 



I'AISH'N r. FITCH, a resident farmer on 
section (i. Casco Township, Allegan County, 
was born in 1818, his birthplace being Lima 
Township, IJvingston County, N. Y. He is 
a son t)f Klias and Frances Fitch. Elias Fitch was 
born aliout 1790 in Columbia County, N. Y., and 
was reared in the village of Coopei-stown, where he 
aUended school with James Fenimore Cooper. His 
education was limited to the common schools, yet 
his wide range of reading extended over most of 
the current topics of Die day. When eighteen 
years old. he moved to Rhode Island and soon 
went upon the high seas, sailing for three years, 
visiting many of tiie different parts of the world. 
While at Spain, one time, he witnessed the bat- 
tle between the French and English. During the 
War of 1«12, his vessel wa.s captured while in Brit- 
ish waters, and the crew were all taken prisoners 
and were not released until after tiie close of the 
war. Previous to this incident, the ship was cap- 
tured by pirates, but the crew soon overpowered 
them and got away. 

After his return from the sea the father of our 
subject went back to Ins liome in New York and 
was married to Frances Davison, a daughter of 



Paul and Sarah (Could) Davison, both of whom 
were natives of Connecticut. Mr. Davison served 
seven years in the lievolutionary War as a musi- 
cian. In 181i), Elias Fitch with his small famil\- 
settled in Wyoming County, N. Y., being one of 
the earliest pioneers there. He located in a vast 
wilderness on an unimproved farm. To him and 
his wife were born nine children, named as follows: 
James P., Norman I)., Kouenna, deceased; William; 
John, deceased; Sarah, wife of the Rev. Linus 
Bathrick; Frederick, deceased; Mary, and Charles, 
a member of the Twenty-fourth New York Light 
Artillery ,who died in Andersonville Prison, in 1864. 
Politically, Elias Fitch was a strong Democrat. He 
was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted 
Masons and stood by his order during the stormy 
times of the Morgan trouble. He and his wife lie- 
longed to the Methodist Episcopal Church. lie 
died at the homestead in W^-oniing County, in 
187fi, Ills good wife surviving him several years. 
The grandfather of our subject was Paul Fitch, 
who married Eliza Preston, both natives of Con- 
necticut The maternal grandfather Preston was 
in the Revolutionary War. He fought at the bat- 
tle of Bunker Hill, having seventeen rounds of am- 
munition, and also at Ston}' Point, w^here the Brit- 
ish garrison was captured. 

The subject of this sketch was reared and re- 
ceived his education in Wyoming County, N. Y., 
remaining under the |)arenlal roof until twenty- 
four years old. At this age he went to Wisconsin 
and squatted on one hundred and sixty acres of 
Indian land before it w.as surveyed. He remained 
in that State about twenty-five yeare, carrying on 
farming, and in the winters lumbering for a num- 
ber of years. He retiu'ned to New York State, in 
1852, and on October 7 was married to Lorinda 
Hampton, a daughter of Robert Hampton. The 
couple returned to Wisconsin, but the privations 
and trials were too severe for Mre. Fitch and she 
soon died. In 1861, Mr. Fitch was married to Ro- 
setta Hampton, a sister of his first wife. To them 
have been born five children. Two died when 
rpiite young. Those living are Charles L., Hosa 
B. and JIary, the wife of John ]McCarty. Mr. 
Fitch came to Michigan in 1870 and settled on his 
present estate of forty acres of splendidly ini- 



416 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



proved land on wliieh he has erected a convenient 
and attractive residence. Here a gracious hospi- 
tality is dispensed and the family are held in 
high esteem 113' their many friends and acquaint- 
ances. 

Mr. Fitch entered the service of his country- in 
1864, enlisting in Company- K, Eighth Wisconsin 
Infantry. His regiment was attached to the Army 
of the Potomac, and he participated in the battles 
of Hatchies Run, Petersburg, and Ft. Sedgwick. 
He was honorabl}^ discharged at Washington,. June 
2, 1865. He is now one of the leading members of 
Zach Chandler Post, No. 3;5, G. A. R. Mr. and 
Mrs. Fitch are consistent and valued memljers of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. 



—5- 



^>.^^<^^ 



-^-- 




ILES FOSTER, who is engaged in general 
farming on section 20, Trowbridge Town- 
ship, Allegan County, was born in the 
Buckeye State, his birth occurring in Lo- 
rain County, June 15, 1833. His father, Archi- 
bald Foster, a native of New York, was born in 
November, 1799, and by trade was a shoemaker, 
but in later life followed farming. When a boy he 
went to Ohio, where he became acquainted with 
and married Eliza Mann, daughter of Enos Mann, 
a soldier of the War of 1812. Her death occurred 
w'hen our subject was four years old, being caused 
by a stroke of lightning. Four children were born 
of that union, of whom two sons and a daughter 
are now living: .L M. is now a resident of Battle 
Creek, Mich.; G. M. is now deceased; Miles is the 
next younger, and Eliza Ann is the wife of Rob- 
ert Emmons, of Trowbridge Township. After the 
death of liis first wife, Mr. Foster was again mar- 
ried. He came to Michigan in tlie spring of 1854, 
and for a time lived witli his children, but after- 
ward removed to a small farm of his own. He 
died and was laid to rest in Jlallery Cemetery. 

As before stated, our subject lost his mother 
when but a young lad, contrary to the general opin- 
ion in regard to stepmothers,he found in his,a tender 
and loving protector, who manifested no difference 
m her feeling between her own children .and those 
of the first marriage. As the father was in limited 



circumstances, his educational advantages were nec- 
essarily meager. In 1853, with his brother George, 
he came to Michigan and worked for William 
Porter for a year, receiving 120 per moiitli as a 
compensation for his services. He then worked in 
the pineries one winter, after which one season 
was spent in the employ of Daniel Foster, and the 
next as fireman to Wells & .Johnson's mill at Sau- 
gatuck. He then settled upon his present farm, 
comprising eighty acres, that was almost in its 
primitive condition. A heavily timbered tracts hut 
off all view, .and his neighbors were few and far 
between. Only one living in this community at that 
time yet abides. A log cabin was built upon Mr. 
Foster's farm, and he at once began clearing aw.ay 
the timber and improving his land, and in a short 
time, owing to his iudustr}' and energy, the light 
of day shone upon fiftj' acres of cleared land. 

In the year 1857, Mr. Foster \vas united in 
marriage with Miss Henrietta, the daughter of 
Thomas and .Jane (Lamun3',an) Brown, who came 
to Michigan in 1854 and settled ui)on the farm 
which is now the home of our subject. The father 
died in 1886, and the mother passed aw.<iy in 1890. 
Mrs. Foster was born in February, 1838, and died 
in 1877, respected by all who knew her. In .Janu- 
ary, 1880, our subject was .again married, his sec- 
ond union being with Frances Schuyler, daughter 
of John .and Catherine Schuyler, and one of a 
familj" of five children vet living. Her parents 
came to Michigan in 1856, and are now residents 
of Kalamazoo Count}*. Mrs. Foster was born Sep- 
tember 9, 1853. By her marriage she became the 
mother of four children, three of whom are yet 
living: Schuyler G., Florence and I^ura. 

Tlie home of this excellent family is a valua- 
ble farm of eighty-eight acres, which was cleared 
and improved by Mr. Foster. He now has nearly 
the entire amount under cultivation, and besides 
his own farm has cleared over one hundred acres 
additional. The buildings were all erected by him- 
self, and stand .as monuments to his thrift .and enter- 
prise. To general farming he devotes his entire 
attention, and to the raising of Dnrh.am cattle. He 
is recognized as one of the practical and represent- 
ative fanners of the community, and is also num- 
licred among the public-spirited and progressive 



POR TRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



417 



citizens. lie and his wife are mcmbei-s of Die 
(irange, and in politics, he is indepondent and has 
lield the oflice of Moderator of his district for 
tliree years. Interests calculated to benelit the 
coniniunit\- have ever received his hearty sujjport 
and co-operation. He gave the site for the school- 
hoii.-ic and put vip the Iniildinn; himself. His chief 
ambition now is to give his children good educa- 
tional advantages, thus fitting them for the prac- 
tical duties of life and he has lived to sec them 
iiecome useful men and women. 






„,, SA C. GOODRICH. M. D. This honored 

r<3w li 

WlU\\ and respected citizen of Ganges Town- 
ship, Allegan County, is residing upon 
his tract of ninety-two acres on section 2, 
twenty acres of which is in fruit. He thoroughly 
understands his calling and finds that the best me- 
thods and latest improvements in agriculture bring 
him the largest returns. 

Dr. (Goodrich was born in 1834, in St. Law- 
rence County, N. Y., and is the son of Chauncy 
and Hannah Goodrich. His father was born in 
Connecticut in 1786 and was there reared on a 
farm. In liis youth he learned the trade of a 
shoemaker, tanner and currier, serving an ap- 
jirenticeship of seven years. AVhen a young man 
he moved to New York and there met and married 
the mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
was Hannah Brayton. Fourteen children were 
born of their union, two of whom died in infancy. 
Tiie remaining twelve were named Henry C; 
George A.; Dr. Chauncy B., deceased; Charles L.; 
James R.; our subject; Weslej"; Dr. Lewis and Eli- 
zabeth C, deceased; Sarah; Lucy; and Eveline. 

The father of our subject emigrated to the Wol- 
verineState in 1855 with his family, locating on 
the pre.sent farm of Dr. Asa, which then consisted 
of lifty-fwoacres. There he built a plank house 
and commenced the work of clearing and improv- 
ing his farm. Two j-ears after locating here, his 
good wife died and he was again married, this time 
to Mrs. Jane Lemon. To them wa,s born one son, 
Hiram, our subject's father at that time being seven- 
ty-two ycai-s old. In i>olitics, Chauncv Goodrich was 



a Whig. He passed from this life in 1864, aged 
seventy -eight years. 

Asa C. (Joodrich was given a good education 
and early Iwgan the study of medicine at Battle 
Creek, this Slate. He completed his course in the 
Michigan University in 1865, and. returning to 
what is now his present home, and which he had 
purchased some time previously, he practiced his 
profession for twelve j-ears. He superintended 
the work on the farm during that period, and al- 
though he was flatteringly successful in his prac- 
tice, at the exiiiration of twelve years, he gave 
his entire time and attention to the cultivation of 
his property'. His place is supplied with all the 
buildings which best serve the purposes of an 
agriculturist and, all in all, he is one of the well-to- 
do citizens of Ganges Town.ship. 

In 1865 our subject and Miss Emily, daughter 
of Joseph K. and Esther Hill, were united in mar- 
riage. To them have been born three children, 
one of whom died in infancy. Maude is the wife 
of George Sinclair, of New York City, and with 
her husband is a graduate of the Peter Cooper In- 
stitute of that fit}-. Mildred L. is attending 
school at Valparaiso, Ind. Mrs. Erailj' Goodrich 
passed from this life in 1872, greatly respected by 
all who knew her. 

Asa C. Goodrich was a second time married, in 
1877, to Miss Florence Loomis, daughter of Levi 
and Sally Loomis, whose skcichappeai-s on another 
page in this volume. In politics, Mr. Goodrich is 
a Prohibitionist and has done much to aid the 
cause of temperance in this section. He and his 
wife are consistent members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church and have a large circle of warm 
friends in Ganges Township. 



m 



JOSEPH CROW, who is residing on section 
25, Ca-sco Township, Allegan County, w.as 
born in Burlington County, N. J., October 
_ 4, 1822. He is the son of (ieorge and 
Susan Crow. The father was born in (Jermany in 
1786, emigrating to -Vmerica with his parents when 
twelve yeai'S old. He was sjivcn a irood ed negation 



418 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in the model scliools of liis native coimtry and 
after coming to tlie United States mastered tlie 
English language at the schools in New Jersey. 

Soon after making this countrj- their home, the 
father of George Crow bound him out to John 
Dobbins, with whom he remained until reaching 
his majority. He was treated very much as the 
slaves were in the South and soon after leaving 
his taskmaster learned the trades of a brickmaker 
and woolen weaver. He was married at the age of 
twenty-five to Susannah Johnson, who was a native 
of New Jersey'. In 1834 they moved to Wayne 
County, Ind., where they remained a twelvemonth 
and then went to Randolph County, the same 
State, where they located on a tract of fort}' acres. 
He was soon enabled to add forty acres more to 
his purchase, all of which he brought to a good 
degree of cultivation. He was a pioneer of that 
region and when emigrating thither was flye weeks 
making the journey. 

The nine children comprising the parental 
family were named as follows: Elizabeth, Mary; 
John and William deceased; George; our subject: 
Anna deceased; Susan and Rachel. The father of 
our subject was a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, while his mother was identified with 
the Society of Friends. In politics, the elder Mr. 
Crow was first a Free-soiler and later a Wliig. His 
death occurred July 24, 1849, at which time he was 
accidentally killed by a runaway team. 

The education of our subject ^vas quite limited, 
as the family located in the wilderness in Indiana 
where schools were considered more of a luxury 
than a necessity. When reaching his majority, he 
commenced to earn money by working out on 
farms b}^ the month. A few years later he was 
married to Asenath, daughter of Hugh and Eliz.a- 
beth Woody, natives of North Carolina, and 
Quakers in religion. The parents of Mrs. Crow 
were early pioneers of the Hoosier State and had 
born to them a famil}' of eleven children, three of 
whom died in infancy. The remaining eight 
were: Joshua and Authonj- now deceased; Mary, 
Harriet, Alsou G., Zenoali, Aaron and Louis. 

After his marriage Jose))h Crow took charge of 
his fatlier's estate for a number of j'ears, after 
which he made various removals in Indiana until 



1870, when he came to Allegan County. His first 
purchase of land here was twent}' acres of what is 
now his splendid farm, but which was then in its 
primitive condition. He has since added forty 
acres more to his possessions and by a proper 
rotation of crops reaps a fine income. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Crow of this sketch have been 
born eleven children, three of whom died in 
infancy. Martin L. is residing in Kansas; Soph- 
ronia A., is the wife of D. E. Palmer, of IMissouri; 
George H. and Hattie A., who is the wife of Charles 
H. Crary, are deceased; John C. F., who makes his 
home in Casco Township; Mary, Mrs. S. Camblin; 
Anna, the second wife of C. H. Crary, and William 
II., residing in Casco Township. Our subject and 
his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church and in politics he is a strong Kepublic.nn. 






-^i. 



^■^ 



[3_ 



^(^ARNUM II. DH.LEY. This progressive 
\.,^ buiness man of Lacota is engaged in char- 
W coal burningand also buj-s and ships grain. 
He is very successful in his undertaking and is 
highly esteemed in his community as an upright 
and honest citizen. He was born in Nottingham, 
Ohio, in 1856, and was eight years of age when his 
parents came to Michig.an and located in Geneva 
Township, Van Buren Count}'. 

Our subject is the son of Varnum D. and Mar- 
garet J. (Eddy) Dilley. The father is a native of 
the Buckeye State, where his birth occurred in 
1824, and the mother hailed from New York. The 
elder Mr. Dilley was one in a family of seven 
children, of whom we give the following: T. 
Charles died in Andersonville prison during the 
late war; Varnum D. was the second in order of 
birth; Harris is deceased; Darwin resides in Cleve- 
land, Ohio; Clay makes his home in Chicago; 
Corwin died in the army, and Caroline is Mrs. 
Nathan Lord and resides in Euclid, Ohio. 

The paternal grandparents of our subject were 
Asa and Maiy (Johnson) Dilley, who were among 
the early settlers of Cayuga County, Ohio. The 
original of this sketch was reared on a farm and 
received a common school education. When 
reaching his sixteenth year, he attended school for 




n^ W. D. SM ITH . 




^■^ ^- ^ 





W.D.aMITH. 



rOKTKAlT AND lilCXiKAlMIK Al IM'.ColM). 



423 



I ' I ' I ■ 




ILLIAM I). SMITH. Among tlio piomi- 
'/ iicnt and intluential citizens of Knhunazoo 



^^ County, wc are pleased to mention tlie 
sulijcet of this sivetcli, who is resiclinir on an excel- 
lent farm on section 4, Portage Township. His 
estate is embellished with all needful farm build- 
ings, and Jlr. Smith believes that the latest im- 
provements and best methods in agiieultiire bring 
liim in the largest returns. 

Northumberland County, I'a., was the native 
place of our subject, his birth occurring September 
18, 1824. He is the son of Daniel and Catherine 
(Ditzler) Smith, the father a native of the same 
State and cuunty as was his son, and the mother, 
born in Wuitemberg, Germany. Jlrs. Smith died 
in Nortliuniberland County, Pa., after liaving be- 
come the m Jtlier of eight childion. of whom Will- 
iam D. was the eldest. 

The hitter was reared upon the home farm, and 
remained in the Keystone State until 1860, at 
which lime he came to St. Joseph County, and lo- 
cate(' near Constantine, where tie resided until 
after liie Civil War. Then, selling his farm, he re- 
turned to Pennsylvania, and after a year spent in 
ills old home, again came to Michigan, this time 
purchasing property in Prairie Kondc Township, 
I'J 



a twelvemonth near Cleveland. Later he clerked 
a few years for a Mr. Adam White of Lacota and 
managed his store for a period after his death. At 
the end of that time he engaged in business for 
himself, but soon sold out his interests in that 
direction and established himself in the charcoal 
business, in I'onnection with E. (!ravcs, also buying 
and shipping grain on his own account. He is 
wide-awake .-md progressive and is making a suc- 
cess of Ills undertaking. 

Mr. Dilley of this sket^^-h was married in 1«80 to 
Miss Hattie White, a very intelligent and estimable 
lady. Carrie Dilley, a sister of our subject, became 
the wife of William Burlingame and is now de- 
ceased. lli>twin brother, Marshall, is residing in 
Lacota. Socially, he of whom we write is a mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at 
Lacota, and in politics is a strong Republican. 



this coiiiit\'. 'I'here he operated a farm for some 
ten years, when he sold and located on his present 
estate which comprises two huiidied and foity 
acres. 

October 3, 1«71. Mr. Smith and Miss Cordelia 
Childs were united in marriage in Xorthumberland 
County, Pa. Mrs. Smith was born in wiiat is now 
Montour County, that State, December ',), 1831. 
She was the daughter of .lames and Rachel (Apple- 
man) Childs, both of whom died in the above- 
named county. Our subject has always devoted 
his time and attention to the cultivation of the soil, 
and ranks among the wealthy and progressive agri- 
culturists of the C(junty. With his wife, he is a 
member in good standing of the l'resb3'terian 
Church, in which body he has been Deacon and 
Klder. 

The attention of the reader is directed to the 
litliogra|)hic portraits of Mr. Smith and his estim- 
able wife, which are presented in this connection. 



j^^ HADUACH H. ll.VMLIN. On section 7, 

^^^ Caseo Township, Allegan County, may be 

|lrt/_^) seen alioautifiil farm of One hundred and 

eighty-six acres, which is the property of 

Mr. Hamlin, of this sketch. Twent3-(ive acres of 

his estate is in fruit, of which he has some splendid 

varieties. He was born in Stark County. Ohio, in 

1832, and is the son of .lames E. and Matilda 

(Jones) Hamlin. 

The father of our subject was also born in Stark 
County, Ohio, in 18()H,buthis mother wasanative 
of \'irginia. The elder Mr. llamliii s|)ent hisearly 
years upon a farm and in altcmlance at the com- 
mon schools. He made the best of his limited o|)- 
portuuities for an education, and became an in- 
telligent and well-reatl man. When reaching his 
majority he established a hearthstone of his own, 
and married Matilda, daugliter of .lordan Jones. 
The mother of >[rs. Handin died when she was an 
infant, and she was taken into the home of an 
aunt and given a good education. 

James E. Hamlin was very ceonijniical, and with 
the^'.M) which his father gave him soon after starting 



424 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



out in life, was eiiaV)led to piircliase eighty aL-res of 
land in Stark County, Ohio, which was the last Gov- 
ernment land bought in Lexington Township. The 
parents continued to live upon that farm until. 1861, 
when the father traded the property- for one huu- 
hundred and sixt}' acres on section 31, Ganges 
Township, Allegan County. They made that farm 
their home until reaching an advanced age, and 
then resided with one of their children. The 
father died May 28, 1885. His wife survived him 
until M.ay, 1890. In polities, he was first a Whig 
and later a Republican. The father of our subject 
was the son of Stephen and Elizabeth (Feltz) Ham- 
lin, natives of Eastern Virginia. Stephen Ham- 
lin was born in 1776, and fought in the AVar of 
1812, for which action his n.ame was dropped from 
the roll in the (iu.aker Church. Previous to that 
time, however, joining a company of forty-seven 
emigrants to Ohio, he located in Stark County, 
where our subject was born. 

Shadrach II. Hamlin was the oldest but one of 
the eight sous that were born to his parents, viz.: 
Stephen M., our subject, .Jordan .1., Henry .1., Rob- 
inson C; Alva .7., deceased, as was also John B.; and 
Robert E. .4t the age of twenty, our subject went 
to work on a farm in his native count}^, but soon 
after learning the carpenter's trade from his brother, 
followed that occupation for six years. In 186.5 
he came back to the Wolverine State, and pui-- 
chased thirty-five acres of land on the lake shore 
in Casco Township. In the fall he Avent back to 
Ohio, where he remained a twelvemonth, and then 
returning to Michigan, purchased forty acres of 
what is now his present farm. From time to time 
he has added to his tract, until he now is the proud 
proprietor of one hundred and eight3'-sixandahalf 
acres. It bears all the improvements of a first-class 
estate, its owner ranking among the well-to-do 
agriculturists of Casco Township. His success is 
due entirel}' to his own efforts and economy, for, 
with the exception of the little assistance which 
his father gave him when starting out on his own 
account, his fine estate has been accumulated by 
his own labors. 

In September, 1861, our subject and Harriet, 
daughter of William and Emeline (Davison) Brush, 
were married. Mrs. Hamlin had live sisters who 



bore the names of Susan, Amy; Sarah E., deceased; 
Fanny and Mary E., also deceased. To our subject 
and his wife have .also come five children, three of 
whom died in infancy. Oscar A. died after reach- 
ing mature years. Carrie M. is the only one living. 

Mr. Hamlin enlisted in the Civil War September 
6, 1864, joining Company F, Twelfth Michigan 
Infantry. He was assigned to the Trans-Missis- 
sippi Department, and with his regiment saw much 
■active service. 

He received his honorable discharge at the close 
of the war, being mustered out at Little Rock, 
Ark., September 9, 1865. On March 22, he was 
allowed a pension by the Government. In politics, 
our subject is a Republican, and, with his wife, is a 
member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church 
of Casco. 







IIOMAS E. FRENCH. Tiiis worthy citi- 
v^ zen of Otsego is the present Supervisor of 
Otsego Township. He enlisted in the War 
of the Rebellion, December 6, 1861, and a grateful 
nation will evei-hold in honor those who, in times 
of peril, offered themselves upon their country's 
altar and faced death on many a blood_y battle- 
field. In their meinoiy will poems and songs be 
written, anniversaries remembered with flags and 
banners flj'ing in the air, and patriotism be exalted 
in a million, throbbing hearts. 

Upon the battlefield of life, where patriotism is 
called for no less than when facing ghastly death 
at the cannon's mouth, Mr. French has made an 
honorable record. A native of Ohio, he wiis born 
in Mahoning County, March 28, 1844. He is the 
son of Thomas French, a native of the Keystone 
State. He was a shoemaker in his early life, but 
when emigrating to Ohio he became a farmer. He 
died in 1846, when fifty-two years old, firm in the 
(Quaker faith. His father, the grandfather of our 
subject, was born in Massachusetts. 

The mother of our subject was Martha Bryant, 
a native of New Jersey. She was reared near 
Mount Holly Bridge and died in 187:3. With her 
family she was a member of the .Society of Friends. 
Thomas E. French received his primary education 



PORTliAlT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



425 



in tlic common schools and attended two terms at 
the Westminster College in Lawrence County, Pa. 
After reaching liis thirteenth year, he began to 
earn iiis own living, and apprenticed himself to 
learn the carpenter's trade, receiving as his first 
wages 17 per month. 

When seventeen years of age, Thomas K. French 
enlisted in Company L, Sixtli Ohio Cavalry, under 
Col. Loyd. AVith his company he was sent to the 
front and pnrlici|)atod in the following engage- 
ments; Woodstock, \'a., Jul}- 1, 18G2; Mt. .lackson, 
July ;i. 18G2; Cross Keys, Va., July 8, 1862, which 
was the last battle before Gen. Fremont was re- 
lieved; Luray, A"a.. July 28, 18(52; Cedar Jloun- 
tains, August 8, 1862; the Second Battle of Bull 
Hun, August 2i>, 1862; Fredericksliurg, Va., No- 
vember ;», 1862; Kelly's Ford, Va., March 17, 1863. 
In the last-named battle our subject had his horse 
shot from under him. F>oni July '.) to November, 
1862, he served as Orderly- to Gen. Sigel, performing 
duties in his private office and doing some scouting 
for the General, twicegetting inside the rebel lines. 
He then fought in the second battle of Kelly's 
Ford, .\pril 2(t, 1863; Chanccllorsville, May 4, 
1863; Brandy Station, June 9, 1863; Aldie, Va., 
June 17,1863; Middleburg, Va., June 19, 1863; 
rpperville, Va., June 21, 1863; Mt. Jackson, 
Md., July 4, 1863; Smithburg. July 5, 1863; 
llagarstown, July 6, 1863; Boonsboro, Jul}- 8, 
1863; Jones Cross Roads, July 10, 11, 12 and 13, 
1863; Culpei)er, Va., September 13, 1863; Rapi- 
dan Station, September 14, 1863; Barbers Cross 
Roads, Va., September 1, 1863; Sulphur Springs, 
October 12, 1863; Auburn Mills, Va., October 14, 
1863; Bristol Station, Va., October 15, 1863; Mine 
Run, Va., November 29, 1863; Custer's Raid, 
February l's, 1M(;1; Todd's Tavern, May ■), 6, 7 
and8, IMU: Uichniond Haid, from May 9 to the 
2ath, 1,m;4; Knon Church, Va., May 28, 1861; 
Travilian raid, from May 6th to June 29, 1861; 
at St. Maiy's Church he hada lioiseshot from under 
him, June 24, 1864; Malvern Hills, June 28, 1X64; 
the second battle of Malvern Hill, in 1864; Wel- 
don Hailioad, July 21, 1864; Davis. October 1, 
1864; Hoyton Plank Hoad, September 30, 1864; 
Boyton riank Road, number two, \'a., October 27, 
1864; .Stony Creek SUation, Va., December 2, 1864 



Hatchie's Hun, Va., December 9 and 10, 1864; 
Muckneck Bridge, \'a., February 5, 1865; Hatchie's 
Hun, Va.., February 6, 1865. He participated in 
the battle at Dinwiddle Courthouse, April 6, 1865, 
where another horse was shut which he was riding. 
Jcterville, April 4; Jones Cross Roads, April 5; 
Hnrijcr's Farm, April (>; Farmville, April 7, 1865. 
He was at Appomattox Courthouse, April 9, 1865, 
and saw the white flag when it was first raised. 

Not only did Mr. French serve witii valor in 
the many hard-fought engagements above enumer- 
ated, but his elliciencj' received merited recogni- 
tion and while he entered the service in the ranks 
he was honorably discharged at the close of the 
war as Commissary-Sergeant. After peace was de- 
clared, our suliject served three months in the 
F'reedmen's Bureau and on returning to Ohio and 
resuming his trade, found that his hard service 
had inifitted him for carpenter work. He then 
turned his attention to learning the harness- 
maker's trade which he followed for the succeed- 
ing fifteen years, most of the time being employed 
by the (ioshen Ohio Harness Compau}-. He came 
to Otsego in March, 1883, and located on a farm 
in Otsego Townslii]). lie has recently moved to 
the village but still superintends the operation of 
his fine tract of land. 

Thomas E. French was married, April 6, 1870, 
to Miss F^sther C. Shreve, of Ohio. She died in 
1877, leaving a family of four children: Alice who 
is deceased; Fnocli J., Albert JI. and Carrie M. 
Our subject was a second time married, his wife 
on that occasion being Delora Otto, a native of 
this State and the daughter of (leorge D. and Ger- 
trude Oltu, botli of wiiom were natives of New 
York, ller parents came to Michigan in 1844 
and located in Otsego Township, Allegan County, 
purchasing a wild farm. The famii}' walked all 
tlie way from Saugatuck. The father died in 1879, 
when seventy-.six years old; tiie mother is still 
living. By that marriage were born four children. 
They were among the earl}' pioneers coming into 
the wilderness and did their share toward giving 
to posterity the broad acres which now blossom 
like the rose. 

In politics our subject is a stanch Republican 
and IS a i)rominent menibei of the (Jraud Army of 



426 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the Repuhlii'. Me was electerl Supervisor of ( )tses;o 
Towuship in 1891 and is efficiently^ filling that 
responsible position. Socially, he is a Mason and 
has been a menil)er of the Society of Friends for 
the past thii'lj' jears. Mr. French owns a good 
farm in Trowbridge Township, this county, and is 
a gentienian wliose love of truth and justice has 
made for liiin warm and stanch friends in this 
community. 



^^ 



^» 




!)IIOMAS BENTON BUTCHER. This en- 
terprising gentleman was a member of the 
^ firm of Moore & Butcher, proprietors of a 
gristmill, wliieh was destro3'ed by fire in .Jul}', 
1891. Tlieir mill was located at Bouglas, Allegan 
County, and since the above date our subject has 
been engaged in closing up liis extensive business 
interests. Mr. Butcher has done an immense lum- 
ber business for the past thirty 3-ears, residing at 
different times in Musliegon; Bennison, Tex., and 
Chicago. In 1880 he came to Bouglas, where he 
established a gristmill. The firm did a prosper- 
ous business, their grade of flour being in demand 
throughout the count}-. 

Mr. Butcher of this sketch was the son of Will 
iam F. and Lucinda (Betrich) Butcher, natives of 
Pike Count}-, Pa., where our subject was born 
December 5, 1836. AVhen he was sixteen years of 
age, heaccom[)anied liis parents on their removal to 
Chicago and two years later came to Allegan 
County, where the father engaged in the lumber 
business. Young Thomas assisted his parents in 
various enterprises until starting out in life to do 
for himself. He attributes to his estimable wife, 
to whom he was married, August 20, 1857, a large 
share of his success in life. Her maiden name 
was Rebecca, daughter of Samuel and Sarah A. 
(Steward) Cline, natives respectively of Ohio and 
Pennsylvania. 

To our subject and his amiable wife has been 
born a family of three children: George L., who 
w.as born M.ay 31, 1859, is married to Ada E. Por- 
ter, and resides in Douglas, where he is a member 
of the firm of Butcher it Son; he has two children: 
Florence I. and Thomas Benton. Florence May, 



the second child, was born November 17, 1864. 
Leah Bell was born August 3, 1871. Both daugh- 
ters remain at home with their parents. 

As has before been mentioned, our subject has 
been engaged in the lumber business for the past 
thirty years and is ranked among the well-to-do 
and respected citizens of Allegan County. In 
politics he is a stanch Republican, and socially is a 
member of Dutchess Lodge, No. 193, A. F. & A. M., 
in which he has been Past Worshipful Master. He 
is also a member of Allegan Chapter, R. A. M.,and 
with his family is a regular attendant at the Con- 
gregational Church. We are i)leased to be able to 
present the sketch of so worthy a citizen of the 
county as the gentleman whose name we place at 
the head of this biography. 



f<^^ IMON HARNDEN, a farmer on section 7, 
^^^ Allegan Township, Allegan County, is the 
li\/__Jl) possessor of forty acres of good land. He 
came to Michigan in 1852, and stopped 
for a short time in Ionia County; he lived in 
Hillsdale County two years and then came to 
this county, living in Pine Plains for awhile and, 
in 18(!C, came to this township and purchased his 
present farm. He was born in Cayuga County, 
N. Y., October 3, 1818. Samuel and Asenath 
(Ilighley) Harnden, natives of New York, were the 
parents of our subject. The father was a boot and 
shoemaker and lived and died in New York. He 
was a Democrat in politics, held the office of Post- 
master, and was, in religion, a member of the Uni- 
versalist Church. He was the parent of five chil- 
dren. Enos and our subject are now living. 

Simon Harnden received his educati(m in his 
native county and learned the trade of a shoemaker, 
which he followed for a number of years in the 
East and also since coming to Michigan. He was 
Trustee of the village of Port B}ron, in his native 
county. He was married, in 1841, to Manetta Har- 
rington, the daughter of Ebenezer and Emily 
(Mentor) Harrington, natives of Massachusetts. 
Mr. Harrington was a carriagemaker, and later in 
life removed to Cayuga County, N. Y., where lie 
followed his trade until death. His good wife 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



427 



bore him five children: Almira (Mrs. Hamden) 
and Calista (Mi-s. Storey) arc now living. He was 
a Wliig in politics. 

Our suhjeot and his wife are tiie liappy parents 
of eight ehiklren. all living, whose record is as 
follows: Almira, now Mrs. George Whitney, is the 
mother of Iwoehildren, Laura and Glenn; Homain 
married Mary Peet and is the father of two sons, 
Lester and Clarence; Lucy married Hohert JNIc 
t^ueen and they have eight children, John, AVillie, 
Alice, James, Grover, Nellie, Martin and Charles; 
.Sopliia, Mrs. Howard Powers, has become the 
mother of two daughters. Belle and Mina; Lester 
married Carrie Rich, and two children have lieen 
born to them, Ixich, and Elma; Alice, Mrs. Bliss, 
has two children, Roy and Hhoda; Charles is in the 
grocery business at Battle Creek, his brother-in- 
law, Mr. Bliss being his partner, under the firm 
name of Bliss A- Ilarnden; Emily, Mrs. August 
Swedberg, is the mother of one child, Alice. Mr. 
Swedberg is an editor at Battle Creek. Mr. Ilarn- 
den, of whom we write, has a fine home with all 
modern conveniences and does a general farming 
busine,ss on his place, in which he is quite success- 
ful. He belongs to the Democratic party. 



SKV. SAMUEL M. FOWLER, a minister of 
the Christian Church, residingat No. .507 Elm 
Street, Kalamazoo, was born in Uiga, Mon- 
roe Count\-, N. Y., July 17, 1817. His par- 
ents were Abel and Mary (Edd}-) Fowler, the 
former a native of South Kingston, R. I., and the 
latter of Wallingford, Vt.. where their marriage 
was celebrated. By occuiiation he was a farmer, 
and served in the W:ir of liSl"2, participating in 
the battle of Plattsburg. The family is of English 
lineage and descended from (lUy Fawkes, of Eng- 
lish history. I'ruf. O. .S. Fowler, the celebrated 
phrenologist, was also of the same family, and Com- 
modore Perry w.as a second cousin to Abel Fowler. 
Our sulijeet was the fourth of six children, live 
of whom are yet living. One, Mrs. Wooster resides 
in this State. Until the age of twenty-two our 
sul)jecl remained at home. His mother died when 



lie was ten years old but her Christian teachings 
have never been ft)rgotlen. In winter seasons he 
attended school until eighteen j^ears of age, and 
the following year he began teaching, whicli he 
followed through four winter terms. He afterward 
attended a private school and by home study made 
himself a well-educated man. At the age of eight- 
een lie joined the church and read a number of 
theological w-orks. He seemed drawn to the work 
of the ministry and at the age of twenty-two be- 
gan ])reaching. Failing health led him to visit a 
brt)tiier living in Wheatland, Hillsdale Count}', 
Mich., and, attending meeting the Sunday after his 
arrival when the Class-leader announced that the 
minister was absent, Mr. Fowler seemed called 
upon to speak. Taking for his text, "What shall it 
profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose 
his own soul," he spoke earnestly and eloquentlv 
and was .again called upon to preach several times 
before returning to New York. Here he formed 
the determination to make his life work that of 
the ministiy and several times told the gospel 
message in the old stone church in Sweden and 
Ogden, of which the parents of Frances E. Wil- 
lard were members. Subsequently, he again en- 
gaged in teaching and then after another serious 
illness he attended the Wliiteslx)ro Academy, his 
preceptor being the noted Abolitionist, Beriah 
Green. The following year he began preaching, 
and for six months afterward received $25 per 
month. He took charge of the church in Lester, Liv- 
ingston County, N. Y., and was ordained pastor of 
the Christian Church in October, 1841, Elder Joseph 
Badger iire.aching the ordination sermon, while 
Elder C. .\. Morrison, Jesse E. Church, Stephen 
Fellows and S. 1,. IVrvier were the ordination 
council. 

Rev. Mr. Fowler was married in Lester. .Iiil\- Id, 
1842, to Miss Rosetta, eldest child of Jonathan 
and Eunice (Bowman) Tainter. Unto them have 
been born the following cliildren: S. Mills, a medi- 
cal practitioner, of Gainesville, Tex.; Samuel, who 
served through the war; Abel B., who was also in 
the service, and Eunice Rosalia, wife of James B. 
Moore, of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. They now 
reside in Kalamazoo. 

After a \ ear's labor in Lester, Rev. .Mr. Fowler 



428 



PORTRAIT AKD JilOGRAPHlCAL RECORD. 



engaged in preaching in Niagara County, and his 
next location was in Pekin, after which he spent 
two years in Ontario C'ount3', and a year in Barry, 
Orleans County, holding successful revivals at 
those places. He then engaged' to come to Michi- 
gan as a missionary and in October, 1849, joined 
Elder J. S. White in Centerville, St. Joseph County, 
who had been sent out two years befoi-e. He 
worked with him one year and then came to Brady 
Township, Kalamazoo County, where Dr. ICzra 
Smith, a preacher and medical practitioner, was 
located. He held a number of revival services 
and in Jul}-, 18.50, located in Brady Township, 
where he organized a church. The next winter he 
went to Leroy, where he preached for two 3ears, 
and in 1853 removed to Grand Prairie, where 
another church was organized. In 1854 he re- 
moved to the city of .lackson and preached there 
two years. He returned in the fall of 1855 to his 
farm in Grand Prairie, and resided there a year. 
In December, 1856, Rev. Mr. Fowler went to New- 
market, Canada, where he preached for two years 
and also held protracted meetings. On his return 
to Michigan, owing to earnest solicitation, he be- 
came the financial agent of the Michigan Central 
College at Spring Arbor, and his wife became ma- 
tron of the ladies' department. They were con- 
nected with the school for a j'ear, during which 
time Mr. Fowler was continually preaching, and 
then returned to the old farm on Grand Prairie in 
the fall of 1860. Sickness soon afterward pros- 
trated him and for two or three years he was not 
able to either read or study. About 1863 he had 
a charge at "Watson, Allegan County, where he 
preached every two weeks for about four years. 
His two sons had joined the country's service and 
hence the heavy burden devolved upon his wife. 
In 1869 he returned to Oshawa, Ontario County, 
Canada, where he again preached for two and a 
half j^ears and then went back to his old church in 
Newmarket. We fiud him in Kalamazoo in the 
fall of 1872 and the following spring he purchased 
his present home but returned to Osliawa, Canada, 
once more assuming the duties as minister of the 
church at that place. Subsequently, he spent one 
winter in Florida, then for some time had no reg- 
ular work until September, 1890, when a few fam- 



ilies were organized into the Christian Church at 
Kalamazoo, Rev. Mr. Chase, now Governor of In- 
di.nna, assisting in the work. In April, 1891, the 
church was organized and Mr. Fowler preached 
part of the time until August, 1891, when he was 
given full charge. There is now a membership of 
sixty and the church is in a flourishing condition. 
Rev. Mr. Fowler was identified with the first Chris- 
tian Church organized in the county and was a 
member of the Washingtonian Society, the first 
temperance organization. He lectured on that 
subject and also against slaverj', of which he was 
a bitter opponent. Although now well advanced 
in years, Mr. Fowler yet labors on. He is tall and 
of fine address, his sermons show much thought 
and his earnest work is resulting in much good. A 
noble, upright life has he led and the confidence 
and high regard of the entire community are given 
him. 

RS. MARY V. FORBES. Tliis highly- 
respected and intelligent old ladj' is an 
early settler of Allegan County, and can 
relate many an interesting tale of pioneer 
life, as its hardships as well as adventures have 
made a lasting impression upon her mind. She has 
a very pleasant home in Plainwell, and her daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Capt. Dyckman, resides with her. 

The maiden name of our subject was Mary 
Yoke, and her native place, Hampshire, England, 
where her birth occurred August 31, 1812. Her 
parents were natives of England, and bore the 
names of Edward and Mary (Yick) Yoke. They 
came to America in 1832, the voyage across the 
Atlantic occupj'ing seven long weeks. They first 
located at Rochester, N. Y., wliere the father fol- 
lowed his trade of a boat-builder. Later, however, 
he turned his attention to the cultivation of the 
soil, farming near Hartlaiid, about sixty miles fi-om 
Rochester. He died at the home of his son m 
Chili, N. Y., in 1874, after liaving passed his eiglity- 
fourtli birthday; his wife passed away at the same 
place and same year, when eighty-six years of age. 
They had nine children, five of whom are living 
at the present time. 

Mrs. Forbes, of this sketcli, was giv^en a good 




PORTKAiT AAD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



42y 



ediieatioii, attending; the schools of Portsmouth, 
England. She ni:ii-ried, .Imuiary 1, 18:i(), John 
Robinson, a native of Massaohnsetts. where he was 
born December 19, 180.'). When atioiit nineteen 
years of age, Mr. Robinson removed to Rochester, 
N. Y., where he worked at his trade of a wood- 
turner. In 18.'i(), soon after their marriai^e, the 
youny couple came West to Michigan, and located 
in Allegan, Allegan County, when there were only 
a few shanties scattered about. He put u|) a turn- 
ing lathe in Streeter's sawmill, and worked tiiere 
the following summer, but later exchanged his 
property for a farm in (lun Plain, w^hither he re- 
moved. The improvements on his place were 
meager, but with his characteristic industry, he 
soon brought it to an excellent state of cultiva- 
tion, and made his home there for nine years. He 
then returned to Rochester, N. Y., remaining there 
for three years, when he came back to the Plains, 
and in 18,')(i removed to Kalamazoo County, where 
he lived until his death, which sad event occurred 
in 1854. 

To ]Mr. and Mrs. Robinson were born three chil- 
dren: Jolin ^'., who was born June 30, 1837,and died 
May 26, 1874, leaving a widow and two children; 
George J., who is in a bank atl'etoskey, tliis State. 
and Jlaiy A., who resides with her mother in Alle- 
gan. Julia A. w\as born March 4, 1840, married 
David Wing, ^iovember 6, 1861, and died^Iay 2/), 
1867, leaving two daughtei-s, Marj' E. and Minnie 
M., both of whom are deceased, JIarv dying ^lay 
16, 1865, and the latter daughter, Marcli 7, 1866. 
George B. Robinson was born January 28, 1848, 
and passed from this life November 29, 1880. He 
was a tinely-cultured gentleman, having been edu- 
cated in tlie Kalamazoo High School, and later 
took a course in the Business College of Detroit. 
He was Cashier in the bank at Allegan, of which 
he wixs the founder, and served as clerk in the 
County Roef)rder's oflice at Kalamazoo. In 1878 
he went to Coloradn. and wascngaged in building 
stores at Leadvillc. He was elected Lieuten.ant- 
(tovernor of Colorado on tlic Republican ticket in 
1880, but was accidentally shot Ijefore qualify- 
ing. 

In 1856 the subject of our sketch was married to 
John Forix's. a native of .Scotland, who emigrated 



to America in 1834. He located in Gun Plain at 
an early day, where he cleared and improved a 
valuable tract of land, and later removed to Kala- 
mazoo. They removed from Kalamazoo to Plain- 
well in 1866. where they were residing at the time 
of the death of Mr. Forbes, which occurred Feb^ 
ruary 2, 1889. Mrs. Forbes is a mrniber of the- 
Presbyterian Church, and is a lady greatly esteemed' 
for her many good qualities of mind and heart. 

Mrs. Julia A. (Robinson) Wing, the sec<md child 
of our subject, and the widow of David Wing, was 
married, January 11. 1879, to Capt. B. H. Dyck- 
man, who was a native of New York. He came to 
Miciiigan many years ago, and made his home for 
some time in Iowa; he also resided at .South Haven 
for twenty-five years. He died November 19, 1889. 
During the Cival War he was Captain of Company 
A, Third Michigan Cavalry, enlisting in 1861, and 
serving until 1864, during which time he engaged 
in many hard-fought battles. His death was the 
result of the exposures to which he was subjected 
while in the army. ^Irs. Dyckman is a very cult- 
ured lady, and is a graduate of the Piiipps' Female 
Seminary, at Albion, N. Y., where, in addition to 
other studies, she took a thorough course in litera- 
ture and music, and is thus highly accomplished. 
She makes her home with her mother, where they 
entertain a larse circle of adniirinir friends. 









T¥ 



AMES C4ARDNEH. In presenting the bio- 
graphical notice of the career of one of the 
leading men of (langes Townshiii, Allegan 
County, and a gentleman who is thoroughly 
representative of its progressive element, we deem 
it our duty to first liriedy advert to the life of 
those from wliom he draws his origin. He is the 
son of Mathcw and luiphemia (Dalzell) Gardner, 
both natives of Scotland. The father was there 
reared on a farm and followed agriculture all his 
life being also Land Agent in that country. He was 
married when quite young to Eupheinia Dalzell, 
a daughter of Robert Dalzell, a descendant of the 
noted Dalzells of Scotland. Mr. Gardner w.as a 
widely-known man and held the responsit)le posi- 
tion of Land N'aluator. He died at the ripe old 



430 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



age of ninety years. His life companion passed 
away some years previous to liis death. 

Our subject is a native of Lanarksliire, Scotland, 
born in 1830, and is one of fifteen cliildren born 
to his parents, all of whom have died but our sub- 
ject and his brother Alexander, a minister and a 
resident of Scotland. At the early age of sixteen 
years, James Gardner was graduated from the High 
School and Academy at Carodiss. He was after 
this bound to a Land Agent four jears. He then 
went to England, where he was Land Agent over 
large estates eleven years. In 1859 he set sail for 
America and landed in Canada, at Port Hope, 
where he was engaged in the lumber business eight 
years. In 1865 he came to the United States., com- 
ing direct to this township, where he has since re- 
mained. Having 15,000 when coming to this 
country enabled him to make a good start in 
life. He was engaged in lumbering for many 
years in Kalamazoo and now owns nearly a fourth 
interest in the Douglas Basket Factory. In real 
estate, our subject owns six hundred acres of land 
in Ganges Township, three hundred of which are 
improved and about sixty acres in fruit. He also 
owns over two hundred acres in Canada. 

While residing in England, at the age of twenty- 
eight years, Mr. Gardner was married to A'era 
Susan Russell, of Scotland. Mrs Gardner is a 
daughter of William and Margaret Russell and was 
one of three children born to them. ilrs. Gardner 
is a descendant of one of the oldest families in 
Upper Ward, of Lanarkshire, Scotland, and is a sec- 
ond cousin of the Hon. William E. Gladstone, of 
England. She is a graduate of the High School 
and the Ladies' Normal, of Glasgow. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Gardner have come eight children, five of 
whom are living: Three died in infancy. The 
living are named William R., Vera S. R., Jane E. 
R., Robert D. and George F. A. Mr. Gardner has 
taken great pride in giving his children good edu- 
cations. Vera is a graduate of the Toronto High 
School and studied art one year in Scotland; 
Robert D. is a law student in Allegan, and George 
is a student of the Douglas High Schools. Our 
subject and his wife are members of tjie Congrega- 
tional Church, of Douglas. Politically, he votes 
for the man, irrespective of party principles. He 



belongs to the Douglas Lodge, No. 196, F. & A. M. 
Mr. Gardner and family are the only kinsmen to 
his brother's large estate in Scotland and Mrs. 
Gardner will soon come into possession of a large 
estate, also in Scotland. The late James Alexander 
Gardner was a nephew of our subject and at the 
time of his death was an advocate in Edinburgh. 
His death was mourned all over England and Scot- 
land and sympathy from many of the best fami- 
lies of England and Scotland were sent to his aged 
father. Mr. Gardner is a man widely-known for 
his integrity, honesty and uprightness, always 
contributing liberally to every good cause and 
ever striving for a suppression of evil. 



RANK J. CLARK. Man}' of the business 
men of Lacota are natives of the Wolver- 
ine State, who have taken their training and 
education here and are thoroughly in sympathy 
with the institutions, past histoiy and future great- 
ness of Michigan. They take pride in their State 
which it is scarcely possible for one who is an alien 
by birth to feel, and they are willing to work for 
its upbuilding and prosperity. Among such we 
find the gentleman whose name appears at the 
head of tliis sketch, and wlio was born in Geneva 
Township, Van Buren County, in 1859. 

The parents of our subject arc Benjamin R. and 
Julia E. (Bliss) Clark, natives respectively of Lin- 
colnshire, England, and New York State. They 
came to Michio;an in 1854, and located west of 
what is now Lacota, where tlie father started in 
the merchandise business. He continued tlius for 
five years, and then moved into Lacota and estab- 
lished in the same line of business, and which is 
now conducted bj' our subject, the transfer having 
been made in 1883. His business has been steadily 
increasing and be is ranked among the progressive 
and well-to-do merchants of Lacota. In 1891 he 
added the undertaking business to his other inter- 
ests. 

Socially, jNIr. Clark of this sketch is a member 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is 
vej-y high in that order. He lias two brothers: 




WILLIAM MILHAM, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RF.CORD. 



433 



Herman D., who resides in Geneva, this covinty, 
and Roy Y. The i)aternal grandfather of our 
subject died in Kngland, wliile the grandmollier 
came to Anicru'a and ])assed her last days in (!e- 
neva. In politics Mr. Clark is a true-l)luc Repuh- 
liian. ;ind is warnil}' interested in all movements 
that have for their object the upluiilding of tlie 
conimunitv in which he makes liis home. 



"S) 



^-^ 



IS~ 



ylLLIAM MILIIAAf. Among the prosper- 
ous and respected farmers and stock-raisers 
of Kalamazoo County, we may mention 
the gentleman whose portrait accompanies this 
l)iogra])hy and who is a resident of sections 1 1 and 
1 2. Portage Township. His father, the late John !Mil- 
hain, was born in Columbia County, N. Y., and 
took as his wife Eva Poucher, also a native of 
Columbia County where she died in 1831. In the 
year 1845, the father came to Kalamazoo County 
and settled in Kalamazoo Township, where he re- 
sided until his death in February-, 188G. They had 
by tlieir marriage four children, all sons, of whom 
our sul)ject was the eldest. The second wife of 
John Milhani.the father of our subject, wasAlmira 
Rathbone, who was a native of Y'ork State, and 
bore her husband three sons and two daughters. 
She died in this county in 1848. The father was 
again married, in Kalamazoo County', to Louisa 
Anderson, by whom he had seven children, four 
sons and three daughters. She passed away in 
November, IHtiO. 

William Milham had his birth in Claverack, 
Columbia County, N. Y., September .5, 1821. He 
accompanied his father to this county and contin- 
ued to live with him until the fall of 1849, when 
he settled in Portage Township, where he has since 
made his home. Our subject was married in his 
native town in April, 184!1, to Miss Ann Klizabeth 
Ham, a native of the same place. She was called 
from earth in this township and cminly in Ma\, 
1862. leaving one child, Anna K. 

The next marriage of our subject united him 
with Marietta Root in this county in June, 1864, 
and in August. 1866, Mr. Milham was .again bereft 
of his wife. I5v that union one child wjus born who 



died in inf.-ou-N . Tiie third marriage of ^Ir. .Mil- 
hau) t()t)k [il.ace October 27, 1868, the lady being 
Jliss Kmma Seudder, a native of Newton, Fairfield 
County, Conn. One child was born of this union 
to whom they gave the name of Flora K. Mrs. 
Milham died in Portage Town.ship, March 27, 1876. 
Mr. Milham has made splendid improvements on 
his farm and owns between four hundred and live 
hundred acres of fertile lan<l. lie has always fol- 
lowed farming and stock-raising and makes a 
specialty of cattle and sheep, of which he keeps the 
best grades, Heligiousl}', Mr. Milham h.as l)een 
connected with the Presbyterian Chui'ch for twenty 
years. 



W/OIIN CRISPE is one of the well-known and 
highly popular citizens of Gun Plain Town- 
ship, Allegan County, of which he has been 
' Supervisor for five years. He is the pioneer 
druggist of Plain well and bears also an enviable 
record as a gallant soldier during the late war. 
Mr. Crispe is a n.ative of England, being born in 
Sutton "Y.alance, Kent County. June 4, 183y. He 
w.as the son of Edward and Eliz.abeth Crispe, na- 
tives of England, where the f.ather was a farmer 
and also a miller. He carried on a bakery in con- 
nection with his mills for a time. He emigrated 
with his family to America, February 2.5, 18.51. lo- 
cating at first in Cleveland, Ohio. In November, 
18.54, he came to Plain well, where his death oc- 
curred August 21, 1888, when he was eighty-seven 
j-ears old. The mother died January 7. 1884. at 
the age of eighty years. 

Our subject is one of a family of nine children, 
six of whom are now living. He was twelve years 
old when he crossed the ocean with his parent-*, 
the voyage occupying thirty days. He had at- 
tended school before leaving EngKand and was 
also a student while residing in Cleveland. Ohio. 
At the age of fifteen he began learning the milling 
liusiness at Otsego, Mich., following it for three 
years and nine months. When the Civil War broke 
out, he was the first man in the township to enroll 
his name, but was rejected on account of a defect 
in his eyesight In 1863, however, in December, 



434 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he enlisted in the Eighth Michigan Cavalry under 
Col. Stockton. He was enrolled as a private, but 
was promoted to be Second Duty Sergeant before 
leaving the State. He served all during the cele- 
brated Morgan Raid, traveling night and day, for 
five hundred and seventy-eight mi|es, after that 
wily rebel, and was greatly pleased to be jn-esent at 
his capture and to see him disarmed. He took 
part in the battle at Hickman's Bridge, iu the 
evening of the same day, having a lively skirmish 
at Trellets Bridge and defeating Morgan at Buffing- 
tern's Island. He was at the siege of Kuoxville 
under Burnside, and followed Longstreet to Bull's 
Gap. They were then ordered back to Kuoxville, 
where tliey left their horses and footed it back 
across the mountains to Camp Nelson, Ky. Here 
they were mounted again and sent back to Chat- 
tanooga and from there went South and came up 
with Sherman's army at Resaca. They accom- 
panied Sherman to Atlanta and were in the en- 
gagement at Jonesboro, after which they were 
under Thomas in the battles of Columbia and 
Fianklin. Mr. Crispe was discharged at Nashville, 
Tenn., September 22, 1865, being mustered out as 
First Sergeant of his company. He played the 
part of a gallant soldier during the entire war, and 
looks back with much pleasure to his interesting 
experiences while fighting for his adopted country. 

When his services were no longer needed in the 
field, Mr. Crispe returned to the pursuits of peace, 
and coming to Plaiuwell engaged for a short time 
in tiie livery business. In February, 1867, he 
started the first drug store established in Plainwell, 
and has been engaged in that business ever since. 
He was married, February 7, 1867, to Miss Amanda 
Mesick, a native of Columbia ville, N. Y., who came 
to Michigan in 1857. Three children have been 
born to them: Minnie, Guy and Cherry, all of whom 
are deceased. 

Mr. Crispe is a stanch Republican and cast his 
first vote for Lincoln. He has been a delegate to 
district and congressional conventions, and also 
to the Republican National Convention in 1888. 
He was Treasurer of his township for five years, 
and in January, 1877, was appointed Postmaster, 
serving for ten years and three months. In April, 
1886, he was elected Supervisor, which office he 



has held ever since. He has also served as County 
Commissioner and was a member of the committee 
under whose supervision the new courthouse was 
built. Socially, he is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, the Odd Fellows and the Grand Army 
of the Republic. He occupies a fine residence and 
liolds an influential position in the community. 



W 



ILLIAM D. HALL. Among the fanners 
and representative men of Casco Town- 
V^Nj/ ship, Allegan County, we are gratified to 
present the subject of this sketch. He is the pos- 
sessor of forty acres of very highly improved land 
on section 22, and its fertile soil yields him in re- 
turn for his labors abundant harvests. We find 
him, at the early age of ten years, starting out for 
himself in the world. He remained three years 
with a brother-in-law, assisting on the farm, then 
learned tlie cabinet-maker's trade, but not liking 
that occupation soon gave it up. The next four- 
teen years he worked at cigar-making at Higgins- 
ville, Oneida County, N. Y., and he then worked 
for the same length of time on the Erie Canal, 
between Buffalo and New York City. 

While yet in his native county, in 1862, our 
subject married Miss Mary E. Blackmail, a daugh- 
ter of Samuel T. and Elizabeth (Belscher) Black- 
man. Mr. Blackman was a native of Engl.and, who 
was born November 28,1802,and accidentally killed 
while clearing a part of his farm, August 22, 
1845. His good wife was born in New York 
State, August 1, 1808, and died March 14, 1884. 
Mrs. Hall is one of three children born to her par- 
ents, the other two being named William II. (de- 
ceased) and Ann M. To Mr. and Mrs. Hall three 
children liave been born: Cora, wife of Judsou 
Bailey; Alasco II., and Elbridge W. ■ 

In 1862, Mr. Hall enlisted in the late war, in 
Company H, One Hundred and Seventeenth New 
York Infantiy, and was in the Army of the Poto- 
mac. He was soon afterward discharged for disa- 
bility, but in 1863 re-enlisted in Company E, 
One Hundred and Seventy -sixth New York Infan- 
try. He was in the Reserve Corps at Wheeling, 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAl'IIICAL RECORD. 



435 



W. Va., and there, in 1865, was honorably dis- \ 
uhavgci\. lie is a member of Zaeli C'liaiidler Post, 
No. 35, (i. A. R., at South Haven, Van Bviren j 
County, and isalso a member of tlie Masonic lodge. ' 
of South Haven. Politically, he is an adlierent of I 
the Republican party, and he and his estimable 
wife are worthy niembers of the United Krcthi-en 
Church. 

The parents of the gentleman of whom we write 
were (leorge F. and Catherine Hall. The former 
was born near Quebec, Canada, .lune 2('>, 180(), and 
the latter is a native of the same place, born in 
1807. George F. Hall passed his boyhood days 
in the city of Quebec, .as his father was a hatter 
and ran a large store in connection with his manu- 
facU)ry. On October 15, 1832, Mv. Hall was 
united in marriage with the mother of our subject, 
whose maiden name was Catherine I-illiolt, but in 
about two years he had to llee to the Tnited Slates, 
as he took part witli the United States in a Gov- 
ernment dilliculty. He at once located at Boon- 
ville, X. Y., and took a contract to build a portion 
of the Hl.ack River Canal. In three years his 
family joined him in Boonville; they now reside 
in Madison County, N. Y. He w.as engaged in 
fai'ming. but now is retired from active labor. 
Politically, he wiis a Republican, and religiously, a 
memlier of the Episcopal Church. He is a son of 
(Jeorge F. Hall, a native of England, who emi- 
grated to Canada, in an earlv day. 



''*^,EI.OS \V. II.VRE. No member of the Crand 
Army of the Republic has a nobler record 
for patriotic devotion to hiscountry during 
the late war, and for true bravery and e.vcollent 
.soldiership, than Delos W. Hare, a prominent citi- 
zen of Otsego Township. He is one of the fore- 
most farmers and stock-raisers of Allegan County, 
and is esi)ecially distinguished in the annals of the 
rise and progress of agriculture in this region for 
the great influence he has exercised in shaping the 
course of sheep-breeding, not onlj- here but else- 
where, by the introduction of a superior breed of 
that animal, the Delaine-JIerino, which is fainnus 
throu;;hout the couutrv. 



Mr. Hare was horn in Schoharie Township, 
Schoharie County, N. Y., October 30, 1837. 
Steven and Elizabeth (Caniff) Hare, natives re- 
spectively of New York and Canada, were his par- 
ents. His father was a farmer by occupation, and, 
coming to Michigan in 1853, w.as thereafter a resi- 
dent of Otsego Township until his death in 1871, 
at the age of seventy years. In early manhood 
he had been prominent in the New York State 
Militia, and held both a innjor's and lieulenant- 
colonel's commission in the regiment to which he 
belonged. He was a prominent and influential 
citizen of his county, and was a Justice of the 
Peace. During the latter part of his life he joined 
the Methodist Episcopal Cliurch, and died strong 
in the faith. The Hare family originated in Ger- 
many. AVilliam Hare, the paternal grandfather of 
our subject, a native of Dutchess County, N. Y., 
where he carried on farming, and eventually died, 
served in the War <if 1H12 with two of his sons. 
The mother of our subject died in 1868, aged forty- 
eight years. 

Our subject is the eldest of the children l)orn to 
his parents, all of whom are living. He was 
reared in the city of Rochester from the time he 
was eight years old until he was fifteen and w.as 
educated in its schools. AVlien he was thirteen 
years old, he began to work in one of the 
nurseries of Rochester during the summer, con- 
tinuing his education in the wintei'S. He was 
sixteen years old when he accompanied the family 
in their removal to this State, and after coming 
here he worked on a farm mostly until 18('>1. In 
the summer of that year, he enlisted in the Second 
Michigan Infantry. He again enlisted in M.ay, 
18C3, becoming a member of the .Second Michigan 
Cavalry, but the following Sei)teinber he was dis- 
charged a second time for the same cause that had 
lirst obliged him to abandon military life. Noth- 
ing daunted l)y what he liad previously- gone 
through, he again enlisted, June 10, 18G4, in the 
Eighth Michigan Cavalry, and this time saw the 
war through, serving with lidelity until after its 
close, receiving his final discharge June i), 1865. 
He gave proof of his courage and other good scJ- 
dierly qualities in several engagements with the 
enemy, the skirmish, in which his regiment partici- 



436 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



pated, at ROcky Face, Ga., being his first encounter 
with tlie Confederates. He and his comrades 
fought bravely at Altoona and Atlanta, and did 
good service when their regiment was detached 
from Sherman's Army and sent back to confront 
Hood at Huntsville, Ala. They followed that 
noted rebel leader on the opposite side of the 
river down to Savannah, where he crossed the 
stream, and they did their duty nobly in the bat- 
tle that ensued at Henrysville, although eventu- 
ally obliged to fall back before the heav}' fire of 
the enemy, until le-enforcements finally' came to 
their assistance. After that our subject and his 
fellow-soldiers were under fire for twenty-one days, 
during which time they helped fight the battles of 
Columbia, Duck River Ford, Spring Hill, Franklin 
and N.ishville. Mr. Hare was wounded m the 
right side with buckshot and ball at the engage- 
ment at Spring Hill, November 22, 1864. His 
horse was shot from under him a few minutes 
afterward, and, falling on him in his disabled con- 
dition, caused tlie fracture of his right hip. His 
comrades secured another horse for him, and he 
remained on the field until the battle was over, en- 
during his pain with characteristic stoicism. He 
was subsequent!}' left at Bowling Green, Ky., until 
he should be able to take his place in the ranks 
again, and he remained there until the following 
February. He was so badly injured that it was 
thought that he could not recover, and, indeed, he 
was reported as dead at one time. He was sent 
home in April, 1865, and it was three 3"ears before 
he was able to walk, even with the aid of cane and 
crutches. He still carries two buckshots in his side. 
"While in the service, he was commissioned Quar- 
termaster in Georgia, but was so far from head- 
quarters he was never mustered in according to 
regulations. He, however, acted in that capacity 
until sent to Nashville. 

Mr. Hare had purchased his present farm in Ot- 
sego Township in 1859, and had worked out by 
the month to pay for it. As soon as able, after his 
return from the South, he resumed farming, and 
now has his land, which comprises one hundred 
and fifty-four acres on sections 17 and 7, in a fine 
condition. He devotes his farm to stock-i-aising 
purposes. His cattle are of the Short-horn breed, 



while among his horses are to be found fine speci- 
mens of the ^lessenger, Mambrino and Clj'desdale 
families. But Mr. Hare is more generall}- known 
among the agriculturists of the country for his 
success as a breeder of the Delaine-Merino sheep, 
which is thought by many to be the best breed of 
sheep ever introduced into Michigan. 

Soon after he began farming, Mr. Hare made u|) 
his mind that the American-Merino sheep was 
best adapted to this section of the country, and he 
determined to use hisefforts fortheir introduction. 
He believed that in time he would be able to pro- 
duce a sheep of Merino blood free from numerous 
wrinkles, such as that variet}' is subject to, and with 
long fine wool free from grease. He began by 
breeding from the best selections that could be 
made, and thus we have the Delaine-Merinos, a 
new family, formed by a cross of the Spanish and 
Blacktop-Merino breeds. It is larger than the 
Spanish or Blacktop-Merino, is smooth-bodied, 
well-formed, compactly-built, and has a mutton car- 
cass, such as in the earl}- days of sheep-breeding 
would not have been expected in fine-wool sheep. 
The fleece is dense, fine, clean and white, and of a 
length of three or four inches at one year's growth. 
A weight of one hundred and seventy-five to two 
hundred pounds for rams and of one hundred and 
twenty to one hundred and fifty pounds for ewes 
is claimed at maturity. Being a pioneer in the 
breeding of this famous sheep, Mr. Hare has be- 
come widely known among wool-dealers, who anxi- 
ously seek his annual clippings, the wool being 
easil}' recognized among thousands of others by 
the manufacturers of the East. He has sold speci- 
mens from his flock, for breeding purposes, to 
many sheep-breeders throughout the country, and 
they can be found in almost every Northern and 
Western State. He annually receives a large num- 
ber of premiums at the various fairs wherever his 
sheep are on exhibition. 

Mr. Itare was married, in 1866, to Miss Rachel 
White, of Gun Plain Township. Her father, 
Calvin C. White, a native of Veimont, was an 
early pioneer of Southern Michigan, coming hither 
in 1829, and locating first in Kalamazoo County. 
In 1831 he removed to Gun Plain Township, 
and was one of the very first to settle in this 



PORTRAIT AND ]}IOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



137 



comity. IK' took iq) land from tlic (loveininent, 
iiiul improved a fann. lie died in the fall of 1880, 
aged sevcntj'-seven j'ears old. Ui» wife died in 
the fall of 1871. Hoth were stanch nieinhers of 
the Methodist Episcopal Clnirch. Mrs. Hare is 
their only survivini; child. » 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hare have been horn eight cliil- 
dren, as follows: Delos J^., William ('., Frank (i., 
R. 1.., Steiilien M., Sarah S., palmer .1. and Rachel. 

Mr. Hare i.s a devoted IJepulilican. and has been 
e\ei' since the da^'s wiien he cast his tiisl Presiden- 
tial vote for John C. Fremont. He is a prominent 
niemher of the Grand Ainiy of tlie Republic, has 
filled every chair in his post, and has been Inspec- 
tor on the staflf of the Department Commander. 



-M* 



-^ 



H^ANIEL FALCONER, most generally known 
I jjj as a fruit-grower and nurseryman in Sauga- 
jf^ tuck Township, Allegan County, is also en- 
gaged in farming. His landed possessions include 
sixty acres, which are beautifull}' located on sec- 
tion 10. He is making a success of life and is 
ranked among the well-to-do citizens of his town- 
ship. 

Daniel Falconer is the son of Duncan and Ann 
(McCilashin) Falconer, natives of Perthshire, Scot- 
land, where the subject of this sketch was born in 
April. 18:51. His father was a practical mechanic 
and was in the employ of the ISritish (Government 
for many j'eare in the armory. He was commis- 
sioned to go to Canada in 1812, and w.as given 
charge of the Ordinance Department at Toronto. 
D.aniel was reared in Toronto and given an excel- 
lent education in the city schools. He remained 
under the parental roof until reaching his majoritv 
when he started out to battle with life on his own 
account. 

In 18j0 our subject was married to Miss Mary 
Ann Baker, by whom he had three children, one 
of whom is living, Duncan, who now resides in 
Nevada. Mrs. Falconer died October 31, 1860. 
Our subject was again married, this time to Agnes 
Sutherland, May 1, 18(>1, by whom he had four 
children: John, William, .\nna M. and David. His 



second wife p.assed from this earth September 10, 
1870. 

.March 12, 1873, our subject was married to 
Mary .\. F. Foster, daughter of .lohn H. and Mary 
(Patterson) Foster, natives respectively of Ireland 
and Canada. Mrs. Falconer was born in Canada, 
February 28. 18,j2. Their union li:is been blessed 
with two children: .bimcs .V., who was born in Fel> 
ruar^', 1871) and Allen 1... in 187'.). They are both 
at home with their parents. 

In his political creed, he believes in the tenets 
of the Democratic party. He has never been an 
ollice-seeker, but has frequently been tailed upon 
b\' his fellow-townsmen to represent them m otlices 
of public trust. He has served ctticiently on the 
School Board as Trustee, w.as Highway and 
Drain Commissioner and is the present .Supervisor 
of Saugatuck Township. He was also Patlimaster 
for several years. In his church relations, he is 
connected with the Congregational Society. Soci- 
ally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted 
Masons and Saugatuck Lodge, No. 196,1. O. O. F., 
in which order he is Noble Grand. 

The father of our subject died in 1864 and his 
mother p.assed away a few years later, dying in 
18711. Mrs. Falconer's father died in M.ay, 1888. 
Her mother is still living in North Branch, La- 
peer County, this State. 



li'^SIE 



^ ANUEL E.METERIO, who is at the pies- 



I ll\ ent time operating a fine farm on see- 
J lis tion 30, Casco Township, .\llegan County, 
* was born in .Santander, Spain, in 

1818. He is the son of Nareisco and Juliaii:i 
Emeterio. His parent* were also natives of 
Spain, the father born about 1820. The elder 
.Mr. Emeterio was reared to farm pursuits and 
when (piite young went to Santander and served 
an apprenticeship of four j-ears to a baker. When 
establishing in business for himself, he at once be- 
gan in that line of work and made it his life oc- 
cupation. 

.Six children were born to the parents of our 
subject, four of whom are living in the I'liited 
.Strifes. In 1876, the original of this sketch sent 



438 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



for his pai'ents to join liim at Brooklyn, N. Y. The 
mother died a few years after locating here, but 
the father survived to make his home with our 
subject in Michigan, where he died in 1883. The 
first stopping-place of Manuel was in Havana, 
Cuba, he having crossed the Atlantic when onl}^ 
thirteen 3'ears of age. In that city he apprenticed 
himself for three years to learn the cigarmaker's 
trade. He later came to Brooklyn, N. Y., where 
he followed the cigar trade for a number of j-ears, 
doing a large business. 

In 1881 our subject came to Casco Township, 
Allegan County, where he purchased twenty acres 
of his present farm. He later added sixty acres 
more, and by industry and economj' lias become 
the owner of a beautiful estate. Although Mr. 
I^meterio is a Republican in National politics, he 
reserves the right to vote for the man whom he 
thinks will best fill the office in local affairs. He 
is greatly interested in educational matters and 
has held numerous offices on tlie School Board. 

While m Brooklyn, N. Y., our subject and Miss 
Alice Lewis, daughter of Charles and Phebe (Hulse) 
Lewis, were united in marriage. The parents of 
Mrs. Emeterio were born in New York, where the 
father followed the trade of a carpenter; he died 
when sixty 3'ears of age. The mother is still liv- 
ing and makes her home with her daughter. Mrs. 
Emeterio was one of a family of five children, 
three of whom are living. By her marriage with 
our subject she has become the mother of two sons 
and a daughter, namely: Frank M., Alice L. and 
Manuel P. 



W 



WALLACE B. GRIFFIN is one of the repre- 
sentative business men of Allegan County, 
\j' 1/ being engaged extensively' and success- 
fully in the fruit-growing business. He is the 
senior member of the firm of Griffin & Henry, ex- 
tensive lumber dealers, and is also the manager of 
the Fruit Shippers' Packet Line, operating between 
Chicago and Saugatuck. He is the fortunate pos- 
sessor of four hundred and twenty acres of fine 
land on section 1, Saugatuck Township, eighty 



acres of which he has planted in peaches, which 
yield him a profitable income. The past season he 
shipped thirty thousand baskets of this luscious 
fruit. He has certainly demonstrated what a man 
can do who is industrious, honest and capable. 

Wallace Griffin is a son of Edward and Hannah 
(Wallace) Griffin, natives of the State of New 
York and Virginia, respectively. The parents 
moved to Canada after their marriage, where the 
suliject of this sketch was born, .Tanuarj^ 8, 1842. 
The father was a mechanic and was somewhat in- 
cliued to move from place to place, going from 
Canada to New York State when Wallace was but 
an infant and in the 3'ear 1851 he came to the State 
of Michigan and settled at Niles. At Buchanan, 
this State, Wallace was apprenticed to learn the 
trade of machinist, under the supervision of Capt. 
Richards, who was well known as a practical ma- 
chinist and scientific engineer. 

The marriage of our suliject took place August 
1, 1861, to the estimable woman who has presided 
over his home for over thirty' years. Her maiden 
name was Mary A. Post, a daughter of Jolin N. 
Post, of Buchanan, Mich. This union was blessed 
with three children, only one of whom survives — 
Anna B., who is married to C. W. Wade and resides 
in Allegan County. A bright and promising boy, 
Willie, died at the age of twelve years and the 
other child died in infancj'. In 1866 Mr. Griffin 
removed to Saugatuck and for ten years was in 
the employ of Stockbridge it Co. At the end of 
that time, he was admitted as a partner in their 
extensive lumber business and finally bought out 
Senator Stockbridge's interest in the firm. 

Mr. Griffin has accumulated a fair share of this 
world's goods by industry and perseverance and, 
besides his farming and fruit-growing operations, 
he pa3's much attention to tlie breeding of fine 
horses. Sociall3', he is a member of Lodge, No. 
328, A. F. & A. M. of which he is Past Master. Mr. 
Griffin is a man of genial disposition who makes 
many friends and is one of the most popular citi- 
zens in the community. 

Mr. Griffin is a Democrat in politics but he 
refers with pleasure to his long business connec- 
tion with Senator Fiank B. Stoekfirldge (who has 
since been elected U. S. Senator), and is proud of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



439 



liis relations with tliis distinijuislied irontlpinan, 
who was ever a gentleman of the slrietent integ- 
rity, hroad not only in his political l)Ut in his 
l)n8iness views and wortliily represents liis State 
in the census of the nation. 



-^^>^-<m 



-- 4- 




|EV. .lOIIN FLETCIIKR, who for twenty- 
seven years has been pastor of the Baptist 
Church at Plain well, is a man of high attain- 
ilments. Of a finely and delicately balanced 
nature, spiritually and morally, he has always 
t^ken the highest stand. A man of good education 
and address, he is fitted as an orator to per- 
fect the good work that his example as a Christian 
sets before his people. lie wa-s born in Worcester- 
shire, Kngland, in 18.32 and is the son of William 
and Klizabeth (Miles) Fletcher, also natives of Eng- 
land. 

The father of Mr. Fletcher of tliis sketch fol- 
lowed farming and gardening, and with his family 
emigrated to America in 1850, locating near De- 
troit where he was engaged as an agriculturist. 
The mother died soon after coming to the New 
World. She with her husband was a devoted 
member of the Baptist Church, in which Mr. Flet- 
cher was a Deacon, and, although never ordained, 
often filled the pulpit in England. They became 
the parents of a large family of ten children, of 
whom six are living, our subject being the oldest 
but one. 

The early education of Mr. Fletcher was some- 
wlnt limited, as his studies were confined to such 
schools as were maintained by the Baptist Church 
at that time. Later, however, he took a course in 
Birminghan, England. He was in his eighteenth 
year wlien he accompanied his paj'cnts on their re- 
moval to America, and even after coming to this 
countrv he found progress in an educational wav 
rather dillicult .as he w.as soon after alUicked with 
chills and fever. When deciding to become a 
minister, he studied a great deal alone and in 1859 
w.as ordained in the Baptist Church. 

The first charge of our subject was at Ceresco, 
this State, where he remained one year, going 
from tliat place to Sturgis and later to Edwards- 



burg and was engaged in p.astoral work at that 
pl.icc when he enlisted .as Chaplain in the Ninth 
Michigan Cavalry, in August, 1864. He saw a 
year's hard service in the Army, marching with 
his regiment to the sea and through the Carolinas. 
Our subject was under the command of Gen. 
Kilpatrick on the march to sea, and relates that 
when within four miles of Savannah, Gen. Kil- 
patrick, under the direction of Sherman, was sent 
to open communication with the fleet and notify 
them that the army h.ad arrived. On this occasion 
the Ninth Michigan Cavalry was selected to ac- 
company the General. Mr. Fletcher remained 
with his regiment a few months after hostilities 
ceased and received his final discharge at Jackson, 
^lichigan, in .\ugust, 1865. 

After the war, the Rev. ]\Ir. Fletcher accepted, a 
call to Plain well and has been the pastor of the 
Baptist society here since that lime. .\ small 
church was in the course of construction at the 
time of his coming here and services were held in 
the upper room of a schoolhouse. The societ3-has 
greatly prosjjered under his care and has increased 
until it is now one of the strongest to be found in 
any village of like size in the State. He has re- 
cently entered upon his twenty-seventh year as 
pastor and during that long period has been exceed- 
ingly faithful to the discharge of ever}' duly and 
is greatly beloved by his congregation. 

Our subject filled the pulpit for a short time in 
the "E" Street CImrch in Washington, D. C, whi- 
ther he had received a call to act as pastor and 
while considering the matter the people of Plain- 
well called a public meeting and presented to 
Mr. Fletcher a petition, bearing the names of all 
the prominent citizens, regardless of religious 
creed, beseeching him to remain with them, which 
he did. .Since first entering upon his work here, 
he has preached seventy-nine hundred and 
seventy regular sermons, olliciated at eleven hun- 
dred and seventy-three funerals, performed four 
hundred and three marriage ceremonies and bap- 
tized three hundred and eighteen pei-sons. 

Besides his duties as p.istor, the Rev. Mr. llct- 

i cher devotes considerable attention to the i)ubli- 

cation of leaflets and pamphlets. He wa.s first 

married, in 1858, to Miss Alia H. Ladd. who died 



440 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAI HICAL RECORD. 



atPlainwell, January 2, 1886, at the age of forty- 
eight years. She was tlie daughter of Henry AV". 
and Celinda 8. Ladd. Slie was an exemplary and 
faithful Cliristiau and wliatever she did it was a 
lifelong principle with her to do well. She was 
endowed with superior social qualities and her 
presence in the sicli-room was alwa3's an inspira- 
tion and a comfort. 

Januar3' 14, 1887, our subject was married to 
Elizabeth Taylor, who was born near Bristol, Kng- 
land. She was the daughter of William S. and 
Christina Taylor. Her father died in England and 
the mother with her family emigrated to America 
in 1852, locating near Ceresco, Calhoun County-, 
this State. She is still living, and makes her 
home in Lansing. Mrs. Fletcher was educated at 
Battle Creek and later became a compositor in the 
office of her brother who was publisher of a paper 
at Charlotte, this State. She went to Battle Creek 
and worked four years as a compositor in the 
Journal office and later for thirteen years filled 
a like position in the office of tlie Lansing Re- 
puhUcan. 

In 1873, in company with her mother, Mrs. 
Fletcher visited JCngland and in 1886 made a trip 
to the West and California. The Rev. Mr. Flet- 
cher is a life member of tlie Baptist State Conven- 
tion, of Michigan, and in iiolitics has favored Re- 
publicans, but is now inclined to support the best 
men. 






S^^ •£••£• •$••5*1— 



Jl MLLIAM ENGLISH. On section 24, South 
\/-J// Haven Township, may be seen a beautiful 
^^ farm adorned with a handsome residence 
and first-class farm buildings. There are also to 
be seen a beautiful orchard and small fruits of the 
finest grade on the place which is the propertj' of 
the gentleman whose name we have just given, and 
who came to Van Bureii Count}^ in June, 1865. In 
the fall of the following 3'ear he located on his 
present farm. 

William English was born in Buffalo, N. Y., 
Ma^' 27, 1837, and is a son of Robert and Mar- 
garet (Workman) English, natives of Ireland. His 
grandfather, William English, was born in County 
Monaghan where he reared a family, and came to 



the United States some time in the '20s. He lo- 
cated in Canada East and there passed the re- 
mainder of his life. He was a farmer and attained 
to the advanced age of ninety years. The family 
included six children: John, Margaret, Sarah, 
William, Robert and Mary. 

Robert English, the father of our subject, came 
to the United States where lie met and married his 
wife. He was a hard worker and by economy 
saved $2,(100, with which lie intended to purchase 
a farm at Black Kock, Mich., but before he could 
make a iiaynient the money which he held became 
worthless. He then removed to Canada and re- 
ceived assistance from his father who was a well- 
to-do linen manufacturer. His father purchased 
one hundred and fifty acres of land in Canada 
which he sold and in 1850 removed to Welling- 
ton Count}', Canada,and invested in farm and town 
property. He died at that place January 14, 1889, 
at the advanced age of eighty-two years. The 
mother of our subject died January 17, 1856, aged 
forty-five j'ears. 

The parental family included seven children, be- 
sides our subject: Mary Ann, who married Hobert 
AVorkmau and resides in Wellington County, Can- 
ada; Elizabeth, who became Mrs. William Rafter 
and also resides in Canada as does Lucy, Mrs. 
Thomas Rafter, and Richard. George died at 
South Haven; Hannah became Mrs. George Cook 
of this Stale and Sarah J. is the wife of John Boyle, 
of Ontario, Canada. 

William English was a small boy when his jjar- 
ents removed to Canada, and there he received ex- 
cellent school advantages and a thorough training 
upon his father's farm. He continued to make 
his home in the Dominion until 1865, when he 
came to the States, and on coming to Michigan 
worked for Davis Ball, whose farm was located 
just one mile north of Kalamazoo. He was simi- 
larly engaged for other people until he came to 
South Haven, in 1865. In 1868 he purchased his 
present forty-acre tract which he has brought to a 
high degree of cultivation and in 1891 erected a 
beautiful residence, improved with all modern con- 
veniences. He also carries on a good business in 
fruit-growing. 

February 10, 1874, Miss Ella Moore, daughter of 




TOBIAS BYERS 





JANETTM.BYERS 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



445 



RobcTt and .June Moore, became Mrs. William Eng- 
lish. Siic was born in County Sinicoe. Canada, 
and by her union wilh our subject h.is become 
the mother of two children: Alvin J. and JIaude 
B. In politics, Mr. Eiiijlisli is a Democrat and so- 
cially is a member of the Star of the Lake Lodsre, 
No. 18, at South Haven. He is an Orangeman, 
his ancestors being all Protestants. In the spring 
of IHHll, our sul)ject rented his farm and removed to 
Sturgis where he resided for two 3'ears and farmed 
on twenty acres of land which had been given him 
l>y his uncle. 



f)OBIAS HYKRS. one of the oldest settlers of 
ftS\ Keeler Township, A'an Buren County, was 
burn in Center County, Pa., in February, 
1S(I8, and is one in a family of twelve children, all 
of whom grew to maturity. Their parents, .lacob 
and Fannie (Zimmerman) B^'ers, were natives of 
Pennsylvania and descendants of Germany. Our 
subject's father served .as a Kevohilionary soldier 
and died in New York, where he had removed 
when our subject was but four years old. He grew 
to manhood in Livingston Count\' and in Febru- 
ary, 1835, came to Keeler Township, where at the 
time there were but two other white men in the 
townshii) — two brothers l)y the name of Nesbitt, 
who soon left, thus leaving him the only one in 
the place at that time. 

In the year 18,jC, Jlr. I{3-ers was married to 
Janett M. Wilson, who was a native of Allegan 
Count}', N. v., and in 18."),'), came to Keeler Town- 
ship. Of the five children horn to them but one 
is now living — Frank 15., who is married and a res- 
ident of this county. Politically, Mr. Byers is a 
Dciiiocrat and has been a much respected citizen of 
the county. 

In 1 8') 1, Mr. Byers erected a watermill on Mill 
Creek, which he ran nearly fifteen years and sawed 
an immense amount of lumber. But farming has 
been his main business, although he has engaged in 
other lines of business, and was for some time in- 
terested in till' manufacture of grain drills at 
Dowagiiic. lie assisted in the organization of the 
2(1 



First National Bank In 187(1. at Decatur .and when 
its charter expired it was rechartered as a State 
Bank and our subject has been a stockholder and 
Director for many 3'ears. He is the owner of seven 
Iiiuulred and seventeen acres of valuable land in 
the county, on which he carries on general fanning 
and where he resides on section 13. 

The attention of the reader is invited to the 
litiiograi)hic portraitsof Mr. and ^Mrs. Byers. The}' 
are well known throughout the community for 
their great worth of character, benevolent nature, 
and nobilit}' of life, and their friends wish for 
them many years of continued happiness and 
well-doing. 



e^-^p-= 




RANK L. DEAL. One of the prominent 
^ business men of Lacota, who have been 
IMlS active in encouraging industries of in- 
trinsic worth to the city, is the gentleman whose 
name we place at the head of this sketch. The 
place of his nativity w.as Kalamazoo County, this 
State, and his natal d.ay, February 25, 1858. He 
grew to mature 3'ears in that count}', and was 
given a good education. He is the son of Peter 
E. and .Sarah (Belcher) Deal, the father born in 
1835 in Penns3'lvania, and the mother in New 
.Terse}'. 

The elder Mr. Deal came to Michig.an in 1856, 
where he took up a farm from the Government. 
In 1857, he returned East, and was married to the 
mother of our subject. The young couple came 
at once to the new farm in the Wolverine .State, 
where they reared their two sons: our subject, 
and Fled, who makes his home in Oregon. Mrs. 
Sarah Deal died in 18(52, and the father afterward 
married .Mrs Eliza Deal, daughter of P. D. Beck- 
with. Six children were born of that union. 

Frank I.. Deal grew to mature yeai-s in Kala- 
mazoo, and about 1880. came to Lacota and en- 
gaged in merchandising. He carries a full and 
complete slock of dry-goods, and is doing the 
largest business in the vill.age. lie is courteous 
and gentlemanly in his treatment of customers, 
anil his trade is rapidly increasing. In 1882 he 
was married to Flora, dauirliler of D. C. Bennett, 



446 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and to them have been ^ranted four children: 
Minnie, Ralph, Perley, and Baby, who died un- 
named. 

In politics, our subject is a Prohibitionist, and 
has done much toward aiding the cause of temper- 
ance in his connnunitv. Socially', he is a member 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is 
highly esteemed in ^'^an Buren County, as a man 
of push and energ3\ 

■^OHN S. CURTIS is probably one of the 
best-known men in Allegan County, where 
he was born in November, 1845. He is 
now living retired from the active duties 
of life in Allegan. John and Mar3r (Pierce) Cur- 
tis, the parents of our subject, were natives of New 
York and England , respectively. The father was 
one of the first settlers in Allegan, where he was 
the leading blacksmith for a number of years. 
Conveniences for traveling were not as we have 
them now, and at one time he walked to Kala- 
mazoo and carried home with him a piece of iron 
to make a sledge-hammer. For a number of years, 
the elder Mr. Curtis was not able to get enough 
money to paj^ his taxes, as everything was bought 
and sold by barter. The mother died in Allegan, 
but the father, about twenty years ago, removed 
to Greenville, Montcalm County, where he passed 
his last days. 

Only two children of the parental famil^^ of six, 
are now living: Albert W., who is a blacksmith at 
Muskegon, and our subject. .John S.' Curtis was 
given a fair educaticm in the village schools of 
Allegan, and received a thorough training in farm 
pursuits. At the early age of fourteen, he started 
out to earn money for himself, and engaged as a 
farm hand. When he became of age, our subject 
commenced farming in Trowbridge Townsliip, 
Allegan County, on shares, continuing thus until 
1891. 

In 1863, IMr. Curtis enlisted in the Third Mich- 
igan Batter3' iu the nineteen-months' service. 
He was taken sick when first starting, catching 
the measles at Coldwater. He was sick for six 



months, but remained with the batterj' until dis- 
charged in 1865. He superintended the operations 
of his farm for a time, while residing in the village 
of Allegan and carrying on blacksmithing. His life 
on the farm, all told, numbered fifteen years, and 
during that time he was engaged iu breeding fine 
Percheron and Hambletonian horses. He also had 
on his estate, numbers of Southdown and Shropshire 
sheep, and Ilolstein, Durham and .Jersey cattle. 
He was one of the wealthy farmers of Allegan 
Count}% and always found that the best methods 
and latest improvements brought him the largest 
returns. Mr. Curtis has in his possession at the 
present time a fine Hambletonian, named "Boobj'," 
whose record is 2:40. 

John S. Curtis and Miss Amanda Lynes were 
united in marriage in 1862. Mrs. Curtis is the 
daughter of Samuel and Cynthia Lynes, old 
settlers of this county. To our subject and his 
most estimable wife, one child has been born: 
Mary, who is now Mrs. Marble. The>- moved to the 
village of Allegan in 1891, and are now residing 
in a beautiful home on Seminary Hill. The old 
homestead contains eighty acres, in addition to 
which, he owns forty acres in Hopkins Township, 
Van Buren County. He is engaged in doing a 
profitable business in real estate and mone3- loan- 
ing, and is one of the wide-awake and highly 
esteemed men of tiie county. In politics, he is a 
Republican, and socially, is an Odd Fellow, and a 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic. The 
famil3' all attend the Baptist Church. 



HARLES P. HALE. Tliis prominent busi- 
ness man of Otsego came here in 1890 and 
is engaged in buying and shipping all kinds 
of grain, lumber, coal, lime, etc. He is doing much 
toward forwarding the interests and developing 
the resources of this section, and his persistent in- 
dustry has been well rewarded, as he is one of the 
well-to-do citizens of the county. 

Mr. Hale was born in Massachusetts, his birth 
occurring in Beruardston, Franklin County, Janu- 
ary 30. 1828. lie i.s a sou of Zedock Hale, whose 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



447 



native place was JIassacliusetts. Tlie father learned 
the trade of a carpenter wiien a yoinijr man, hut 
when removing to "Wisconsin, in lt<5(>, and locat- 
ing at Ilndson, he engaged in farming. In 18G0 
he came to Michigan, and died in Iviciiland, K.'ila- 
nia/.oo County. 

'I'lie grandfather of our subject was Israel llalc. 
a native of Connecticut. Later in life he removed 
to Ma.-vsachusetts, where he was engaged in farm 
pursuits. He was known .as Lieut. Ilale, having 
been Lieutenant of a company during the K'evolu- 
tionary War. He passed his last da\s in Massachu- 
setts. The great-grandfather of Mr. Hale of this 
sketch came toAmerica with his two l>rothers prior 
to the Hevolutionary War. One located in New 
HainpsLire, one in Connecticut and the third in 
New York. Tiu'V were known as Capt. .John, 
Lieut. Samuel, and Lieut. Israel, the latter being 
the one from whom our subject is descended. 
Nracl 1 bale was one of the prominent memlicrs of 
ihe Initarlan Church in Bernardston, Mass., where 
he was one of the representative citizens. Our 
subject made his home witli liini after reaching his 
sixth year. 

The maiden name of our subject's mc)thcr 
was .\nnie Tuttle, a native of the same Slate 
and count\' as was our subject. She died in 1834 
in Jefferson Couuly, N. Y., after having become 
the mother of a family of seven children, four 
sons and three daughters, only two of whom are 
living. Edwin D., one of the sons, was starved to 
death in Libliy Prison, during the Civil War. Our 
subject was the fifth in order of l)irth and w.as but 
six years of age at the time of his mother's death, 
lie was then taken into the home of his grand- 
parents, with whom he remained until reaching his 
eighteenth year. He received his education in the 
district school and was reared on a farm in the 
famous Connecticut ^'alley. 

.Vfter reaching his eighteenth year, .Mr. llale be- 
gan work in a woolen factory, 'where he remained 
for live years, being assigned to the finishing and 
coloring department. He and a brother afterward 
opened a factory at IJennington, A't., where they 
carried on a successful business. Disposing of 
their factory, our subject went to Meriden, Conn., 
.•md entered a cutlery establishment. In the fall 



of 18.') I, however, lie went to California, going bv 
the .Nicaragua route and spent two years in that 
delightful climate, mining on the south fork of the 
American Kivei-. On returning to the East, he 
again entei-ed the cutlery e.-talilishnient in Meriden 
and remained for one and a half years. 

Ill the fall of 1856, Mr. Hale removed with his 
family to .Michigan, and, locatini" at Cooper, Kala- 
mazoo County, purchased land and engaged in 
farming. His tract at the time it came into his 
possession w.is in its primitive condition and our 
subject erected his own house which was about 
three miles north of Kalamazoo. He remained 
upon that tract for nine years, in the meantime 
clearing it and bringing the land to a good state 
of cultivation. After disposing of that tract, 
he purchased a farm in Richland Townshi|), 
Kalamazoo County, which he still owns and 
upon which he made his home until 1883, 
when he removed to I'lainwcll and engaged in the 
grain business. In the fall of 18St0he sold out his 
interests in that place and came to Otsego, where 
he i)urcliaserl an elevator and is now doing a most 
profitable business in buying and shipping grain. 
Charles P. Hale and Miss Frances L. Pardew 
were united in marriage in the fall of 18,54. Mrs. 
Hale is a native of Connecticut, and is the daughter 
of Henry and Eliza Pardew, the father a native of 
England and the mother of Connecticut. Her 
father passed from earth when she w.as quite ^oung 
and lier mother died in 1890, when eighty -seven 
3-cars of age. The four c-hildren bom to our sub- 
ject and his excellent wife are: Charles E., who is 
in partnership with his father in Otsego, is married 
and has one child. Henry .\.. aNo married, is re- 
siding on the old farm in liichland 'i'ownship, and 
has four boys. Lewis II. is living in Shelby, Oceana 
County, and is engaged in the fruit business; he 
also owns a sheep ranch near Sidney, Neb., where 
he spends a great deal of his time; he also is mar- 
ried. Nettie \. is the wife of .lames .lackson, and 
m.akcs her home in Otsego. \\\ of the children 
were given excellent educations, and were gradu- 
ates of the Kalamazoo High School. Charles F. 
att^'iided the Olivet College and is his father's 
cllicient assistant. 
] In his political predilection. Mr. Hale i?a Ke[)ub- 



448 



PORTRAIT AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



licaii and is in favor of prohibition. He has been 
honored by being elected to many positions of re- 
sponsibility and trust, but the office has always 
sought him, as he has never been a politician. Both 
Mr. and Mrs. Hale, in their church relations, are 
identified with the Methodist E])iscopal denomina- 
tion, of wliicli body Mr. Hale has been Steward for 
many j'ears. 

Our wortliy subject in addition to his extensive 
business interests in Otsego has two hundred acres 
of beautiful land in Richland Township. He for- 
merly owned five hundred acres, but has since dis- 
posed of a greater portion of his estate. His farm 
is one of the best cultivated in the count\' and is 
made to yield handsome returns by a proper rota- 
tion of crops. Our subject is a truly self-made 
man, as he commenced in life by working out at 
$8 a month. Industry will always be rewarded 
and the gentleman whose name we place at the 
head of this sketch is a striking example of what 
persistent effort will accomplish. 



ENRY BARTON has a high reputation as 
an able farmer who full}- understands his 
business, and has a well-managed, finely 
equipped farm in Otsego Township that is 
classed with the best in Allegan County. Mr. 
Barton was born in Sussex, England, December 1, 
1830. His parents, John and Catherine (Keely) 
Barton, were English too, and spent their lives on 
a farm in their native land, the mother dying in 
1854 and the father, in 1867. Our subject is the 
youngest of seven children, four of whom are liv- 
ing. His education was confined to the common 
schools, which he attended for only a short time. 
He has, however, learned much in the school of 
experience that has stood him in good stead. At 
the age of eleven, he became general chore-boy on 
a farm, the first four years receiving a sixpence a 
day for his service in that capacity, boarding 
with his parents. The year he was sixteen, he 
boarded with his emplo^^er, and was given a shil- 
ling a week for his work. The next 3'ear he ob- 
tained seven shillings a week, and boarded himself . 
The two ensuing years his wages were increased to 




eight shillings a week. It may be surmised tiiat 
he was not getting very rich on such a pittance as 
that, and when he was in his twentieth ^ear he 
wisely concluded that he would emigrate to the 
United States, where he suiqiosed his pay would be 
more in accordance with the amount of his labors, 
and, as he has been so prospered in this coiuitry, 
he has probably seen but little, if any, cause of re- 
gret for the change then made. He set sail from 
Old England March 15, 1850, and after the voyage 
across the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, which lasted 
almost six weeks, he landed safe and sound in 
New York City, with three solid English sovereigns 
in his pocket with which to begin life in the New 
World. He made his way to Monroe County, in 
the same State, and worked there on a farm for 
about three years. 

In the fall of 1853, our subject took another 
important step in life whereby he became a resi- 
dent of Michigan. He first located in the town- 
ship of Watson, Allegan County, purch.asing 
a tract of eighty acres of land l.ying in the woods. 
He busied himself in clearing his laud and put- 
ting it under cultivation until ten 3ears had 
passed by, and he then sold it, in 18G3. and 
bought the farm in Otsego Township, that he has 
ever since occupied. On his first place a new log 
house had just been erected when he took posses- 
sion of it, but it was incomjilete. The surrounding 
country was very wild, and was yet full of game. 
He has seen as many as seven deer on his clearing 
atone time, but he never indulged in the pleasures 
of the hunt. His second farm was partly improved 
when he bought it, and he has completed the im- 
provements, which are all first-class. He replaced 
the humble log house that originally stood on the 
place by a substantial frame i-esidence, and has 
erected good barns and other buildings in accord- 
ance. He has ninety acres of land in his home- 
stead on section 11, and has another forty acres of 
fine land in the same section. 

Mr. Barton was married, October 19, 1853, to 
Miss Ellen Smith, in whom he has had a valuable as- 
sistant in the upbuilding of a home. Mrs. Barton is 
a native of Wheatland, Monroe County, N. Y., and 
a daughter of Martin and Amie Ann (Ooodhuc) 
Smith, who were natives respectively of Massachu- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



449 



setts and New York. Her father was a farmer, and 
he and his wife spent their last days on their farm 
in Mduroe County. These are tlie names of the 
nine lOiililrcn liorn to Mr. and >Ir.<. Barton: AVin- 
(ichl; .Idhn and .Tane, deceased; .Tames II.; .John, 
il<'fi';ist-(i; Anna, Ella AI., Jacob M. and (ieorgc. 
.Mr. Barton returned to England four years ago 
on a visit, and came back in about two months, 
satisfied with his choice of Michigan for a home. 
Our subject's life record is an honor to himself 
and to his adopted township, with wliose interests 
his own have been so closely intertwined for 
nearly three decades, and in whose improvements 
lie has borne an important part. He has especially' 
interested iiimself in educational matters, has held 
the various school offices, and has lieen Treasurer 
of his School District twelve years. Politically, 
he is a stalwart Republican. 



DOAII BRYANT. This prominent resideni 
' of Allegan County is Superintendent of 
) the Bardeen Paper Mills, located at Ostego. 
He is a man full of push and enterprise and is well 
(itted to occupy liis responsible position. He is a 
native of England and was born .January 15, 1839, 
in Alton, IlaTniishire. lie received liis elementary 
education in the common schools of liis native 
country, making the liest of his limited advan- 
tages. 

He is thoroughly familiar with all tiie detail of 
work to be done in a papermill, for at the early 
age of eleven years he apprenticed himself to learn 
that Inisiness in Hamper Mills, England. He re- 
mained in one mill for three years, receiving eleven 
cents a day for eleven hours' work. He tlien en- 
tered a luill ill Wrc^xham, North Wales, also as an 
apprentice, but only remaiiu'd there a twelve- 
iiiontii. At the expiration of that time he went to 
Maidstone, in County Kent, where he worked for 
three years at paper-making, and then returning 
to Alton and spending a few months at his old 
liome, lie determined to set sail for the I'nited 
States. He w.os only eighteen years old when he 
landed on .American soil, which was in 18.57. His 
excellent knowledge of paper-banging found him 



immediate employment in a mill in East Hartford, 
Conn. Leaving the Nutmeg State he went to Tr03', 
N. Y., and operated a machine in a mill there for 
about a year. He then returned to Connecticut, 
and, after s|)ending a few months' in working in a 
mill, went to Roysford, Pa., and thence later to 
Philadelphia, where he had charge of a machine in 
a mill. 

Wiiile in Philadeliihia, the rebel army invaded 
the Keystone Stale, and a regiment of three- 
months' men was raised to guard the State. Our 
subject enlisted in the Forty-fifth Pennsylvania 
Infantry, Company I, serving his term of enlist- 
ment. His next place of residence was Fitchburg, 
Ma*s.,where lie was employed by Crocker, Burbank 
ife Co., in their papermill. His excellent knowledge 
of the business was api>reciated bj' his empio^-ei-s, 
and he was made Superintendent of two large 
mills, which responsible position he filled most sat- 
isfactorily for eleven years. Coming farther AVest, 
he was engaged in the extensive mills of Chatfield 
iVr AVoods, at Cincinnati, but only remained there 
for alioiit a twelvemonth, when he returned to 
Connecticut anil followed his liusiness at Turner's 
Falls. 

In 1873, the gentleman of whom we write came 
to Kal.amazoo County, this .State, and for fourteen 
years had charge of the Kalamazoo Paper Mills. 
In 1887, when the Bardeen Paper Company was 
organized, he became a stockholder in the company 
and was made one of its directors. Coming to Ot- 
sego, he took charge of the mills as its .Superin- 
tendent and is now managing the largest paper 
mill in the State. The firm manufacture book, 
litiiograph, plate and map-paper of a iiigh grade, 
tiie mill having a capacity of one hundred and 
lifty tons a week. Their business increa.sed so rap- 
idly that in \W\ they were compelled to erect 
another large establishment, which turns out from 
sixty to seventy tons a week, of about the same 
grade of paper. Mr. Bryant has charge of both of 
these mills and is recognized by his fellow-towns- 
men .as a man wlio most thoroughly understands his 
business and he is meeting with unbounded success 
in his calling. 

Miss Elizabeth AVilmont Iieeame the wife of our 
subject, their marriage taking place in 18(1.5, in 



450 



POETEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL EECORD. 



Fitchburg, Mass. Mrs. Bryant is a native of Eng- 
land. She is a most estimable lady, well fitted to be 
the companion of her worthy husband. The}' have 
had l)orn to them three children: Elizabeth, who 
is the wife of Frank Milham, also a member of the 
Bardeen Paper Company, and who is acting in the 
capacity of book-keeper; Priscilla and George, the 
latter of whom is deceased. 

Altliough our subject alwa3-s casts his vole for 
the candidates of the Republican party, he does 
not take an active part in politics, preferring to 
let those fill offices who have not such extensive 
business interests to occupy them. Socially, he is 
a prominent Mason. Mrs. Bryant, in her church 
relations, is connected with the Baptist Church. 
The}' have a most beautiful home, where they en- 
tertain their hosts of friends in a most charming 
and hospitable manner. 



ORE^' F. CLARK, who is at present serving 
j^ his second term as Supervisor of Cheshire 
X- Township, Allegan County, is a resident of 
section 8. He was born April 26, 1844, in Le Roy 
Township, Calhoun County, tliis State. His father 
was Philander Clark and his mother Clarissa (Law- 
rence) Clark, natives of Penns3'lvania and Marj- 
land, respectivel3^ They came to Michigan in 
1840, and settled in Ivalamazoo County, remaining 
there about tluce }ears, and then went to Callioun 
County. The>- remained on tliis farm until 1861, 
improving the place. Barry Count}' was the des- 
tination of their next move, and they made a sec- 
ond move in that same count}^ where the father 
died in 1876, the mother surviving until July, 
1884. She bore her husband eight children, five 
now living. 

Loren received but a limited education, as his 
parents were very poor and he started out on his 
own account, finding work in a sawmill and finally 
learning the trade of a carpenter and joiner. In 
1872 he was married to Ellen Schramling, a daugh- 
ter of John and Polly (Gile) Schramling, natives 
of Xew York and Pennsylvania, respectively. They 
settled in Kalamazoo County, Mich., in 185i>, the 
father being a lilacksmith b}- occupation. They 



are both still surviving and reside on a peach farm 
in Saugatuck Township, on the lake shore, where 
the}- have more than three thousand peach tree.;. 

Mrs. Clark is one of three children born to her 
parents, her birth occurring January 15, 1854, in 
Ashtabula County, Ohio. She received a good 
common-school education and after her marriage 
lived in the village of Climax, Kalamazoo County. 
In 1879 they came to this township and settled on 
their present farm of eight}' acres, practically a 
raw farm, where they have cleared sixty acres, 
fenced it and have it under the most thorough cul- 
tivation. Two years ago i\Ir. Clark erected his neat 
residence, and all the other modest and commodi- 
ous buildings on the place. He and his wife have 
liad born to them three children: John P., born in 
1875; Daisy C, in 1878; and James, in 1881, who 
died when eight months old. They are being 
well educated. The family attend and help sup- 
port the United Brethren Church. Socially, Mr. 
Clark is a member of the Masonic order and has 
held the offices of Senior and Junior Warden and 
also Senior Deacon. He is a member of the Patrons 
of Industry and he and his wife are members of the 
Grange, of which he has been Master and Over- 
seer. Mr. Clark takes quite an active part in poli- 
tics and gives his influence to the Industrial pai'ty 
at present but he has heretofore been a Democrat. 
He is Moderator of School District No. 7, and was 
elected Supervisor of this township in 1890, and 
is now serving his second term. He was elected 
on the Democratic ticket in a township where the 
Republicans have more than one hundred major- 
ity, but both times he carried a large majority. 



^= 



^^LEXANDER BENDER is a highly re- 
( Pp[ [ spected member of that part of the farm- 
jj li\ ing community of Allegan County whose 
(^ agricultural interests lie in the township 

of ^lartin. where he has a fertile farm that is well 
sujjplied with improvements of a good class. Mr. 
Bender comes of the pioneer stock of the neigh- 
boring State of Ohio, of which he is a native, 
Springfield Township his birthplace, and Septem- 
ber 3, 183;"), the date of his advent into the family 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



431 



circle of Alexander iiiid IViiiulia (Crosier) Bender. 
His father was born in Somerset Count}-, Pa., in 
1799, and was a son of Andrew J. Bender, who was 
aLso a native of that State, hut tlie family origi- 
nated in (Jermany. Tiio mother of our subject 
was of Scoteh origin. 

The Henders were among the early settlers of 
Oiiio, and there the father was reared to a stalwart 
manhood. He became a lil.acksmith, and followed 
that trade many years until iiis eyesight failed him. 
He died in Summit County, Ohio, at the age of 
seventy-two. He was a faithful follower of the 
Democrat party, and at one time held the ollicc of 
Constable and also of Justice of the Peace. He was 
a Christian of tlie truest type, and a devoted mem- 
ber of the Disciples Church. He was always inter- 
ested in church work, and when there was no 
clinrch of his denomination for him to attend, he 
used to go to the Methodist Episcopal Church and 
take part in its work as a Class-leader, etc. The 
nother of our subject is a daughter of one of the 
old pioneer families of Oiiio, where she was born; 
she is still living, having attained the venerable age 
of eighty-four years, and makes her home in Car- 
-on, .Mich. Ten children were born of her mar- 
riage, five sons and five daughters, eight of whom 
grew to maturity: Harriet, JIary, Daniel, .\lexan- 
der, James and Elizabeth (twins), Julia, .lohii, Jaii- 
ette and Andrew. 

Alexander Bender, of whom this sketch is writ- 
ten, is the second son and tiie fourth child of the 
family. He was reared in his native town amid 
pioneer surroundings, and completed his ediica- 
tit)n in the i)rimitive local schools of those d.iys. 
He worked on his father's farm until he attained 
his majority, and there learned lessons which have 
been beiielicial to him in his after career as an in- 
dependent farmer. At the age mentioned, he 
started out em|ity-handed into the world, but he 
had good ca)>ital in a clear luain and strong mus- 
cles that enaliled him to in;ikc his way readily. His 
(ii>t employment, after leaving home, was on a 
<lairy farm, where he worked by the month, and 
was thus employed some four yeai-s. He was fru- 
gal and industrious, and in no long time had 
money enough laid by to enable him to marry, 
and thus obtained a helpmate to .assist him in the 



upbuilding of a home Miss Flora Blakely became 
his bride, and their union was celebrated Septem- 
ber 9, 18C0, in her native county. Summit, 
Ohio, where she was born August 27, 1811. Her 
father, Lyman Blakely, was also a native of the 
Buckeye State, born in the Township of Tall madge, 
.Summit County, in 1812, and a son of one of the 
oldest pioneer families of that vicinity. He became 
a farmer after reaching mature years and plied his 
calling in his native Stiite for many years. In 1H7G 
he came to Allegan County, and spent his re- 
maining days in Gun Plain Township, where he 
died at the age of seventy-one. Hew.asfour limes 
married. The maiden name of Mrs. Bender's 
mother was Mary llollister, and she was a native 
of New York. She died when only thirty-two years 
old, having had three childi-en: Mrs. Bender, the 
eldest, and two sons: ^'ening and Milton, botli of 
whom are dead. Jlr. Blakely 's third wife was Mary 
J. Tibbies, and to them two children were Iwrn ; 
Lutie, wife of Delbert Olds, of (Jun Plain; and 
Frank, a resident of the same place. Jlr. Blakely 's 
fourth marriage was with Jlrs. Sarah Beedle, who 
survives him and is living at Plainwell. One son 
was born to them, Lewis, who died at the age of 
three weeks. After marriage our subject went to 
Peoria County, 111., where he remained six months. 
He then returned to Ohio and located in Pike 
Township, Fulton Countj', whence he removed, 
first to York Township, next to Clinton, in the 
same county, and from the latter place came to 
Michigan in 1880. He has since made his home 
in Martin Township, on his farm on sections 23 
and 27, which comprises one hundred and sixty 
acres of valuable land, which he has improved in 
many ways, but he has it only partly cleared. He 
does a general fanning business, and derives there- 
from a comfortable income. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bender have been liics-*ed in their 
wedded life with these three children: Mary, wife 
of Greeley Losure, of Martin Township; Cora, wife 
of riric Brown, of ^lartin Townshi|>; and Lyman, 
who resides at home with his ])arents. Our subject 
and his wite are thorough-going Christians and 
conscientious church members, he being iden- 
tified with the Christian Church, while she belongs 
to the Disciples Church, and both hold a warm 



452 



tORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



place in the hearts of their neighbors, wlio know 
them to be friendly and obliging, and alwaj's will- 
ing to help others who may need their assistance. 
In his political views, Mr. Bender is a decided Re- 
publican. 



=<^i 



h;^§IS^s^ 



filLEY GRANGER. One of the first pioneers 
to break road and ground in Allegan 
County', spying out tlie country as did his 
predecessor of Kentucky- fame, was Rilej- 
Granger. He is one of the very few early settlers 
who are now remaining to tell the hardships and 
privations which tliey endured in making the coun- 
try accessible to those who came after. He is a 
native of the Empire State, having been born in 
Rochester, October 20, 1820. His parents were 
Moses and Ruth (Cooper) Granger, natives respect- 
ively of Vermont and New York. 

The direct progenitor of our subject was a car- 
penter, who followed that trade most of his life in 
Rochester. He died in 1826, his good wife sur- 
viving him many years, her decease occurring in 
1860. Riley Granger was the youngest of the 
twelve children born to his parents, and is the 
only one now living of that large family. His 
father dying when he was quite young, leav- 
ing the family' straightened in circumstances, our 
subject was given but very limited advantages as 
regards an education. He lias been fully alive, 
however, to the value of knowledge, and by persis- 
tent and S3'stematic reading has become one of the 
intelligent, educated gentleman of his county. 

When fifteen years of age, our subject accom- 
panied by the rest of the family came to Michigan, 
thejourne}' hither taking place in 1836. Tliey came 
overland from Detroit and our subject amusingly 
relates how they had to carry poles with which to 
pry the wagon out of the mud for about forty 
miles. His mother and one brother had preceded 
the family in March, taking an overland route 
through Canada, and, when located in what is now 
Trowbridge Township, Allegan County, entered 
two hundred and forty acres from the Government. 
They erected a log house for the family- and then 
industrfously set about clearing and improving 



their tract of land. The hardships and adventures 
which were tlieirs at that time made a lasting im- 
pression upon the mind of our subject. White 
settlers were very few and far between, but Indians 
and wild animals were very plentiful indeed, and, 
although the market for their products was some 
miles distant, yet their table was always supjilied 
with choice wild meats, which could be had for 
the shooting. 

Riley Granger remained on the farm for thir- 
ty-five years and in 1871 came to Plainwell 
and engaged in lumber business. He is at the pres- 
ent time at the head of the Plainwell Lumbering 
Compan\% which is one of the most successful en- 
terprises of this section. His industry and good 
judgment in business matters liave invariably 
brought him success, a fact whose truth has never 
been disjiuted, as fortune usuall3' showers her bless- 
ings upon the possessor of these traits of cliarac- 
ter. 

In 1846 ]\Ir. Granger was married to Mary E., 
daughter of Hezekiah and Lucia (Johnson) .lohn- 
son, natives of New York. Mi's. Granger was 
born in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., and accom- 
panied her motiier to Michigan, where they located 
in Alma, Kalamazoo County, where she passed her 
last days. The fatlier was born May 15, 1794, 
and died March 31, 1833, in New York State, 
while his good wife was born May 14, 1805, and 
died August 7, 1852. 

The family which has been granted to our 
subject and his estimable wife are Charles A., 
who is married and associated with his father in 
business; Phiiinda, who is the wife of Klass Wilde- 
boor and lives in Pueblo County, Col.; Marion 
H., who is married and is engaged in the hardware 
business in Kendallville, Ind., and Burton E., who 
is also married and carrying on a tliriving groceiy 
business in Plainwell. 

In his political predilections, our subject is a 
thorough Republican, finding in the tenets and 
doctrines of that party the balance of what is 
truest and best in his political life. He has repre- 
sented his party as a delegate to county, district 
and State conventions, and is one of the most en- 
thusiastic workers. Mr. Granger, in addition to 
his business interests in I'lainwell, owns a fine 



^1 




y 



JAMES CAMPBELL. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



455 



farm of eiglity acres in Trowbridge Township 
Allegan Count}'. It bears all tlie iniproveinciils 
of a first-class estate and he has refused the 
offer of *10O an acre for it. His beautiful lionie 
in I'lainwell indicates that its inmates are |)eople 
of refinement and culture. It is presided over liy his 
wortliy wife, wlio is much bcUivcd liy all who know 
her. 

Tlic lumber comjiau}' in which Mr. (Granger is 
interested carries a large stock of lumber, coal, lime, 
etc., and does an extensive business in this section. 
I'ln-ight and honest in all his dealings Mr. (iranger 
is highly esteemed personally. For three years he 
kept a large store in Ilaniilton. ]Mich.. but h.as since 
disposed of it. He was engaged in the manufact- 
ure of lumber for many years, owning and running 
a .sawmill. Mr. Granger relates that when in his 
sixteenth year he was sent on horseback twenty- 
five miles distant to obtain some peach trees. He 
returned the .*ainc day, bringing with him sixteen 
trees, which were the first planted in Trowbridge 
Townshi|), Allegan County. 

The liigh standing to which Mr. Granger has at- 
tained in a financial way in his county has been 
the direct result of his persistent industry, assisted 
by the good judgment and economy of his worthy 
wife. He now ranks among the wealthy citizens 
of this section, and it is with special pleasure that 
we place this sketch in the hands of our readei-s. 



(}?. 



?AME.S CxVMPBELL. Among the represen- 
tative farmers of Portage Township, Kal.a- 
mazoo County, we are pleased to name the 
' original of the portrait presented on the op- 
posite page, and the owner of a pleasant home and 
excellent farm on section 11. His father. Hugh 
Cam|)liell, was born in Ireland, and his motlicr was 
Elizabeth Einley, born in County Down, Ireland. 
They both died in their native country. Ten 
cliildren were born to them, our subject being 
among the fii>t born. 

James Campbell had his birth in County Down, 
Ireland, June 29, 1808, where he was reared to 
manhood. He was employed on a farm until he was 
about eighteen years old, when he was apprenticed 



to learn the shoemaker's trade. At the end of three 
years' ai)i)renticeship, he commenced to work at his 
trade, which he continued till he was twenty-three 
years old. At this age he emigrated to America 
to see what this new country held in store for him. 
He landed in (^uehec, and started up the St. Law- 
rence River, but, itl)eingthe year the cholera r.-iged 
so, he was obliged to stop at Kingston, Ontario, and 
the times being very dull he was compelled to do 
whatever he could to obtain a livelihood. He re- 
mained in Kingston a few months and finally went 
to Elba. Genesee County, N. V., and for a shoit 
time there followed his trade, and then engaged 
in farming by the month, for a time of four years, 
or until 1836. 

While yet in (ienesee County, Mr. Campbell was 
married to the l.ady of his choice, Ann Cash, in 
September, 1835. Mrs. Campbell was a native of New- 
York State, and in the spring of 1836 the newly- 
married couple journeyed to thiseounty and State, 
and located in Pavilion Township. Here Mr. Camp- 
bell purchased eighty acres of Government land, 
on which he lived but a short time, when he sold 
and rented a home in Kalamazoo Township, and 
for a period of three years was emi>loved at farm- 
ing and various occupations. 

Ill the fall of 1840 Mr. Campbell settled on sec- 
tion 14, Portage Township, on a tract of forty 
acres which he purchased. He at once erected a 
small house and set about in true pioneer style to 
improve and cultivate the pl.ace, and on this estate 
he is yet making his home. Mr. and Mrs. Camp- 
bell h.ad born to them two children, nainelv: David 
who died in Portage Township when forty-eight 
years fdd. and .lames, who died in this township at 
the .age of eleven years. The good wife and 
mother was called from earth October 22, 1849. 
Mr. Campbell took as his second wife, Jul\' 7, 1850, 
Mrs. .\da .Sherman, the widow of Nathaniel Sher- 
man, and a daughter of Rufus and Elizabeth .Vld- 
rich. Mrs. Campbell was born in New York State, 
Ajiril 12, 1816, and by her union with our subject, 
two children were born: Willie, who died when 
eleven months old, and Charles l{., who married 
Miss Carrie L. Ames, a daughter of H. C. Ames of 
this tf)wnship, Fel)ruarv 1. 1888. This couple 
have one child: l{utli V.. Mrs. Ada Campbell 



456 



PORTEAIT A]S'D BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



passed from this life to lier everlasting rest in Sep- 
tember, 1881. 

The old house which Mr. Campbell first erected 
has given waj- to a comfortable residence, and a 
nice and substantial set of farm buildings adorn 
the estate of three hundred and sixty acres, on 
which general farming and stock-raising are carried 
on with more than ordinary success. Mr. Camp- 
bell has been honored by his fellow-citizens with 
tlie township offices of Supervisor, which office he 
has held four years in succession; Justice of the 
Peace, three terms, and Highway Commissioner 
one year. The duties of these responsible offi- 
ces he discharged faithfully and conscientiously, 
and with satisfaction to nil. In politics, his vote 
is east with the Democratic jiarty 



V. 



/ 



Georg: 
residi 
._ Van I 



/ *=^ 

^^^EORGE H. barker, a substantial farmer 
ling on section 22, Covert Township, 
Buren Countj-, settled here in the fall 
of 1863, although he had been in the count}' some 
ten yeare previous. He was bom in Madison 
C'ountj\ N. Y., August 12, 1832, his parents being 
Lucius B. and Lucinda (Bly) Barker, natives of 
JIassachusetts. The paternal grandfather of our 
subject, Russel Barker, removed from Massachu- 
setts to New York, and died in iladison County. 
The father of our subject was a child when the 
family came to New Y'ork, where he learned the 
trade of a blacksmith, was married, and in 1836 
emigrated to Michigan, settling first in AVashtcnaw 
County, and later in Livingston County, where he 
carried on a farm. He died there in the fall of 
1861, in the sixty- first j'ear of his age. The mother 
of our subject is still living and resides with her 
daughter in Genesee County, this State. This 
worthy couple were the parents of ten children, 
namely: Mary, Mrs. Bush, resides in Washtenaw 
Count}-; Russell N., lives in Flint; Ellen married 
Elisha Root, and died in Flint; George H.; Ange- 
line, Mrs. Todd, of Genesee Count}', Mich.; Jane, 
Jlrs. Hawkins, lives in Detroit; Nancy, Mrs. Todd, 
resides in Genesee County; Frank M. lives in 
Washten.aw; Philander, who was a member of the 



Third Michigan Cavahy, and died while in the 

service; and Sarah, who became the wife of Ed 
Wicks, and died in Flint. 

Our subject was a boy when his father's family 
came to Michigan. There were many children, 
and each one did what he could to assist the father 
in gaining a living. George H. attended the com- 
mon schools, and at times worked with his father 
at his trade of a blacksmith, but, disliking the 
business very much, when sixteen years old he 
went to live with a sister, and w.as emploj^ed upon 
the farm until he reached his majority. In 1853, Mr. 
Barker came to Van Buren County, and worked in 
the lumber woods. Three years later he went to 
New York, where he remained one year, and then re- 
turned to Van Buren County. In the fall of 1861, 
he removed to Livingston County; here on Janu- 
ary 15, 1862, he was married to Sarah C. De Wolf, 
and in 1863 settled in Covert Township, where he 
had pureh.ised land some years previous. Here he 
cleared up and improved a farm, and now owns 
one hundred and sixty acres of land, of which 
ninet}- acres are under cultivation. On tiiese he 
has a good set of farm buildings, and all the many 
conveniences so necessary to a farmer. 

Mrs. Barker is the daughter of Jason and Eliza- 
betii (Near) De Wolf, and her birth took place in 
Livingston County, Mich., June 5, 1841. Her 
parents were natives of New York, and were pio- 
neers of Livingston County, where they resided 
until the death of the father, at the age of eighty- 
two j'ears, and the mother, when seventy-nine yeai-s 
of age. Daniel De Wolf, the grandfather of ^Mrs. 
Barker, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, 
and was at Valle}' Forge with Gen. Washington. 
Mr. and Mrs. De Wolf had five children: Ann, wife 
of Henry Done; Hiram J., a resident of Livingston 
County; Mrs. Barker; Mary L., wife of Thomas J. 
Winegar, of Howell, this State; and Wesley H., 
also a resident of Livingston Count}'. Our subject 
and his wife have also had five children, namely: 
Hiram D., who tlied in childhood; Zilpha Y., and 
Grace A., living at home; Cecil, who was accident- 
ally shot and killed in January. 1891, when eight- 
een years old; and Ernest H. 

Mr. Barker belongs to the Republican party. He 
has held several local offices, and has ' "en Town- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RKCORD. 



4; 



ship Supervisor for several years. He is a member 
of the Independent Order of Odd l-Y'llows, mid 
also the Patrons of Husliandiv, bcinji blaster of the 
Hei' Hive I.odije for many years. Tlu' f.-uiiily are 
«i'll known and hitrlilx' fstcciiUMl hy (heir nfi^li- 
liiirs and friends. 



^~\?/*^^— '— A. »> v>;<^ jy i ^ "\«.^^0 




ON. SAM'(_)Ki) II. C'ORBYN. This gen- 
tleman is one of the proinini'iit pioneers 
of Jliehii^an who can h)oi< haik over many 
li yeai-s of hardshij) and toil to the early 
days when this now flourishing land was a wihU'r- 
ness of prairie and forest, given over to tlie sav- 
age and the wild beast*. He can trace with i)lcas- 
ure and pride the rapid advance of the State in 
civilization, and his stories of the olden time arc 
exceedingly interesting to those of the present 
generation who have the good fortune to listen 
to them. 

Mr. C'orliyn was born in Windoni County, Conn., 
September i:?, 1H07. .Vlthough a mere child at 
the time, he well remembers hearing the cannon- 
a<ling during the War of 1H12. .Joseph !>. Cor- 
byn, his father, who is also a native of W'indom 
County, was born October 7, 1773. He was a 
farrier by trade and also carried on a black- 
smith's shop, at the same time operating a grist- 
mill. In 1815, he removed to Monroe County, 
N, Y., where he settled upon a farm. The coun- 
try was then new and unbroken, and much labor 
was reipiired to estaljlish a comfortable home. 
Here he remained until 1846, when he came to 
Michigan, settling in Macomb County, where he 
died in 1848. He was an excellent man and a 
life-long member of the Baptist Church. His an- 
cestors came from Kngland and settled in Massa- 
chusetts at an early day. The mother of our sub- 
ject, whose maiden name was Polly Howard, w.as 
a native of Connecticut, whose decease occurred 
in the .same month and year as that of her hus- 
band. This worthy couple were the parents of 
eight cinldren, of whom three sons and one 
daughter survive, our subject being the fourth in 
order of liirth and the eldest of the sons. 

Mr. Corbvii received his elementarv education 



in the district school, that being the best that 
could be obtained at tli:it time, most of the school- 
houses being of log and the teaching generally 
corresponding to the primitive style of the 
building. He afterward, however, attended an 
academy at Ileniietta, X. Y. Until the age of 
twenty-one, he remained at home with his fallier. 
assisting him in his \arious duties and also teach- 
ing .school during the winters of 1828-2!»-3n-.31. 
In the spring of 1h:U, he came to .Michigan, land- 
ing at Detroit and spending his first night on the 
docks, (ioiiig from there to ^lacomb County, he 
took up a good tr.act of land 111 what is now Ar- 
mada Township. It was almost an unbroken wil- 
derness, there being no one living within three 
miles of his place. 

In this wild region our subject began life in 
earnest, his first work being to assist his uncle in 
putting up a log cabin. They had no lack of 
company, for Indians were all al)out them, and 
wolves and bears made very unwelcome visitors. 
Their larder was well supplied with wild game, 
and there was mncli in the new experience that 
was interesting. In company with his uncle, IMr. 
Corb3'n built an old-fashioned sawmill; in this 
they manufactured some l)oards with which he 
built a very primitive frame shanty in the fol- 
lowing manner: He nailed his boards to trees, 
which answered for posts, afterward sawing the 
trees off at the proper height and roofing it over. 
In one corner of this house he piled a lot of stones 
for a fire-place and made a hole in the roof to al- 
low the smoke to escape. In this rude structure 
he remained until the fcjilowiiig fall, when he re- 
jilaced it by a better oiu- with a more artistic fire- 
place and a stick chimney. In this he lived until 
he had cleared and partially improved his farm, 
and in 18 IS he built a good and substantial 
house. 

In I86(), Mr. Corlnn sold out hi.- first farm and 
came to Plainwell. where he |nirchased a half-in- 
terest in a sawmill, the following year adding a 
gristmill, and one year afterward .-elliiig out both 
mills. For about a year he did not engage in any 
business, at which tinu the mills were thrown 
Itack upon his bands. .\ division of the pr()]H-rly 
was made, in which Mr. Corbvn took the sawmill 



458 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



as his portion. This he operated for fifteen years, 
when he sold out to the Michigan Pa])er Company, 
taking the amount due him in stock in that com- 
pany, but has since disposed of it. Our subject 
was twice married, his first union to Miss Delia 
T. Pierson, a native of Madison County, N. Y., 
taking place in September, 1834. Mrs. Corbj^n 
was born December 20, 1809, and departad this 
life December 26, 1874. Of this marriage three 
children were born: Martha R., Knowlton P. and 
Arthur II. Martha R. became the wife of Charles 
Millspaugh, a native of Genesee County, X. Y. 
He came to Michigan in 1834, at the age of two 
years, with his parents, who settled in Macomb 
County, where they both died. He became a 
resident of Plainwell in December, 1872, where he 
has since resided. He and his wife are the par- 
ents of two children, Almon and Ella. 

Knowlton P. became a Civil Engineer .and went 
to Texas, where he followed his profession for 
several j-ears. He was one of the contractors who 
put in the water works at Hyde Park, Chicago. 
He lost his life while out at the crib at work, 
when a gale swept himself and several companions 
into the lake. He was married and had one 
daughter, Marcia, who resides in Chicago. Arthur 
H. is married and lives on a farm at Alamo, 
Kalamazoo County. He has two children. Mr. 
Corbyn after the death of his first wife was again 
married, May 4, 1876, to Mrs. Betsej' (Hakes) 
Hitchcock, a native of New York, whose death 
took place April 6, 1891. 

Mr. Corbyn has been a life-long Democrat, cast- 
ing his first vote, in 1828, for Gen. Jackson. He 
has been a delegate to various State and county 
conventions. In the fall of 1850, he was elected 
State Representative of Macomb County, attend- 
ing the regular session of the Legislature dur- 
ing the following winter and an extra session 
in June. He served on several important com- 
mittees and on a special committee pertaining 
to the Indian question. He was elected one of 
the three County Commissioners who formed 
the first board ever elected in Macomb County 
serving for two j'ears. He also filled the offices 
of Justice of the Peace, School Inspector, and 
numerous others, being in active service for over 




twenty years. He was never nominated for any 
office in which he failed of election. He has been 
a prominent and active member of the Baptist 
Church for over sixty 3'ears, helping to organize 
that church in Macomb County. He has led a 
most exemplary life, and has been a warm advo- 
cate of temperance reforms. In his declining 
years Mr. Corbyn can look back over a life well 
spent, feeling that his influence has ever been 
given on the side of justice and right and that he 
has ever held an honorable place in the esteem of 
his fellow-citizens and the warm affection of his 
more intimate friends and associates. 

•3 ^=^< ? >l=l " ® 

ILTON CHASE, M.D. To be descended 
from honorable and able progenitors has 
111 long since been considered a source of 
honest pride. Yet this feeling has not 
been cultivated in this countiy as it is among the 
people of other nations, where the heritage of 
rank reinforces the heritage of character in the 
popular estimation. Still, among our best families, 
we find a disposition to remember the acts of our 
forefathers, and to encourage the recital of their 
deeds; and in remembering their worth, we are in- 
cited to emulate their lives. 

Dr. Chase, of this sketch, has had a wide experi- 
ence in the medical profession, and is one of the 
prominent and successful physicians of Otsego. 
He keeps thoroughly posted in regard to all the 
theories advanced by the profession, and, in addi- 
tion to popular medical works, has a library of well- 
selected books, the contents of which fully attest 
the culture and literary standing of himself and 
family. The Doctor is a strong temperance man, 
and has done much to advance the cause of pro- 
hibition in Allegan County. 

Dr. Chase was born in Monroe County, this 
State, September 1, 1837, and is the son of Warren 
Chase, a native of Cornish, Sullivan County, N. H. 
The father emigrated to Monroe County about 
1832, where he engaged in the mercantile business. 
In 1838 he sent a stock of dry-good to Kenosha, 
Wis., where he intended opening up in business. 
But upon arriving in that place, he found that 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



459 



his goods li!i(l not aiiivcd, so hi" w.-is witliout 
inoiu'v .aiul witlioiil goods. He iiniiiediat«ly set 
1(1 work to r(.'|);iir his lost fortiino, and roniaiucd 
111 that pl.ace for live years. Later lie moved to 
Ceresco, wiiore lie orgaiii/.t'd the Wisconsin I'lialanx 
on tiie Fourier plan of co-operative association. 

Warren Chase was a very prominent man in 
politics, and became a noted Frec-soiler. He 
was a memher of liie lirst State, and last Terri- 
torial, Legislature of ^\'iscon^ill. He was candi- 
date in 181(1 for (iovernor of Wisconsin on the 
Free-soil ticket, carrying his own town and county, 
Imt was defeated. >Ir. Chase went to California, 
and there his fellow-townsmen, recognizing his 
sui)erior executive alulity, elected him to represent 
them in the Legislature, his election taking place 
from Santa Harliara on the Greenback ticket. He 
was a radical politician, being first a Frec-soiler, 
then an Anti-Slavery man, later a Republican and 
finally a Oreenbackcr. He lived in various States, 
and had a national reputation as a lecturer on 
spiritualism, being in the Held for forty years. 
He died at Cobden in 1M88, when seven ty-seven 
years of age. He was a man of culture and edu- 
cation, and although studying law when a young 
man, never practiced. 

The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
Mary V. White, a native of Newport, Sullivan 
County, N. H. She died in 1881, leaving a 
family, of whom three grew to maturity. ^liltoii 
Cli.ise, of this sketch, received his primary educa- 
tion in the schools of Ceresco, Wis. His father 
had donated the land on which to erect the Brock- 
aw.iy College, and in tliat institution Dr. Chase 
took a course of study. On entering the Ann 
Arl)or High School, he intended to follow a liter- 
ary life, but later adopted tlie profession of medi- 
cine as his life calling, and in order to perfect 
himself in his studies, entere<l the medical depart- 
ment of the Univei-sity of Michigan in 18.j8, and 
received his degree as Doctor of Medicine in 18<!1. 

The -Vugust following his graduation. Dr. Chase 
enlisted as a private in Company A, Sixth Michi- 
gan Infantry, under Col. Curtenius, of Kalamazoo. 
With his regiment he was sent to llaltiiiiore. He 
had only one day's duty as a [jrivatc. ami that 
wa.s before he left Kalamazoo. As soon as his 



regiment arrived at Haltimore, the Assistant Sur- 
geon, Simon S. S. French, was detached, and our 
subject was ai>pointed to fill the v.icanc}'. He 
performed the duties of that ()ositioi. on the pay 
of a priv.'itc soldier, receiving only *l.'i i)cr month. 
January 1, 1802, he was appointed Hospital Stew- 
ard, and in October, 1862, he received a commission 
as Assistant Surgeon, to date back to .July 20, 1862. 
He continued in that capacity with his regiment 
until August 8, 1864, when he resigned and re- 
turned home. Dr. Chase was one of the most 
reliiible and conscientious surgeons, ,is regarded 
his professional duties, in the Department of the 
Gulf, being always read}- and willing to perform 
any work assigned him. His regiment suffered 
greatly from sickness, his department being as- 
signed to the Gulf, where it w.a,s very unhealthy. 
During the three years of his enlistment, he only 
lost one day on account of sickness, which is a 
most remarkable record, and perhaps can be .ac- 
counted for, to some extent, by stating that he 
never used liquor or tobacco in an^^ of its forms. 

December 7, 1864, Dr. Chase and Miss Eliz.ibeth P. 
Moore, f>f Ypsilanti, were made man and wife. AL'S. 
Chaseis the daughter of Lewis and Sarah Moore, 
the former of whom was the original inventor 
and patentee of the grain drill. He was a C^uaker, 
and a native of Lancaster County, Pa., being a 
native of the Salisbury Church in that county, 
which W.1S the first (Quaker Church organized in 
the United States. Mrs. Chase is also a birth-right 
member of that church. Her father died about 
1876, but her mother is still living at the age of 
eighty-five years. 

After his marriage. Dr. Chase, in January, 1865, 
located in Kalamazoo, where he pr.ncticed his [tro- 
fession for two years. He than came to Otsego, 
where he has since lived. He is now the oldest 
l)liysician in this place, and is much looked up to by 
all the fraternity. The family of the Doctor and 
his amiable wife comprises seven children: .Sarah 
T.; Warren P. and Mary P., twins; Zaiitippe, Zada, 
Alta, Milton. Sarah T. took a four yeai-s' course 
in the Ypsilanti High School, and is at present 
leaching Latin and Knglish grammar in the High 
School at Traverse Cit3', this State; Warren is in the 
employ of the ])aper mill at Otsego, while Mary is 



460 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



teaching school in Otsego; the remaining four 
chihircn are at home with their parents, where 
they are receiving excellent training. Dr. Chase 
was identified with the Republican jiarty until 
about six years ago, when he allied himself on 
the side of Prohibition, and has been Chairman 
of the Central Committee for the past four years. 

Like his illustrious father, Dr. Chase has been 
very prominent in local affairs, and by occupying 
the office of Justice of the Peace for seven years, 
has shown himself to be capable of close applica- 
tion to the duties which the office involves, and, 
by his judicious decisions and wise course, has 
been of untold value to the commimitj-. He has 
been fearless in executing the law in regard to the 
sale of intoxicating liquors in Otsego, and by so 
doing has endeared himself to all law-abiding citi- 
zens. He has done more, perhaps, tlian any other 
man toward breaking the liquor "ring" in the 
towns, and, to his honor be it said, there is not a 
licensed saloon in the place. 

Dr. Chase is a member of the Grand Army of 
the Republic, is a Patron of Husbandry, and a 
Roj'al Templar of Temperance. lie is a member of 
the State Medical Society, and at the present time 
is a member of the Board of Pension Examiners 
in the county. In church relations," Mrs. Chase is 
a conscientious member of the Congregational 
Society. The Doctor holds the offices of Secretaiy 
and Treasurer in the Episcopal Mission, located at 
Otsego. All in all, Dr. Chase is one of the prom- 
inent physicians of the county, and we are gratified 
to be able to place in the hands of our readers, a 
sketch of so worthy a gentleman. 



"^ OHN BRASON, a self-made man who is now 
practically living a retired life on section 
17, Cheshire Township, Allegan County, is 
a native of the Empire State. He was born 
December 21, 1826, in Monroe County, and is a 
son of James and Jane (Love) Brason, who were 
natives of the Emerald Isle. The father emigrated 
to Canada in 1820, and there married Miss Love. 
The following year he removed to Monroe County, 



N. Y., where he resided upon a farm but afterwards 
sold out and took up his residence upon an un- 
improved farm in Cattaraugus County. After 
partiality clearing this, he removed to Allegany 
County. In 1 85 1 , the horses which he was driving 
to a threshing machine ran away and he thus met 
his death. His wife survived him until 1864. 
Tliey were parents of two sons and a daughter. 
The latter died in 1846, and the brother, who went 
to California in 1849, is probably also deceased. 

In the usual manner of farmer lads, Joiin Brason 
spent the days of his boj-hood and youth, and his 
services were given to his father until he attained 
his majority. His educational privilege was limited 
to a few terms' attendance at a district school. His 
parents were poor and he often had nothing to 
take for his lunch but johnny-cake with "pump- 
kin sass" ou it. Beginning life for himself, he 
worked as a farm hand, receiving from 811 to 115 
per month, and was in the employ of one man for 
four years. We thus see that his life was not an 
easy one, but perseverance and industry ovei'came 
tlie difficulties of those early years. 

In 1850, Mr. Brason was united in marriage 
with Miss Susanna Pierson, who was born in Liv- 
ingston County, N. Y., April 15, 1831, and is a 
daugliter of Jesse and Hannah (Slussar) Pierson, 
both natives of the Empire State, the former born 
in 1804, the latter in 1810. Mr. Pierson was a 
farmer and died in 1865. His widow still survives 
him aud makes her home with Mrs. Brason. In 
the family" were four children, three of whom are 
now living. One son, Egbert B., was a member of 
the Fourth New York Heavy Artillery in the late 
war and gave his life in defense of his country. 
He was stationed near Ft. Ethan Allen, near Wash- 
ington, D. C, and died in the hospital at City 
Point, Va., August 21, 1864. 

After their marriage, Mr. Brason and his wife 
resided in Allegany Count3', N. Y., until 1860, 
when they bade good-by t) their old home and 
emigrated to Michigan, locating on section 16, 
Cheshire Township. A wild and timbered tract 
of land constituted their farm, upon which not a 
furrow had been turned or an improvement made, 
but with characteristic energy Mr. Brason began 
its development. Selling out in 1869, he re- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



4r,i 



moved to another farm, iiimhi wliicli lit' hiiilt a rcs- 
irteiH'C. barns and fences, and cleared lifty acres. 
In 1«7;? he sohl it for ^I.OOO. His present home, 
he erected in 18();», at a cost of ><2..s(i0. His farm 
lie i)urchased from an Indian family, and he now 
has sixty acres under a high state of cultivation, 
leavinir only twentyacres uninipruved. Willi Mr. 
and iMrs. Ihason reside their adopted daiii;liter, 
Eva Uo.se, and her family. She was Iiorn in Che- 
shire Township, in lS.')il, and is now the wife of 
De Witt C. Smith, by whom she has live children. 
Mr. and Mrs, Brason hold racmbersliip with the 
Methodist Church, in which he has been Steward 
and Trustee and in Sunday-.school work tliey also 
lake an active part, JNIrs. Bra.son having .served 
iMjth as teacher and Superintendent. They have 
lived upright lives, worthy the esteem and confi- 
dence of all and have thereby won many friends. 
In his political views, Mr. Brason was formerly a 
Republican but is now independent. He has held 
a number of ollicial positions, having served as 
Iligliway Commissioner from 1802 until 18(!7, as 
.Supervisor of Cheshire Township frtmi IHI!') until 
18(!8,and h.-is been connected with the School Board 
during almost his entire residence here. We see 
in our subject a self-made man who, though he be- 
gan life with nothing, lias steadily worked his 
way upward, overcoming the difficulties In his |)ath, 
until lie has reached a position of affluence. Great 
credit does lie deserve for his success. 






/r^.VMlEL R. ARTIIIRS. This gentleman 
^^^ is a resident of Covert, where he has been 
JwL^' ''■'*''iT'"» C" '1 hardware store for the last 
^~ two j-ears. lie was born in Portage 
County, Ohio, September 19, 18i;), and is a son of 
.lohn R. and Francis (Uogei-s) Arthurs, natives of 
Clarion County, Pa., and Portage County, Ohio, 
respectively. .Tolin R. .\rthurs emigrated to Ohio, 
when eighteen years old, and worked at his trade, 
that of a carpenter, in Portage County, wiiere 
he was married and resided until IH'i.j. when 
he purcha.'^ed a small farm and turned his atten- 
tion to agricultural pursuits. He died in that 
countv, October ."), 18.')!i, when (iftv-two vears old. 



His wife de|)arted tliis life, January U!, 1860, when 
thirly-sevcu years of age. Their family comjiriscd 
four children as follows: AVilliam H., who is a 
carpenter and resides in Ridgway, Elk Count}-, 
Pa.; Philonzo. who died October 1, 1801, in Port- 
age ('ounty, Ohio, at the age of fifteen years; <jur 
subject, and Mar\- .1., who first married Charles C, 
Lincoln and is now Mrs. Alonzo 15. Smith and who 
resides in Covert Township. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject was a 
native of .Scotland who came to Pennsylvania 
when a young man and there married. .Tolin Ai-- 
tliurs, the grandfather of our subject, was born in 
Pennsylvania, was a farmer by occupation and 
was a soldier in the War of 1812. The subject of 
this sketch passed his boyhood on his father's farm 
where he attended the district .school until four- 
teen years of age, at that time going to the oil re- 
gions of Pennsylvania and clerking in a store for 
one year. He then returned to Ohio, and attended 
a select scliool until the following spring, when 
he went to Jefferson County, Pa., and took charge 
of a general store for an uncle, conducting the 
business for ftiur years. At the expiration of 
that time, he went into the lumber regions of 
Pennsylvania and for one year had ciiarge of a 
sawmill owned by his uncle. 

In June, 1869, Mr. Arthurs again returned home 
to lake care of his father wiio was very ill and 
with whom he lemained until his death. He af- 
terward worked on a farm until his marriage, 
January 1, 1873, to Jliss Nettie M. Bostwick. 
This lady was born in Portage County, Ohio, May 
11, 1848 and was the daughter of Agur and Mary 
C. Bostwick. Of this marriage two children have 
been liorn: Beulon P., born November o, 1871, 
and Leroy K., .\ugust 2, 1880. After his marriage 
Mr. Arthurs engaged in the live-stock business one 
year, and then went on the road with a wliolesjile 
notion wagon for Leek, Doriug & Co., of Cleve- 
land, which business he followed for four yeai-s. 
He afterward traveled for the same firm three 
j-eai"s more and then entered the employ of Isom 
iV Foote. traveling for them six months, when the 
firm changed bauds and he remained with their 
successors for the rest of the year. He was then 
employed for one year in the same capacity with 



462 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Alcott Sager & Co., and for the same length of 
time with Joseph Horn Ar Co., of Pittsburg. On 
account of his health, he was obliged to quit the 
road and became superintendent of a stock-farm 
for A. A. Kitzmiller, which position he held for 
eighteen months when the farm was sold. 

Mr. Arthurs now rented and conducted a large 
farm in Portage County- for one year, when he 
went to Kentuck3- to again take charge of the stock- 
farm for Mr. Kitzmiller, but only remained two 
months, his family not being satisfied with the 
climate. He then came to Covert and purchased 
a farm which he cultivated for eighteen months, 
when he sold out and purchased his present store. 

Mr. Arthurs is an active member of the Repub- 
lican party and is Chairman of the Republican 
Township Committee and alwa^-s read^y to assist in 
whatever promises to be for the welfare of his 
community. He has been frequently solicited to 
become a candidate for office, but cares nothing 
about public life. He is a member of the Odd 
Fellows, in which society- he has passed .all the de- 
grees. 

(^ ^ILLIAM CRISPE, V. S. This prominent 
\r\/// business man of Plaiuwell, in addition to 
\^)ff his duties as a veterinary surgeon, is en- 
gaged in carrying on a thriving business, speculat- 
ing in horses. He is the son of Edward and Eliza- 
beth (Munn) Crispe, natives of England, as was 
also our subject, his birth taking place September 
3, 1834 in Kent County. 

The elder ]Mr. Crispe was a miller In- trade, but 
engaged to some extent in farming. In 1851 he 
emigrated with his family to America, his first 
stopping-place being Cleveland, Ohio, where he re- 
mained for about four years, and in 1855 came to 
Plaiuwell, Allegan County, when there was little 
more than a mere settlement where that now 
flourishing city is located. He died August 21, 
1888, when in his eighty seventh year. 

Our subject is one of a family* of nine children, 
six of whom are living. His boyhood daj'S in 
England were mostly spent on the farm and his 
educational advantages limited to the common 
schools. He accompanied his parents to America 
in 1851, since which time he has been his own 



master. He worked at various occupations in 
Cleveland, Ohio, and after coining to Plaiuwell 
learned milling in the first flouring mill built at 
this place. He later was employed in mills in 
Battle Creek for about one year and previous to 
that time went to Minnesota, where he was en- 
gaged in a like manner; he was likewise en- 
gaged in the miller's trade in "Wisconsin, and at 
Prairie Du Cliien he conducted a livery for about 
one j'ear. 

In 1866 William Crispe purchased a livery stable 
in Plaiuwell and continued successfully in that 
line of business until 1885, owning a 'bus line and 
carrying the mail in Plaiuwell for about seventeen 
3-ears. Since disposing of his livery stock, he h.is 
maintained a feed barn, and sells buggies, horses, 
etc. Mr. Crispe, after engaging in the livery busi- 
ness, gave some attention to the diseases of horses 
and made a study of various authentic works on 
that subject. He has for years been recognized as 
a most reliable and intelligent veterinary surgeon, 
although not a graduate of any veterinary college. 
His judgment in that line is considered second to 
that of no man in this section of the countiy. 

Our subject and Miss Nellie Smith were married 
April 3, 1864. i\Irs. Crispe is a native of Cale- 
donia, N. Y., a daughter of Martin and Margaret 
(Campbell) Smith, and by her union with our sub- 
ject has become the mother of one child, a daugh- 
ter, Katie, a most excellent and intelligent young 
lady and a graduate of the Plaiuwell High School. 
In his political predilection, our subject is a thor- 
ough Democrat, finding in the tenets and 
doctrines of that party the balance of what is 
truest and best in political life. He was honored 
by his townsmen by being elected to an office on 
the ^'lllagc Board for a terra of two years. In 
social matters, he is a Mason. 

Besides property in Plainwell, Mr. Crispe owns 
a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres west of 
town in Otsego Township. He began life with no 
means, whatever, and is now recognized as oue of 
the wealth}- men of the township, a position which 
he has attaiued by hard work and good manage- 
ment. He is a self-made man in the truest sense 
of that term, his success being due to his close and 
intelligent application to business. 




UL GRAtJGt 5T.0RE- A. 5TLoLi. ;.,;., 
ALLEGAN, MICH. 



. jUi ol 



i 



PORTKAIT AND Bl.DGRAPlUCAL RECORD. 



105 



^ NONTIYOII. M.l).. n Mohawk Indian, whose 
English name is I'ctcr II. Martin, was born 
in Tuscarora Township, County Brant, Can- 
ada, November 3, 18.t9. His i>arents were Georsje 
and Ciuisteiia Martin, also natives of the Domin- 
ion. His father is a farmer, and roides with his 
family on a farm in the aliove-nained eountv- 

Dr. Onontiyoh spent his boyliood days on the 
farm, and is the fourth of the nine ehildren born 
to liis parents. His elementary education was ob- 
tained in the district schools, and at the age of 
thirteen, he entered the Mohawk Institute at 
Brantford. Canada, where he prosecuted his studies • 
diligently for two years. Returning to his home, 
he spent the following three years on the farm, in 
the meantime studying under the Rev. Mr. IJarr, 
an Kpiscopalian minister, and walking two and 
one-half miles to his recitations. lie later taught 
school on the Indian Reservation, three miles from 
his home, and in whatever he has undertaken, lias 
been more than ordinarily successful. 

Our subject appreciated the value which a knowl- 
edge of books gives, and, anxious to obtain a good 
education, he applied to the Rev. James Chance, of 
Tvrconncl for the privilege of doing his chores for 
his board during the winter, in order that he might 
attend school. He remained with that gentleman 
for nine mimtlis, during which he made rapid 
progress in school, and, in addition to other studies, 
learned Latin, under the instruction of the Rev. 
.Mr. Clianeo. He w.is then engaged to te.ach school 
under the supervision of the .Six Nation School 
Board, among the pagan Indians of the Onondaga 
tribe. He remained in that cap.acity for three 
years, and w;is extremelj' successful as a pedagogue. 

Dr. Onontiyoh, in 1882, was married to Miss 
Susan Powless, who died .January 8th, the succeed- 
ing 3-ear. .\bout that time our subject had begun 
the study of medicine under Dr. Dee, the resident 
l)hysician of the Six Nations. Later he entered 
the medical department of the Buffalo (N. Y.) 
I'niversity, and was graduated therefrom, Feb- 
ruary 23, 1886. He came to Plainville in .June, 
188G, and began the practice of medicine. By his 
efficiency and intelligence, he ha-s a very lucrative 
practice, ami enjoys the confidence and esteem of 
a huge circle of friends. 
21 A 



In September, 1887, Dr. ()noiili\oh was married 
to .Miss Lillie Steele, of I'lainwell, and to them has 
been born a son, Leon Wade. His wife, in her 
church relations, is a Presbyterian, while her 
worthy husband is an Kpiscopalian. He has never 
become a naturalized citizen of the United States, 
jireferring to remain a subject of the Dominion, 
ill order to receive the benelit of the annuity due 
his [leople. He is the possessor of considerable 
property in Canada, from which he derives quite 
a handsome income. Dr. Onontiyoh is one of the 
intelligent and successful young physicians of 
I'lainwell. and is liighl\' esteemed In- tliose who 
are ac(iuainled with him. His portrait is pre.sen ted 
in this connection. Among his personal charac- 
teristics are those of love of truth, justice and 
progress, and a cordial, kindly s[)iril, which makes 
warm friends and stanch adherents. 



<^ ,^>IL1!EU .1. CKOSK. This worthy and hon- 
\/\/// orable gentleman is President of the vil- 
VW ^^S^ of Dougl.as, Allegan County. Me is 
one of the young and progressive business men of 
the place and has shown himself cai)able of the close 
application to the duties which la}' before hira. He 
is the son of .Tesse and ^Nlary C. (Writer) Crose, 
natives respectively of New Jersey and ^'ermont. 
They were pioneers of Kalamazoo County, this 
State, where our subject was born January 3, 18,5(). 

The father of our subject came to Michigan in 
183.5 without a dollar in his pocket. But with a 
strong constitution and willing hands he found 
he could do wondcis, and at his dece.ise was well- 
to-do ill a liiiaiicial way. He worked for his 
father until reaching bis twentieth year when he 
went to IVnnsylvaiiia and leanieil the trade of 
carpenter and joiner. He >eived an aiiprentice- 
ship of three years, receiving a.s p.ay for his work 
*G() per year. At the end of the three years, he 
had saved *60 which he expended in coming to 
Michigan. He was prospered in all his under- 
takings ami at his ileath left an estate valued at 
*UO,0(>0. 

Young W. .1. (rose altended the district schools 
of liis lown>liip unti! reaching his lifteenth ye«r 



466 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



when he attended the High School at Schoolcraft. 
Mich., for three years. When finishing his studies, 
he eng.aged in fiumiug, but not finding th.it line 
of work congenial, he opened a grocer_v store in 
Schoolcraft, which he carried on for eighteen 
montlis, tlien went back on the farm for two _years. 
After selling the farm lie removed to Douglas, about 
eighteen montlis ago, when he put in a supply of 
drugs, etc. He has now one of the finest drug 
stores in Douglas and is doing a profitable busi- 
ness. 

February 13, 1877, W. J. Crose and Miss Mary 
L. Rawson were married. Mrs. Crose was the 
daughter of E. H. Rawson, who was also a pioneer 
of Kalamazoo County. The union of our subject 
and his amiable wife has been lilest by the birth of 
three children: Pearl, Leah B. and Avon May. 
Mr. Crose votes with the Democratic party and 
socially is a member of Dutchess Lodge, A. F. & 
A. M., No. 193, also of the Kniijhts of Honor. 



JAMES L. BROWN. Tliis genial and cour- 
teous gentleman is the proprietor of the 
Saugatuck House. He is probabl3' one of 
the best known and most highlj' respected 
men in Saugatuck Township, Allegan Coimty, where 
he has resided since 1881. He is the son of Ben- 
jamin and Eliza Bro^^n, and the grandson of 
Benjamin Brown, Sr., a native of New York State, 
where his father was also born. 

James L. Brown was born in INIonroe Count3', 
N. Y., April 9, 1823. His father followed the 
combined occupations of farmer and blacksmith, 
and was well-to-do in life. Young James w.as 
given a thorough training in farm pursuits and 
when starting out in life for himself chose that as 
his occupation, which he followed successfullj' 
until July 4, 1847, when he moved to Saugatuck. 
Jennette Clark became the wife of our subject 
July 4, 1848. She was the daughter of Joel and 
Permelia (Lee) Clark, natives respectively of Ver- 
mont and Massachusetts. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown 
have been born one daughter: Cordelia E., who 
was born in Februarv, 18.30. She is the widow of 



Franklin Keltner, to whom she was married in 
1868; he died in Schoolcraft in 1872. Mrs. Kelt- 
ner is the main stay of her mother, with whom she 
makes her home and who is an invalid. 

The parents of our subject came to Michigan as 
early as 1837, and, locating in Kalamazoo, were 
thus among the very earliest settlers. The father 
dying when .Tames was nine years old, and he 
being the eldest of the family, he was called upon 
to care for the others. Later in life he went to 
live with an uncle .and commenced to save money 
with wliich to establish a home of his own. In 
1880 he purcliased the Saugatuck House and is 
conducting it in a very satisfactory manner to the 
traveling public, making a specialty of summer 
boarders. I\Ir. Brown also owns and runs a stage 
line, carrying the mail to New Richmond, six 
miles distant. He is the local express agent at 
Saugatuck and is very much respected bj' all with 
wliom he has business dealings. 

The mother of our subject is still living at the 
advanced age of eight3'-eight years. She was 
married to Joel Clark, the father of Mrs. Brown, 
who died in 1853. Our suliject in politics is a 
stanch Republican, and socially is a member of 
Saugatuck Lodge, No. 328, A. F. & A. M.; he is 
also conuected with the Odd Fellows. 



^>^^m 



'QJ^ 



S- 



^ ENRY L. DARLING is one of the piomi- 
nent farmers of C.asco Township, Allegan 




County, where he resides on a fine farm 
on section 17. He is the second-bora of 
the five children who came to bless the home of 
William and Sarah (Pope) Darling. Mrs. Darling 
is a daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Pope. Will- 
iam Darling is a native of Vermont; he was born 
in 1801, and removed to New York with his par- 
ents when quite 3'oung. The}' there located on a 
farm in Chautauqua County. The father was a 
shoemaker and tanner by trade, which work he 
carried on in connection with tilling the soil. 
The children of these parents were Alanson, our 
subject, Benjamin A., Mary J., and William C. 
Our subject is the only one now surviving. The 
good wife and mother passed from this life in 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGItAPHICAL RECORD. 



467 



1833. The father was again ui;iriied, his wife l)c- 
iiiir Mary .\. Pope, a sister of his former wife, and 
to them were horn three children: Martha . I., wlio 
married .Jonathan Eddy; Martin .1. and Mary .1., 
the wife of .lolin Teitscl. 

Jlr. Darling liegan in life after liis lirsl marriage 
liy purehasing a small farm near liis father's in 
New York, lint about the year l.H.'?.'), ho sold this 
jilaee and removed to Ohio, Iniying a farm in Lo- 
rain County. This place was unimproved, and 
after improving a portion of it he sold and 
bought another tract partly improved. In 1818 
he went to Cass County, from there to IJerrien 
County, then located in Ciisco Township, Allegan 
County, but later removed to Ganges Townsiiip, 
where he lived until his death, which occurred in 
1887. Politically, he was a Whig in early life and 
afterward a Republican. The grandfather of our 
subject was Aaron Darling, and his wife was Susan 
(Doty) Darling, both natives of New England. 

He of whom we write w.as born Ai)ril 27, 1827, 
in Chaulaui|ua County, X. V., near Lake Erie. 
He was reared and educated in his native i)l!ice, 
and he had l)ut little education excei>ting what he 
accpiircd by his own reading and observation. He 
started in life on his own account at the early age 
of thirteen years, working on farms by the month. 
At the age of sixteen years he learned the mason 's 
trade. AVe find him in 1844 in Ohio, working in a 
woolen factory. In these factories he worked 
about two years, again taking up his former trade, 
but this time in the State of Jlichigan, for in 
1840 he came to Niles, this State. Like many 
other young men, when the gold excitement of 
Ciilifornia broke out. he could not withstand the 
temptation of going West and seeking a fortune 
in that far-off country. In 1852, lie, in comi)any 
with five men, started from Niles with teams and 
wagons to drive a distance of about three tlious- 
and miles. At St. Joseph, Mo., they were joined 
l»y otiiers going to the same place. Forming a 
w.agon train of aliout fifteen teams, they cro.sscd 
the plains, meeting with all the hardships that 
men in thf>se days had to endure. He spent nearly 
thirty years in the Western country, mining about 
six years in Ciilifoniia, then going to San Fran- 
ci>co, wiiere he worked at liis trade a numlier of 



yeai-s. At this time the gold fields of Idalio at- 
tracted his attention, and after four years seeking 
the precious metal in that country, he returned to 
San Fr.ancisco and resumed his trade. When the 
excitement of the Black Hills broke out, he again 
gave up his trade, and in 187('>, went there, but his 
mining exploits e.ach time were (juite unsuccess- 
ful. 

Three limes .Mr. Darling returned to his home 
while out West, once by water, crossing the Jstli- 
mus of Panama, and twice by rail, tlie last time 
being in 1880. In 1883 he purchased his present 
farm of ninety acres, having on ^Mav 26, of the 
previous year, married Kate Olmstead. Mrs. Dar- 
ling is an adopted daughter of Jonathan C. and 
Eliza Olmstead, who were natives of New York. 
She herself is a native of Illinois. To them have 
lieen boru two children: William J. and (irace O. 
Our subject has been a member of many diflferent 
secret orders during his life and is now a member 
of the Ancient Free and Acceiited INIasons, which he 
joined at Niles in 18r)2. He is a Republican, poli- 
tically, on natitmal (piestions, but in local elections 
casts his vote for the best man, irrespective of 
party. 



IIOMAS W. RRAINARD. There is a finely- 
oi)erated farm on section 22, Casco Town- 
ship, Allegan County, that is owned l\v him 
whose name appears at the head of this sketch. He 
was born in Medina County, Ohio, in 1833, and is 
the son of Warren and Lur:i l'.i:iin;ird. His father 
was !)orii in Connecticut. Janiiaiy 8, 1790. His 
parents removing to New York when he was quite 
young, he spent his lioyliood days on a farm in 
Jefferson County. The means for obtaining an 
education in tlio.se early days were not what they 
are to-d.ay, and his advantages were limited to the 
common schools. 

Warien Hrainard was a patriot in the War of 
1812. During that struggle the British had placed 
a cannon ball on top of the barracks at Otsego, 
and Mr. IJraiiiarrl wa.< given ^'t for procuring the 
ball and carrying it into the camp. .Vftcr the war 
he returned honie and married the mother of our 




468 



POETRAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 



subject, whose maiden name was Lura, daughter of 
Thomas and Polly Cook, natives of Connecticut. 
As early as 1817, Warren Brainard came West to 
Medina County, Ohio, where he was one of the 
pioneers, and had the honor of erecting the first 
house in Westfleld Township. It was built of logs 
and its diinensions were 18x26 feet. The following 
year his family joined him in his new home, they 
coming overland with an ox-team and sled. The 
home of Mr. Brainard was always a pleasant stop- 
jiing place to the weary traveler, and at one time 
fourteen families received shelter under his roof, 
many of whom had come for Mr. Brainard to 
assist them in locating their land. 

The father of our subject, when locating in the 
Buckeye State, purchased one hundred acres of un- 
broken land. After improving thirty-eight acres, 
he disposed of the remainder of his property. 
While gathering butternuts, in 1820, Mr. Brainard 
accidentally fell a distance of sixty feet, which re- 
sulted in his being made a cripple the remainder of 
his life. He died in Medina County, in 1818, firm 
in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 
which body both he and his wife were Class-leaders. 
In politics, he was a Jacksonian Democrat. His 
parents were Ansel and Edith Brainard, the father 
being a soldier in the Revolutionary' War, who 
lived to attain the advanced age of ninety-eight 
years; his good wife survived him a number of 
years, and died at the remarkable age of one hun- 
dred and four years. They were of English de- 
scent, Ansel Brainard's father being one of two 
brothers who emigrated from England to the 
United States and settled in Connecticut. 

T. W. Brainard, of this sketch, began to learn 
the trade of a carpenter after reaching his sixteenth 
year, receiving $4 for his first month's wages and 
at the end of the second month was given seventy- 
five cents per day. He followed his trade for 
twenty years and was successful in that under- 
taking. On leaving Ohio, our subject moved to 
Montgomery County, 111., where he remained four 
years. At the end of that time, however, he re- 
turned to his native State, where he made his home 
for the twelve succeeding years, and in 1870, came 
to Allegan County, this State, where he purchased 
five acres of his present property. His farm in- 



cludes thirty acres which is under the most thor- 
ough cultivation, and a portion of which is given 
to fruit-raising. 

In 1851, Mr. Brainard, and Miss Henrietta, 
daughter of AVilliam and Louisa Griswold, were 
united in marriage. Her parents were natives of 
New York, and her mother, who is a very active 
old ladj', makes her home with Mrs. Brainard. 
Mr. and Mrs. Griswold had a family of eleven ,, 
children. Our subject and his excellent wife have |l 
two sons and one daughter: Warren, who married 
Julia Morris; Frank, who married Alice Godfrey; 
and Clara (Mrs. Ambrose Usher). 

In politics, the original of this sketch is a true- 
blue Republican, and has held many offices of trust 
in his townshhip, among which was that of Justice 
of the Peace, he having been the incumbent of 
that position for seven 3'ears. 



<^ 



=«^ 



^OHN STEGEMAN. To prove that this 
gentleman is one of the most pros|)erous 
farmers of Allegan County, it is only ne- 
cessary to mention that he owns three hun- 
dred and thirt3'-six acres of splendid land on sec- 
tion 32, Allegan Township, and section 6, town- 
ship of Trowbridge, besides a house and lot and 
four vacant lots in Allegan. He is also a member 
of the firm of Cook & Stegeman, furniture dealers 
in Allegan, and a man of wealth and honor. His 
beautiful residence, which is undoubtedly the 
finest in the county, was erected in 1871 at a cost 
of $7,000 and is a fine brick structure, two stories 
in height, with an observatory and other improve- 
ments. The refined tastes of the inmates is in- 
dicated by the elegant furnishings and air of com- 
fort which prevails in every portion of the resi- 
dence. 

A native of Holland, Mr. Stegeman was born in 
1831 and is the son of John and Hendrika (Dunne- 
wind) Stegeman, also natives of Holland. His 
father, who followed the occupation of a farmer, 
emigrated to America at an early day and settled 
in Holland, Mich., where he engaged in farming 
until his death. He and his wife reared a large 
family of children, of whom the following facts 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



469 



are noted: (larret never came to America, but is 
still a resident of Holland; Jenigger is now Mrs. 
J. Defrel, of Holland, this State; Wilhelmina is 
Mrs. Mantine, of Holland, Mich.; Hendrika liccame 
the wife of W. Deikema, of the same place; Albert 
is living in Allegan; John, our sulijcct, is the 
next in order of birth; Garret and Martin are 
farmers of Allegan. 

At the age of sixteen years, our sulijcct accom- 
panied his parents to the I'nited Stales, .settling 
with them at Holland, this State, where he attended 
school during two winters and in the summer was 
employed in clearing up his fatlier's forty-acre 
farm. Wiien twenty years old, he started out in 
life for himself, at which time he came to tiie vil- 
lage of .\llegan and worked during one summer 
for Z. L. (iriswold on a farm. He then attended 
school, workuig for his board, and later secured 
employment in a livery and .sales stable. During 
one summer he drove a stage and for two years 
was employed by Messrs. David ct Miner, at Alle- 
gan. For about six years he worked as a teamster, 
and hauled goods between Allegan and Kalamazoo 
until 18G1. 

In 18;');! Mr. Stegeman purchased one hundred 
and twenty acres of land where he now resides. 
Eighty acres had been improved and a comfortable 
house stood upon the place. Industry' and econ- 
omy enabled him to purch.ase other land adjoin- 
ing and afterward erect his present residence. 
Here he engages in general farming and also keeps 
fine gra<led stock of all kinds. In 1861 he was 
married to Miss Louisa, the daughter of .August 
and Mary (Lowburg) Renzenhou.sen, natives of 
CJcrmany, who came to America in 1815, settling 
in Ohio and engaging there in farming. They 
came to Michigan about 1862 and settled in the 
township of Monterey, .Mlegan County, where he 
farmed for some time. He still survives and 
makes his home with our subject, but the mother 
died in 1H8;(. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Stegeman have six children now 
living, namel}': Ilettie M.; Isabel, who married 
Myron S. Moore; .Jolin W., Ciiarles B., .\lbert and 
Frank. Two children are deceased, Ella l>eoiia 
and Mary who died when about six years of age. 
The political belief of Mr. Stegeman brings him 



into afliliation with the Republican part}', to the 
jirinciples of which he firmly adheres. He and 
his estimable wife are members of the Presbyterian 
Church, of whicii he li.as been Trustee for twenty 
3'ears. Beneath their hospitable roof, their many 
friends, who comprise the most refined people of 
the conimunity, are wont to gather .'iiid pass many 
pleasant hours. 



^ OSKPH CHAM rU'.K LIN, a well-to-do farmer, 
on .section 16, Allegan Township, Allegan 
County, is the owner of one hundred and 
^^ eiglity acres. He is a native of Wayne 
County, N.Y., born December 2, 1823. His parents 
were Jeremiah and Margaret (Moore) Chamberlin, 
natives of New York State. The father was engaged 
in farming in Wayne County, N. Y., and journeyed 
to Ohio in 1832, settling in Columbia Township, 
Lorain County, on eighty acres of land all covered 
with heavy timlier. He erected a log house and 
died there in 1838. He was a Democrat and served 
as Township Trustee. He and his wife were mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church. He was the parent of 
six children, four now living: our subject, John, 
Jane and William A. The mother of this famil\' 
died in Monterey Township, this county, in 1888, 
at the age of eighty-two years. Slie made her 
home with her son, William .\. 

Our subject was educated in a log school house 
in Lorain County, Ohio, and reared as a farmer 
and sailor boy. When sixteen years old, he went 
on the lakes and remained for five seasons, and 
wa.s a Captain, sailing from Cleveland to Buffalo, 
and to Canada, and had an interest in a vessel. 
After leaving the lakes he commenced farming in 
Lorain County, on eightv acres of land at first, 
and later on one hundred and twenty acres. He 
continued at this until he came to Michigan in 
1873. He settled in Monterey Township. Allegan 
County, and purchased one hundred and sixty 
acres. This lie soon sold, and moved to Allegan 
village in 1877, where he now resides, having a 
fine home. He has held the oltice of School Di- 
rector, and is a Democrat politically. 



470 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Chamberlin was married, in 1853, to Miss 
Martha Brooks, a native of Tompkins County, N. 
Y., and a daugliter of Harris and Clarissa (Co}^) 
Brooks. The parents were natives of New York 
State. The father was a miller b_y trade, and fol- 
lowed it a good many j^ears, until he went to 
Ohio, where he engaged in farming in Lorain 
County. The mother died in New York, and the 
father passed away after coming to Ohio. He was 
a Democrat in politics, and a Presbyterian in re- 
ligion. They were the parents of five children, 
four now living: Daniel, Davis, Mrs. Chamberlin 
and Alphonzo. Amanda, who married a man by tlie 
name of Baker, is the deceased one. 

Mr. and Mrs Chamberlin have had born to them 
two children: Clifton, who married Emma Ro.ss, 
and is the father of three children: -Jessie, Glenn 
and Fay; May, now Mrs. Thomas Armstrong, 
and the mother of two children: Otto and Leo. 
Mr. Armstrong is a hardware merchant at Allegan, 
and Clifton Chamberlin is a farmer on section 4, 
Allegan Township. 



'AMES BLACKMAN. This gentleman h.as 
been a resident of Michigan for over half a 
century and is a well-known and respected 
resident of section 1 2, Trowbridge Town- 
ship, Allegan County. His father was .John H. 
Blackman, a native of Massachusetts, who was born 
in 1783, and moved to Ohio in 1808. He was a 
participant in the War of 18r2, and his fatlicr a 
soldier of the Revolution. His wife bore the name 
of AbbieRodgers, and was a native of ]\Iiddlelowu, 
Conn., her father being Constant Rodgers. The 
liarents of our_subject were married in Ohio and 
resided there until 1841, when they came to the 
Wolverine State, and settled m the northeast cor- 
ner of Trowbridge Township. They both died 
here and lie in the Blackman Cemetery. They were 
consistent members of the Disciples Church. The 
father was a politician and a strong Jacksonian 
Democrat. He served as Justice of the Peace of 
this township, and lived to see his farm nearly 
all cleared up. He was instrumental in the organ- 
ization of this township. 



Our subject is one of ten children, three of whom 
have passed from this life. He was born Jan- 
uary 1, 1822, in I'ortage County, Ohio, and 
grew to manhood there, attending the frontier 
schools. He has alwaj'S been a farmer and remained 
at home helping his father, and also his brother, until 
twenty-two. January 1, 1846, James Blackman mar- 
ried Rebecca Cook, a native of PJngland, who came 
to Allegan County in 1837, with her parents, being 
but an infant. At that time there was only one 
frame building in Allegan. 

AVhen married, he of whom we write settled on 
his present farm and has ever since lived here. He 
had to make a road to his farm, and the neighbors 
assisted him to bridge a deep ravine which he had 
to cross in order to get to his home. He put up a 
small frame house and commenced in true pioneer 
style. They were stared in the face by many hard- 
ships and trials, but have surmounted them all 
and are now enjoying the fruits of their labors. 
They have had born to them seven children, six 
of whom grew to maturity: Francis, Owen H., 
Charlotte, Wallace C, Lillian, and Ray. Hattie 
is the name of the one now dead, she dying 
when fourteen years old. Mr. Blackman has sixty 
acres of land, about two-thirds of which he has 
finel3' improved and erected good and commodious 
buildings of all kinds. In all his clearing he 
never received a day's work from any one, he be- 
ing in too limited circumstances to pay for it. 
He has seen this country pass from a vast wilderness 
into its present prosperous condition. There were 
plenty of Indians here when he came, and wild 
game and animals of all kinds. He was a hunter of 
some note in his younger days and took greater 
delight in this than in any other sport. An old 
bear attacked himself and his dog one day and all 
he had to defend himself with was an ax, with 
which he finallj' killed Bruin. At one other time 
he was followed for over a mile at night by a large 
and ferocious panther. 

Mr. l^lackman is, in politics, a Democrat, but 
votes for the man rather than the party. He has 
been Treasurer of his township, and takes a great 
interest in anything that pertains to the enhance- 
ment of education. His eldest daughter has taught 
twenty-one terms of school; some of the other mem- 



I'ORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



471 



bcrs of his family have also been toaeliers. The 
Blackinau familj- is of good old 2s'ew Kiigland 
stock, and trace their lineage back for many gene- 
rations. Originally there were three lirothers who 
came over from Wales and settled at Bridgeport, 
Ctmii. From these brothers all the Bl.ickmans in 
this country descended. 






-^+^1 




IKAM J. COX is a well-known gentlcuian 
residing on section 6, Casco Township, Alle- 
gan County. He is a native of the Empire 
-^j Slate, having been born in the vear 1824. 
His worthy parents were Warren and Ruth 
Cox. The father was a native of New Yoi'k, 
where he was born in 1803. He was one of a fani- 
il.V of seven children born to his parents, and his 
early life was spent in his native State, on the 
home farm, where he followed the oecui)ation of his 
youth in connection with his mill business. At 
the early age of eighteen years, he was united in 
marri.nge with Ruth Duesanbury, a native of >«'ew 
York, and to this couple five children came, of 
whom oursubject is the fii'St-born. After the mar- 
riage of the father of our subject, he remained 
with his parents several yeare. He then drove a 
stage a few years, and afterward returned to his 
father's home, where he spent the remainder of his 
days. When our subject was about nine years old, 
his mother died, and liis father took for his .second 
wife .Sirali Livermore, who bore him six children. 
Our subject, on his mother's side, is descended from 
good old Dutch stock. Warren Cox and his wife 
were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and a Whig in politics. 

At the age of seventeen, our subject Iiegau to 
learn the trade of a tailor, and worked at it in vari- 
ous places in his native .State. In the spring of 
181.'). Hiram Cux decided to come to Michigan, 
and sailed from Buffalo to Chicago, and thence to 
Saugatuck, at which place he located. There he 
began his own livelihood by driving a team in the 
lumber woods a number of years. He also worked 
in the mill sixteen years for ex-Senator Stockbridge. 
During this time, in 18.")2, he bought his present 
liome, and about ten years after his purchasing it. 



lie moved his family on the farm and began his 
hard labor of clearing the forests awaj-. He is now 
the possessor of eighty acres of well- improved land, 
through his own undaunted and persistent effort.s. 
The lady who so graciouslj- presides over the 
home of our subject was united in marriage with 
him in 1843. She bore the maiden name of Ellen 
Adams, and was but seventeen years old at the 
time of her marriage. She is a daughter of Curtis 
and Louisa (Tliomas) Adams. Her parents were 
also very early settlers of this county. Mi-s. Cox 
taught tiic first school in Manlius Township. The 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Cox has been blessed by two 
children: Ella, wife of John M. Carter, who is the 
mother of one son, Milton D. Etta is the wife of 
C. E. W'eed, and they are the parents of one daugli- 
ter. Bertha. Politically, our subject is a Rei)ubli- 
can. 



f ANTON W. DKHSSEL is a successful far- 
mer residing on section 10, Ganges Town- 
ll\ ship, Allegan County. He was born in 
Saxony, in 1833, and is the son of George 
and Frediicka Dressel. The father was born in 
Saxony, in 1796, and was in the emplo}' of the 
Government, as Recorder. He died in 18.5), after 
having become the father of twelve children viz: 
Minnie, Regina, William, Anton W. and Barbara, 
who are living, and Eredricka, Bertha, Keka. and 
Florentine, who are decwused, also two who died 
in infancy. 

Our subject received a fair education in his na- 
tive country, and when choosing an occupation 
for himself served an apprenticeship of three years 
at the cabinet-maker's trade. For two years he 
worked in (iermany, in order that he might perfect 
himself in that occupation, and in 18.54 came to 
the United States, and, locating in Erie County, 
Pa., worked at his trade for two years. He then 
went to Hamilton, Canada, and was there employed 
in the ear shops for a twelvemonth. 

In 18.i7, Mr. A. W. Dressel and Miss Margaret, 
daughter of George Lohmann, were united in mar- 
riage .and are the i)arents of a family of thirteen 
children, all of whom are living, with the exception 




472 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of one who died in infancj'. Tliey are named, re- 
spectivel}', William, Barhara, Minnie, Katie (who 
is the wife of L. Smith), Annie, Fred, Fredricka, 
Rosa, Gilbert, (icorge. Bertha, and Hattie. 

The original of this sketch is a member of the 
German Lutheran Church. In politics, he votes 
for the best man, regardless of party. He came to 
his present home, from Canada, in 1859, and lo- 
cated on forty acres of unimproved land. He 
passed through all the hardships known to the 
early settlers, many times not knowing where the 
next meal was coming from. He later added forty- 
acres to his original tract, which he has put under 
excellent cultivation, having twenty acres in fruit. 
His industry has been rewarded and he feels 
justly proud that his present standing in the com- 
munity has been brought about by his own perse- 
verance and labors. 



i**** 



-'•{••{••{•♦'^Sl 







ANIEL DOW TOURTELLOTTE. We 

are pleased to present to our readers a 
citizen of Ganges Township, Allegan 
County, who stands high in the estima- 
tion of his neighbors and is justly considered one 
of the most prominent men in thecount3-. He is 
a progressive and successful farmer, whose estate 
of eighty-two acres lies on sections 30 and 3L He 
devotes twenty-two acres of his farm to the culti- 
vation of fruit, of which he has some splendid 
varieties. 

This gentleman was born in 1843 in Westfield 
Township,Chautauqua County, N. Y., and is the son 
of Benjamin G. and Sarah Tourtellottc. The father 
was born in Connecticut about 1809, and when 
twelve years of age went with his parents to West- 
field, N. Y. He was given a thorough training in 
agricultural pursuits and received a fair education 
in the commou schools. He was apprenticed to learn 
the blacksmith's trade when young, accompan3iiig 
his employer to Mentor, Ohio, where he completed 
his apprenticeship. Returning to Westlield.N. Y., 
he opened a shop of his own and followed that 
occupation for a number of years. His health 
failing, he abandoned indoor work and went on a 
farm. 



In .Tanuary, 1843, the parents of our subject 
were married, his mother bearing the maiden name 
or Sarah Mack, a native of New York. Her parents 
were Daniel and Rachel (Briggs) Mack, the father 
being a native of Genesee County, N. Y., where he 
followed farming all his life. Our subject's mother 
had seven brothers and sisters: Daniel J., Eunice, 
Abijah, Thomas, Richard, William and Stillman. 
Daniel Mack, the maternal grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was a son of Abijah and Eunice (Rogers) Mack, 
the father a member of the Society of Friends 
Eunice Mack was of Scotch descent.- 

About 1852 Benjamin Tourtellottc came West to 
Ohio, where he remained five j^ears and in 1857 
came to Allegan County where he bought eighty 
acres of unimproved land on section 31, Ganges 
Township, He brought that property under cul- 
tivation and added to it eighty acres more. His 
house was not as rude as those of most of the early 
settlers, as it was built of hewed logs and had a 
shingle roof. The three children included in the 
parental family, were Daniel Dow, Frank C. and 
Julia, the latter two deceased. 

The paternal grandparents of our subject were 
Abraham and Abilene (Green) Tourtellottc, natives 
of Connecticut. Their eight children were Marcus, 
Abilene, Benjamin, John, Frederick, Dow, Harriet 
and Polly. The father of Al^rahani Tourtellette 
was a native of France and came to New England in 
an early day. The father of our subject was an 
Odd Fellow, socially, and in i)olitics voted the 
Democratic Ticket. 

He of whom we write received a fair education 
and when twenty-two years of age was married 
to Sarah E., daughter of George and Elizabeth 
Overhiser, natives of Steuben County, N. Y. In 
1840 her parents removed to Fayette County, 
Ind., where they resided until their death. George 
Overhiser was the son of John C. Overhiser. To 
Mv. and Mrs. Tourtellottc have been born three 
children, viz: Julia S., who is the wife of Stanton 
Williamson; George B. and Mack D. They are 
both members of the Subordinate, County, State 
and United States Granges and Mr. Tourtellotte is 
a Director in the Grange Store in Allegan. For 
many years he has handled road machines and 
also fruit packages during the fruit season. 



PORTRAIT A^D BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



■175 



Tn politics. 3Ii". TourtcUotte is a Democrat and 
socially- is identilicd with the ( )ild l-Vlluws at 
South Haven. His beautiful residence, a view of 
wliich appears elsewliere in this volume. r:uil<s 
among tiie finest in (lautres Townshii). 



^^TSSEL T. DHiRLE, the present ellieient 
.Supervisor of Trowliridfje Townshiii. Alle- 

V gau County, is an agrieulturist residing on 
section 2, where he has one hundred and 
thirty-five acres of land under improvement. His 
fatiier, Abel Dibble, a native of Connecticut, w.as 
a shoemaker and farmer by occupation. The 
mother was Chloe Peck, also a native of Connecti- 
cut. They came to ^Hchigau from Ohio in 1X57, 
and settled in this township, on a partially im- 
proved farm. The father died in IHfifi, and the 
mother in 1871. The father, in his early years, 
was in the Inited States Marine Service, and made 
a tri]) around the world. They were the parents 
of six children, only two of whom are now living. 
They did not belong to any particular religious 
body. 

Uussel T. Dibble had his birth February 1.5, 183:5, 
in Fairfield County, Conn., where he was reared 
and educated. He went to Ohio with his parents, 
and worked out for eight summers, and in 1855, 
when twenty-one, came to Michigan and bought 
one hunilred and fifty-six and one-half .acres, the 
place on whicii he now lives. It was in a perfectly 
wild state, and but few settlers were in the neigh- 
borhood. He kei)t batchclor's hall in a shanty for 
a few years, but in 1858 look as his wife and iiclp- 
male Sarah Brcsler. a daughter of .loseph and Jlercy 
(Fisher) 15resler, natives of Pennsylvania and Mich- 
igan, respectively. Mr. liresler was a carpenter by 
trade, but after coming to ]Miehigan followed farm- 
ing. Ho was married liere and resided in Napoleon 
Townsliii), .Jackson County, and died in 1851, his 
wife surviving him until 1881. They had eight 
children born to tiiein, four living. Jlrs. Dibble 
w;us born December 11, 1841, in .I.ickson County. 

Mr. and JIrs Dibble have been blessed by the 
birth of five chililren: Ella, Eugene, Eva, Elmer 
and Estella. Ella is the wife of Wallace IJIackman, 



and. with her husband and two children, resides in 
tills lown>hip. Eugeiu' married Leona Ho(jt, and 
they live in this township and are the parents of 
one child. Eva is the wife of Charles Ooiil, who 
lives ill this township. Our suliject is now resid- 
ing in the third honsi' he has erected, which is only 
four years old, and all the improvonients upon his 
place have been \nit there 1)3- himself. He is en- 
gaged ill general farming and stock-raising, keep- 
ing line Durham and grade cattle and graded sheep. 
He has been a member of the (Grange, and has 
taken a lively interest in jiolitical affairs, first 
being a Repulilican, then a (Jrecnbacker, and now 
works with the Democracy. He was Justice of the 
Peicc for one teiin. and is serving iiis third term 
as Supervisor. He has also been a School Director 
wliich ollice he held thirteen years. The duties 
of these ollices lie has discharged faithfully 
and conseienticnisly, and with not only credit to 
himself, but to his constitueiiLs. 



/AIMES liHOWN We are gratified to be 
able to pl.ace in the hands of our readers a 
sketch of Mr. lirown, who is one of the 
well-to-do agriculturists of Gun Plain 
Township, Allegan County. He is at the present 
time making his home on section 8, where he is 
engaged in cultivating the soil to the best pur- 
pose. 

Kent County, England, was the birthplace of 
our subject, his natal day being Jlay G, 1824. His 
parents were also natives of that country and bore 
the names of .lames and Celia (IJourn) Brown. 
The father followed farming as an occupation 
and came to .Vmerica with his family in 1817. 
Upon locating here he lived for three years in 
:\Ionroe County, N. Y.. and at the end of that 
time came to (Uiii Plain Townshi|). Allegan 
County. A log house w.as erected on their pur- 
chase and a few acres cleared when it came into 
their possession. His death occurred in 1876. his 
wife preceding him to the better land in 1871. 

James Brown, of this sketch, was the oldest but 
one of a family of si.x children, five of whom are 



^ 



476 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAI HICAL RECORD. 



living. He attended the common schools in 
England until ten years of age. He was twenty- 
three years of age when his parents took up their 
abode in the New \Yorld, and three j-ears previous 
to their coming hither, our subject had worked 
out, receiving as remuneration for his services 
£10 a year. In Monroe County, N. Y., he 
also worked out by the month on the farm, and on 
coming to Michigan, in 1850, purchased his pres- 
ent farm. He worked diligently in clearing his 
land and by a proper rotation of crops it is now 
made to 3aeld handsome returns. 

Mr. Brown was married, in 1856, to Miss Eliza 
Honeysett, also a native of England, who was 
born December 18, 1833. She was brought by 
her parents to America early in the '-lOs and was 
a most excellent lady. Mrs. Brown died March 6, 
1880. To them have been born two children: 
Charles A., who is married and resides in Gun 
Plain Township, and William T., who is also 
married and cultivates the home farm. Our sub- 
ject is the possessor of eighty acres of land on 
section 8, Gun Plain Township, fort>- acres on 
section 9, eighty acres on section 3 and forty 
acres on section 10. He is engaged in the breed- 
ing of high-grade stock, in which he has been flat- 
teringly successful. His persistent industry and 
good judgment have won the success which in- 
variably comes to the possessor of these traits of 
character. He started out in life with no means, 
whatever, and is to-day one of the wealth}' agricul- 
turists of Gun Plain Township. In politics, he is 
independent, reserving his right to vote for the 
best man, regardless of part}'. 



^m>^-<i 



=-i-" 



v 



^ j^ILLIAM CARTER. Many of the most 
thrifty and intelligent agriculturists of this 
section of Michigan were born and reared 
on the other side of the Atlantic, and to England, 
especially, is Allegan County indebted for some of 
her most enterprising and prosperous citizens. To 
this class the gentleman of this sketch belongs, who 
was born in Chiselliui-st Parish, Kent County, 
England, December 12, 1816. He is a prosperous 



farmer, situated on section 8. Casco Township, 
where he has eighty acres of finely improved land. 

Reuben and Bennett Carter are the parents of 
AVilliam, of this sketch. Reuben Carter was born 
of poor parents, in the same place as our subject, 
and there grew to manhood. He followed farming 
strictly, making his own living from his youth up 
by working for other people. He was a man al- 
ways to be depended upon, and his honesty was 
alwa}s appreciated by his employers, as will be 
seen when we state that he worked for one man 
over thirty years. In 1836 he came to the United 
States to try and better his fortunes, and located 
in Wayne County, this State, where he was one 
of the earliest pioneers, enduring many hardships 
and privations in clearing his eighty acres of wild 
land, where he lived until his death, which occurred 
in 1865. His good helpmate died in March 1852. 
The elder Mr. Carter was married to Bennett An- 
drews, and to them were born thirteen children, 
three dying in infancy: Edward, a resident of 
Ohio; Sarah, now deceased; Charles, deceased; 
George, residing in Wayne County, this State; 
Richard, who is deceased; William, the subject of 
this notice; Harriet and Charlotte, both of whom 
are dead; Ann, the wife of Winfield Olds, and 
Abraham of this township. 

The school advantages of our subject were some- 
what poor, and he started out to work on a farm 
in his native country when thirteen years old. He 
came with his parents to the United States not re- 
luctantly at all, for he foresaw he had so much 
better opportunities in this country to make his 
o^vn livelihood. He located in Wayne County, as 
did his parents, and was there united in marriage 
with Hannah Crouch, a daughter of Rial and Anna 
(Clark) Crouch, October 11, 1852. To this happy 
couple seven children have come, all of whom are 
still surviving, namely: Helen, the wife of George 
Compton; Charles; William; Anna, who married 
James Cummings; Aimer; Julia, the wife of Seth 
Russell, and Edward. While yet a resident of 
AVayne County, our subject bought one hundred 
acres of unimproved land, and improved the greater 
part; but deciding to come to Allegan County in 
1866, he sold his other purchase, and located on his 
present homestead,which, at the time of his entering. 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



477 



was \vil<1. iinliroken Innd. He has conveiierl the 
<i;reater part of it into fertile fjroimd. on whieh lie 
carries on mixed farming-. 

In ]iolitics, Afr. Carter is a sLineli adherent of tlie 
prlnei|iles of the Kepulihean party. He and his 
wife and family are well thojisrht of in the eoiii- 
innnitv in whieh tliev reside. 



1;Cll.Vr)t)l) STU.VTTON is the owner of a line 
' farm of one hundred acres on section 25, 
_\ Trowbridije Township. .Mlegan County. Of 
this, seventj-fonr acres are under a high state of 
cultivation and divided into fields of convenient 
si7-e by well-kept fences. The improvements arc all 
that are found on a model farm, including a ('om- 
fortable residence, two large barns and other out- 
buildings, and a good ordiard. The neat appearance 
of the place indicates the thrift and enterprise of 
the owner and he is classed among the progressive 
and representative agricullurisls of liie eoninui- 
nity. 

His father, Thomas Stratton, was a native of 
Verm(,)nt, and in the Empire State married Pru- 
dence flyers who was born in New York. For a 
short time they resided in Ohio, and in 1836 Mr. 
Stratton came to Allegan County, Mich., in search 
of a Ioc;»tion. At that time there were only two 
houses in the citv and the work of civilization 
seemed .scarcely begun. He eng.iged in clearing 
land in order to pay for the new farm of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres which he located on section 
lit, Otsego Township. Returning to Ohio, he 
brought his family to the new home and for sev- 
eral years devoted his energies to the cultivation 
of his land. He then returneil to New York, but 
after a year again sought a home in this county, 
locating on section 18, Otsego Township, where he 
purchased a wild tract of one hundred and ten 
acres. He still resides upon that farm, having 
reached the age of four-score years. His wife died 
in 18H(i. at the age of eighty. They were the par- 
ents of four sons, all of whom are ^et living: Our 
subject; Charles, who served for three j-ears and 
three months in the late war as a meinlier of the 
First Michigan Engineei-s; Joseph Mud Nelson. 



We now tike up the personal history of the gen- 
tleman whose name heads this record. He was 
born in Ashtabula County, Ohio, February 21, 
1H;V2, ami was only four years old when brought 
by his parents to Michigan. His education was 
acijuired in the old time schools, to which he had 
to walk a distance of two and a half miles. In 
early life he was inured to liard labor for at the 
age of twelve years he began to follow the |)low 
aiKi day after day saw him turning over the soil, 
preparatory to the planting of crops. His services 
were given to his father until twenty-two years of 
age, when he began life for himself. 

In the year IK.'il, Mr. Stratton married Miss 
Betsy Wood, a native of the Green Mountain 
State. Her parents came to Michigan in 18.52, 
locating in Trowbridge Township, but are now 
residents of Manton, Mich. The father has reached 
the age of eighty and the mother is now seventy- 
seven years of age. I'poii their marriage Mr. and 
Mrs. Stratton locate(l upon their present farm, 
whieh w.as then in its iiriiiiitive condition. With 
cliaracteristic energy, he began its development, 
clearing it of the stumps and stones and planting 
crops, which in course of time yielded him abun- 
<lant harvests. .\s before stated, he has now seventy- 
four acres uiuler a high state of cultivation and in 
addition to his labors here he has aided his father 
in improving a large farm. In 18G9 his cabin 
home was replaced by a commodious residence, two 
stories in height, with basement, the main part of 
which is 20x30 feet and the L, lGx28 feet. Jlr. 
.Stratton got out the timbers for his building him- 
s<'lf, three years being required to accoin|>lish this. 
He has two large barns, one 32.\I4 feet; the other, 
20x3G feet. This place is complete in all its a|>- 
])ointn)ents and one would know at a glance tliat 
the owner is a progressive and enterprising man. 

Five children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. 
.Stratton, four of whom are now living. They lost 
one son, Frank, who died at the age of two and a 
half years; Charles, a farmer of Otsego Township, 
married Kmnia liullock and they have three chil- 
dren; r.enjamiii, also a farmer of Otsego Township, 
wedded Clara Dymond; Nettie is the wife of Walter 
.Scott, an agriculturist of the town of ( »lsego, by 
whom slie has two ehildrcn: and Oliver, who mar- 



478 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ried Eva Duggett whose parents live in Trowbridge 
Township, completes the family. He is an exem- 
plary young man and is now President of the Ep- 
worth League of the Methodist Church. Of that 
church INIr. and Mrs. Stratton ha\'e been members 
for thirty-six years and are active workers for its 
interests. He has served as Class-leader for thirty- 
three years, has been Trustee, and for twenty years 
has been a worker in the Sunday-school, during 
which time he has failed in attendance on twelve 
occasions only. His wife has also been a teacher 
and their labors have not been in vain. Mr. Strat- 
ton has served as School Director and has been an 
active worker in the temperance cause. In poli- 
tics he was a Republican but now affiliates with the 
Prohibition party. His life has been well and 
worthily spent and his upright, honorable career 
has secured him the high regard of all with whom 
he has come in contact. 



4^ 



5^ 9"% 




ON. .TAMES M. BALLOU. Perhaps there 
is no more cultured or better educated resi- 
dent of Allegan County than was the gen- 
tleman whose name we place at the head of 
this sketch. He was one of the prominent business 
men of Otsego, being Treasurer of the Otsego 
Chair Company, which is one of the extensive 
business enterprises of the State. The firm does a 
lai'ge and paj'ing business, and is composed of 
men whose word is considered as good as their 
bond. Mr. Ballon was born in Mayfl eld Township, 
near Cleveland, Ohio, January 24, 1836. His 
father was a native of the Empire State, where his 
birth occurred at Little Falls, Herkimer Count}', in 
1802. He bore the name of Danford G. Ballou 
and was an agriculturist in his native place. 

The father of our subject came West to Caj'uga 
County, Ohio, when quite a young man, and in 
1838 made his home in Michigan, where, in St. Jo- 
seph County, he cleared .and improved a farm. He 
resided upon that tract until his death, in 1875. 
His father, the grandfather of James M., was a na- 
tive of Massachusetts. He emigrated to New York, 
where he lived for a time, coming thence to Ohio 
and finally to Michigan, where he died .about I860, 



and was buried in the cemetery at Otsego. The 
Ballou family are of French descent several gener- 
ations bock. The mother of our subject was Mrs. 
C_ynthia (Worrallo) Ballou. a n.ative of New York; 
she died in 1888. 

The parental fainijy of our subject included 
four children, onl}- two of whom are living: our 
subject and Mrs. Lucy S. Mathewsou, of Men don, 
St. Joseph Count}'. The original of this sketch was 
reared on a farm and received his schooling in a 
log schoolhouse with puncheon floor and slabs set 
on wooden pins for seats. He made the best of 
his opportunities, however, and, when nineteen, 
taught his first school in a log schoolhouse. He 
followed that occupation for five years, when, in 
1860, he entered the State Normal School at Ypsi- 
lanti, where he was graduated two years later. 

He of whom we write taught school one year 
after coming to Otsego, when he was given charge 
of the Union schools of the place. He occupied 
that position for several years, when he retii'cd to 
a farm, but a twelvemonth later returned to Otsego 
and engaged in a planing mill, manuf.aeturing 
sash, doors and blinds. That business occupied his 
attention for two years, and in 1867 he was elected 
County Superintendent of Schools for Allegan 
County, which position required his entire time 
and attention for two years. In 1869, he returned 
to Otsego and continued in the manufacturing 
business, although in a different line, until .Janu- 
ary 1, 1891, when the Otsego Chair Company was 
organized. The plant of Mr. C. D. Stewart, who 
had been doing .an extensive manufacturing busi- 
ness, was incorporated in the new firm and that 
gentleman was made its President. The capital 
stock of the company is $60,000, and they employ 
from one hundred to one hundred and fifty men, 
their annual business amounting to $100,000. Our 
subject was made Treasurer of the Otsego Chair 
Company, which now manufactures all kinds of 
chairs and does an immense business in that line. 

In 1863, the Hon. J. M. Ballou was united in 
marriage with Miss Laura M. Foster, a native of 
Streetsboio, Summit County, Ohio. She ac- 
companied her parents on their removal to Otsego, 
Allegan County, when only seven years of age. 
She received a splendid education in the schools of 



POIITIIjUT A]SD BIOGliiVl'lllCAL KECORD. 



479 



Michigan and was a tenclicr for several years prior 
to lier marriage. Her union witii our subject lias 
resulted in the birth of one daughter, Ahi. Siie re- 
ceived a thorougii education, paying special atten- 
tion to music, in which art she has licen a teacher. 
Siie IS now the wife of Mr. .1. I). WOodbeck, editor 
of the Ot-sego C^h/o/i, a newsy slicot which has a 
wide circulation. 

The Republican i)arty ever found in Mi-. l>al- 
lou an inlliiential and active worker. He ever 
showed liimsclf cajiable of eflicicntly perform- 
ing the duties which la\- hcfnrc him and was 
elected on the .State Board of Education in 188t, 
serving for six years. He was President of the 
lioard for two yeai-s, and during that period was 
instrumental in bringing about many worthy re- 
forms. Our subject was a member of the Congre- 
gational Church, in wliii'li body he served as Dea- 
con and Trustee for many years. Mrs. Hallou still 
continues a member of that church. He was also 
Superintendent of the Sunday-school for eighteen 
years and quite active in every de[iartinent of 
church work. Mr. Ballon was widely known 
throughout this section and his wise and judicious 
course when attempting to bring about any worthy 
object is well known to those who are acipiainted 
with tlie history of the State. Mr. Ballon passed 
from this earth, .Tanuary 2G, 1H<)2, of [ineumonia, 
after a short illness of four d.ays. 

This will cause sincerest regret to nearly every 
citizen of Allegan County and to many hundreds 
about the State, for Mr. Ballon was widely known 
through his activity in the lields of ethics, educa- 
tion, Inisine.xs and politics; and in all he had borne 
himself as a high type of a Christian gentleman. 

Business did not cause him to lose his interest 
in educational work, and the advancement of 
Christianity and good morals. He was always 
ready for any po.ssible saciilice of time and money 
for the welfare of his town. The church and Sab- 
liath-school received his constant attention and 
tireless aid. 

Among the public positions he was called upon 
to till were these: Member of the Otsego Board 
of Education for eight years; Trustee of the village 
sis years, and Clerk and A.ssessor thereof four 
years each; member of the State Board of Educa- 
tion six years — its President for two years; mem- 
ber of the .Slate Board of Oeological Survey: ['res- 
ident of the County Snnilav-.school Association 



three years, besides almost constant ollicial plaic in 
the Congregational church of Otsego. 

It was the good fortune of the writer to be a 
student in the Otsego schools during the time Mr. 
Ballon was their principal, and to have had the 
benefit of his personal instruction — and, what was 
more, of his encciuragement and the noble example 
of his daily life. To all his students he wxs kindly 
and helpful in a high degree, meeting their every 
effort at advancement with aid that was all liut 
paternal in its earnestness, and was insjiiring and 
even affectionate. Could this good man have 
known the warmth of regard, the sense of obliga- 
tion that could not be repaid, the gratitude and 
respect each of his pupils felt for liiin, as time 
brought them to a realiz.ation of his faithful labors, 
it would have been to him a reward both sweet 
and suflicient. It is needless to speak of his qual- 
ities in each of his relations to his fellow-men, for 
they were much the same in all. His animating 
motive was at all times to secure the lietterment of 
the material and moral condition of those about 
liiin, and never did he give way (if ever lie wa.s 
tempted to do so) to pettiness or harshness of 
word or action. He has gone to his reward, and 
there are none but are sorrowful, none but will 
cherish him in memory as a pure man, a dear 
friend, or a loved one of nearer tie. 

'^ *^^^ * J 



m 



jOIIN BKOWX. This enterprising resident 
of Monterey Township, Allegan County, 
resides on his beautiful farm of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres, on sections 3 and 4. 
His estate has been brought to a high degree of 
cultivation by his persistent industry and good 
judgment. It is improved with a good brick resi- 
dence, and bears all the needful farm buildings 
for the shelter of stock and the storage of grain. 

John Brown is the son of Henry and Catherine 
(Keller) Brown, natives of Ohio, where our sut)- 
ject w.as born in Hancock County, April 2(1, IS.Sfi. 
His father being a farmer, he was thus trained 
to agricultural pursuits, remaining at home until 
reaching the age of eighteen years. But when 
starting out in life for himself, he learned the 
cari)enter's trade, which he followed twenty 
years. 

December 9, 18.'>8, w.as the date of imr subject's 
marriage with Jane, daughter of William Thomas. 



m 



480 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



^1 



81ie was boin June 29, 1839, and by her union 
witli Mr. Brown, has become the mother of three 
children: Avilla F., who is married to J. F. Rob- 
erts, resides in Monterey Township, Allegan 
County; George O., who assists in conducting the 
home farm; he went to try his luck at mining in 
Colorado, in 1886, where he remained for four 
years, when he concluded that Michigan was the 
place for him. Orpha M., the third child, was 
married to Frank Sliip, March 17. 1892, and is liv- 
in Monterey Township. 

The Republican party claim our subject as one 
of its active members. He came to Allegan 
County m 1864, and has thus witnessed the mar- 
velous growth of this section. His good wife is a 
member of the United Brethren Churcli, and is a 
lady, who, by her upright life, has won many 
warm friends. 



^=^EORGE II. ANDERSON, President of the 
'II ^w Michigan Paper Company, is well known as 
^^ill a pioneer and prominent citizen of Plain- 
well, where he has a beautiful residence in an 
attractive portion of the cit}-. His thrifty and 
persevering disposition, which has contributed so 
largely to his success, is inherited from a long line 
of worthy Scotch ancestors. His paternal grand- 
father, Daniel, emigrated, when a j^oung man, 
from his native home in the "Land of the Thistle" 
to the United States, settling in Fulton County', 
N. Y., when it was considered the outskirts of 
civilization. He cleared and improved a large 
tract of land, where he passed away at a ripe old 
age. His family comprised four sons and two 
daughters, onlj' one of whom still lives (1892) — 
Mrs. Rosanna Richardson, a lady of eight3' j'ears. 
The fatlier of our subject, John Anderson, was 
born in Fulton County, N. Y., December 29, 1797, 
and was reared to farming pursuits. He was mar- 
ried to Miss Laura Rice, also a native of Fulton 
County, where her birth occurred February 19, 
1799. Some time after their union, they came West 
by way of the lakes to Detroit, and from there to 
Grass Lake, Jackson County. There Mr. Anderson 



left his wife and children, and started out on foot 
in search of desirable Government land. He 
reached Gun Plaiu Township, Allegan County, 
June 20, 1834, when almost the only inhabitants 
were Indians, and the county had not yet been 
divided into townships. 

After securing a suitable location on the banks 
of tiie Kalamazoo River, in what is now the village 
of Plaiiiwell, Mr. Anderson took up about four 
hundred acres and then brought his family hither. 
A vacant house stood on the plains about a mile 
distant and there the wife and children remained 
while he built a log house for their occupancy. 
Then he commenced the task of clearing the land 
and cultivating the soil, which he did with the 
assistance of the other members of the family. 
Indians were numerous on both sides of the Kala- 
mazoo, but they were a friendly triije and often 
Ijrought their white neighbors venison and wild 
game. 

In politics, Mr. Anderson was first a Whig, hut 
after the organization of the Republican party% 
adhered to its principles. He platted an addition 
to the village of Plainwell, where he served as 
Postmaster for twent^^ years. Justice of the Peace, 
School Inspector, Supervisor and Associate Judge. 
Religious!}', he was connected with the Presby- 
terian Church, which he aided in organizing in 
Plainwell, and also assisted in the erection of its 
liouse of worship on the plains, about two miles 
north of the present site of the village. After- 
ward the building was moved to near Plainwell and 
sold to the Catholics. Mr. Anderson also aided 
materially in the erection of the First Presbyterian 
Church, which stands on a lot adjoining the resi- 
dence of our subject, and served as Trustee and 
Deacon until his death January 17, 1877. His 
wife passed away February 19, 1879, on the anni- 
versary of her eightieth birthday-. 

Our subject is the only member of the family, 
with the exception of a sister, Mariette, the wife 
of Luther R. Delano, of Plainwell. George H. 
was born in Mayfteld, Fulton County, N; Y., Octo- 
ber 22, 1827, and was about six years old when he 
accompanied his parents to this State. He first 
attended school in a log house which stood one 
and one-half miles from his home, and which was 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGKATHH AI, Iv'IXORD. 



4«1 



primitive both in furnisliiiiffs and niothofl of in- 
struition. Among tlie plavmates of his chihlhood 
years were the Indians, among whom he had numer- 
ous aciiiiaiiitances. Wliile goinsT to and from scliool, 
lie would often see large herds of deer, and in the 
distance could he heard the howling of wolves. 

AVhen ahout eighteen years old, Mr. Anderson 
attended the l>raneh School in Kalamazoo, when 
Dr. Stone was the iirincipal, and afterward spent 
two years at Olivet College. After his education 
was completed, he worked on his father's farm 
during the summer season, and taught school in 
the winter until he was married. That important 
event occurred June 2.5, 1852, his wife being .Miss 
Elizabeth Woodhams. a native of Croydon,. Surrej' 
County, England, who was born May 1, 183.3. Mrs. 
Anderson came to America with her parents (now 
deceased), reaching New York October 12, 1846, 
and coming directh" to Plainwell, this .State. 

In Sei)teinber, 1852, Mr. Anderson and his wife, 
with a party of friends, started for California, sail- 
ing from New York in the ship "Green Point" 
and rounding Cape Morn. Eor tweuty-eighl d.ays 
the were off the cape in a gale, and during that 
time the sun w.as visible for almost the entire 
twenty-four hours of the dny. After a voyage of 
five months they reached San Francisco, March 11, 
1853, and soon afterward settled in Santa Clara 
Valley on a ranch near Redwood City, where Mr. 
Anderson engaged in stock-raising for one year. 
At that time Mrs. Anderson was the only white 
woman in the valley. 

Returning to .San Francisto, Mr. Anderson pnr- 
cha.sed a dairy farm near the city, and there re- 
mained until the fall of 185'.*, when he sold out 
and returned to Michigan via the Isthmus of 
Panama. He engaged in the mercantile business 
in I'laiuwell and also operated two hundred acres 
near the village, continuing to manage the latter 
after he sold the former in ISfill. He now gives 
his alteiiti(ui largely to the management of his 
farm of two hundred acres and his property in 
the village, which consists of tenement and other 
houses. He was one of the original stock-holders 
and organizers of the Michigan Paper Companj' 
in Plainwell, and for the past three years has 
served as its President. The company employs 



between sixty and seventy men, and has ;i cajia- 
city of about thirty-live t(jns of [taper per week. 

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the parents of six 
children: George W., who was born March 21t, 
1H53, in San Francisco, was with the (irand Rajiids 
& Indiana Railroad for seventeen years, serving 
as passenger conducttu- for fourteen years, and he 
is now freight conductor on the Chicago A- West 
Michigan, and lives in Grand Rapids. Edward J., 
whose birth occurred .Sei)tember '.>, 1854, in San 
Francisco, is a resident of Plainwell and a success- 
ful attorney of this section. Ella E., born .lanuary 
25, 1857, in San Francisco, is the wife of Frank M. 
Hall, of Grand Rapids, who is connected with the 
Standard Oil Companj-, of Chicago. Ida M., who 
was born in San Francisco, November 18, 1858, 
married .John W. (Jilkey, manager of the Michigan 
Paper Company. Edith E., who was born Novem- 
ber 1, 1860, in Plainwell, Mich., is the wife of 
Louis Pfeiffer, jiroprietor of the Windsor Hotel, 
of South Hend, Ind. Louis C, who was born Veh- 
ruaiy 21, 1876, in Plainwell, Mich., is at home. 

In his political atliliations, Mv. Anderson is a 
Republican, and has served as delegate to county 
and district conventions, but has never been an 
ollice-.seeker. He and his wife were formerly identi- 
fied with the lJa))tist Church, but are now members 
of the Presbyterian Church at Plainwell. He 
was a charter member of Lodge No. 120, I. O. 
O. F. For several years he has served as a mem- 
ber of the School Board, and h.os alwa\s taken an 
active interest in educational matters. For some 
time he was President of the Union Agricultural 
.\ssociation at Plainwell and also served on the 
Village lioard. 



14+ 



■[S_ 



.(^- 



Vl 



JUD.SON L. AU.STlN,oiie of the enterprising 
and succes.sful farmers of Allegan County, 
residing on .>-ection 6, claims New York as 
the .State of his nativity. His parents, Au.s- 
tin G, and .Susan (Van Winkle) Austin, were also 
natives of New York, and the father there followed 
farming until 1847, when he brought his family to 
Michigan, For two years he rented a farm in 
Watson Township, .Vllegan County, ami then pur- 



482 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



chased land on section 7, Trowbridge Township. 
It was a wild farm, entirel}' unimproved, but with 
the help of his sons Mr. Austin transformed it into 
rich and fertile fields. The Indians were still nu- 
merous in the settlement at the time of his arrival, 
and the usual experiences of frontier life were 
borne by the family. Mr. Austin took considerable 
interest in political affairs, supporting the Demo- 
cratic party, and held the offices of Town Treasurer 
and Town Commissioner. He and his wife were 
members of the Methodist Church, and w-ere highly 
respected people. Her death occurred in 1871, 
but Mr. Austin survived until 188(5. 

Our subject was their third child, his birth 
occurring in Steuben County, N. Y., in June, 1836, 
but wiieu a lad of ten summers, he came with the 
family to Michigan. His educational advantages 
were limited in earl^^ .youfh, but he afterward at- 
tended the public schools of Allegan, paying his 
tuition with money which he had earned. His 
lifework has been that of farming. He remained 
at home until he had attained his majority, when 
he purchased eighty acres of swamp land from the 
Government, on section 24, Cheshire Township, 
and removed hither. 

In 1861. Mr. Austin married Miss Sarah E., 
daughter of Benjamin W. and Almira E. (Sargent) 
Colburn, who removed from New York to Mich- 
igan in 1838. After six months, thej' located on 
a farm on section 6, Trowbridge Township, where 
for miles around there was nothing but woods. A 
log cabin was built and continued to be their home 
for a number of years. The ceaseless activity and 
enterprise of Mr. Colburn resulted in the develoji- 
nient of a highly-cultivated farm. After the death 
of his first wife, he was again married and is still 
living at the age of seventy-seven 3'ears. But two 
of his children grew to adult age and Mrs. Austin 
is now the only surviving one. She was born on 
the old homestead in this township, April 18, 1843, 
and prior to her marri.age engaged in teaching 
school. Mr. and Mrs. Austin began their domestic 
life upon his farm in Cheshire Township, and their 
home has been blessed b^' the presence of three 
children: George A., who is a graduate of Ypsilanti 
Business College; Benjamin B., who was a sludent 
in the High School in Allegan, and Fred P., who 



I 



was graduated from that school. It will thus be 
seen that the children received excellent educa- 
tional advantages, and of their sons the parents 
may well be proud. 

During the late w'ar, feeling that the country 
needed his services, Mr. Austin enlisted in August, 
1862, as a member of Companv B, Nineteenth 
Michigan Infantry, and with his command was 
sent to Louisville, Ky. For four weeks he was sick 
but on his recoverv joined his regiment at Knox- 
ville, Teun. The command was assigned to the 
Second Brigade, Third Division, Twentieth Corps. 
At the battle of Spring Hill, Tenn., Mr. Austin 
was captured, but,after a month's incarceration in 
Libbj' Prison, was exchanged and returned to 
duty. He returned and joined his regiment at 
Louisville, Ky., after which he participated in the 
Atlanta campaign, during which he was under fire 
every day fc>r three months, w.as with Sherman 
on the celebrated march to the sea, took part in 
the Savannah campaign, in the battles of Resaca, 
Cassvilie, New Hope Church, (Jolgotha, Peaclitree 
Creek, Savannah, Averysboro, Goldsboro and 
Bentonville, and was present at the surrender of 
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. He received his dis- 
charge, Maj' 29, 1865, after three years of faithful 
service. He was once slightl3' wounded in the 
hand, but otherwise escaped personal injury ex- 
cept that he yet feels the effect of hard service. 

On his return to the North, Mr. Austin traded 
his farm for his present home, paying 81,200 addi- 
tional. He has now one hundred and eighty acres 
of valuable land, ninety of which is under cultiva- 
tion, although only fifteen acres had been cleared 
at the time of his purchase. All of the buildings 
are of his own construction and stand as monu- 
ments to his thrift and enterprise. His present 
residence was erected in 1889, and is a comfortable 
home. In connection with general farming he 
carries on stock-raising, making a specialty of IIol- 
stein cattle and gr.aded sheep. He also has some 
good draft horses and a fine team of roadsters. 
Socially, he is a member of C. J. Bassett Post, No. 
56, of Allegan, of which he has served as Comman- 
der, and was also Master of Allegan Central Grange 
for many }ears. His wife has also held offices in 
that society. Mr. Austin belongs to the Odd Fel- 








^ 







/ J}l^^J.^Ji 



PORTRAIT AND LlOGRAPlllCAL RECORD 



487 



lows' Lodijp, in whicli he lias filled all the chairs 
and is a charter nietulier of the Kncanipnieiit and 
Uniformed Rank, of wiiicli he lias served as Secre- 
tary. For many years, he has been School Direc- 
tor, and the cause of education finds in him a 
warm friend, lie has served as Overseer of High- 
ways, and, in 1)^!K), was I'nitcd States Census 
Knumerator. lie takes considerable interest in 
]K)lities, supporting the Republican part3'. For man j' 
othei' offices he has been nominated, but, owing to 
tiie large Democratic majority, failed of election. 
He and his wife iiuld a iiigh position in the social 
world and few ijcopii' are more widely, and none 
more favuraliiy, known in the community than 
they. From a financial stand|)oint, the life of Mr. 
.\ustin has been an eminently successful one and 
is now numbered among the substantial citizens of 
the county. 



ILLIA.Al (i. ."\IcCUNTOCK. Among the 
/-^jll m.any prosperous agriculturists of Alle- 



y 



^V^^ g'ln County, we call the reader's attention 
to the gentleman who is located c>n section 24, 
IIoi)kins Township. He is the son of Robert and 
Nancy (Smith) McClintock, natives of Northum- 
berland County, Pa., who were reared and married 
in their native State. The father was a soldier in 
the War of IH12, and a farmer by occupation. He 
moved from Pennsylvania to Livingston County, 
N. Y., where he cleared up a farm and afterw.ard, 
in 1H42, came to IMiciiigan and settled on a farm 
in Irving Township, IJarry County, living in a 
plank .shanty. Six yeai-s after this move was made, 
ho pas.sed from earth to life everlasting, February 
10, 184y, the mother dying April 4, 1883. They 
were the parents of eight children (four now liv- 
ing), and were members of the Presbyterian 
Church, he holding several offices in the church in 
New York. In politics he was a Whig. 

Our subject w.a.s born September 1, 18.32, in 
(ienesee Township, Livingston County, N. Y., and 
was ten years old when the family removed to 
Michigan. He received but little schooling when 
a boy and worked all summer, when twelve years 
22 A 



old driving and Itreaking a team at a salary of 
•?;'). oil per monlii. He had to work very hard 
during the siunmers to get what little learning he 
did in the winters. He began for himself when 
fifteen years old, hiring out b}- the month to Mr. 
Ilanna. Later he worked on a farm during the 
day and did diores in the evening for William P. 
Hristol about two yeais. The next two j'ears 
were occupied at a hotel at Il.astings. He next 
went tf) Battle Creek, and hired out as a stage 
driver between Kalamazoo and Orand IJa|)ids, and 
then went to St. .Joseph Count}' and drove be- 
tween Flowcrfield and Constantinc. lie wa.s en- 
gaged in this business twelve years in all. 

In 1858 our subject went to Kalamazoo Count}- 
and hired out to a farmer for three summers in 
Kiciiland Township. After that he came U) Alle- 
gan County and |)urchased forty acres of land 
where he now lives. June 10, 1861, was the date 
of the marriage of our subject and Miss Jane E. 
Whitney, a daughter of ICzra and Hannah XL 
(De|)uy) Whitney, both natives of New York. 
They came to the city of Orand Rapids when 
there were but two or three houses there, and 
came to Allegan County in 18.54 where they are 
now engaged in the hotel business at Bradley, and 
are both in splendid health for people of their 
ages. .Seven children came to brighten their home, 
four of whom are living. The father was a sol- 
dier in the late war .is was also his eldest son,Charle3'. 
Mrs. McClintock w.as born May 4, 1843,at Ca.scade, 
Kent County, Mich., and received a good district 
school education. 

Mr. and Mrs. McClintock are the parents of five 
children: Charley C. married Alice Damoth and 
has one child; Libbie A., the wife of F>lwin 
Brewer, lives in this towriship and h.as a family 
of three children; Mina L., the wife of Frank 
Congden of this township; Mabel \\., whf» is 
twelve j-ears of age; Frank Clyde, ten years of 
age. All have or are receiving a good school ed- 
ucation. 

The original of this sketch has a good place of 
one hundred and sixty acres, ail under good cul- 
tivation except ten acres. He cleared ninet}' acres 
of it himself and at the same time worked for the 
Grand Rai)ids and Iiiili.'inii Kailroad, earning ii'200. 



488 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In 1884 the fine residence in which the family now 
reside was erected at a cost of $2,300. It is one 
of the most substantial and most attractive in the 
township. Two barns also adorn the place, 30x60 
and 26x50, respectively, and all other necessary 
oiithuildings. Mr. McClintock has lived on this 
place thirty-one years and began with almost 
nothing- but a willing heart and a strong hand. 
He carries on general farming and the dair}' 
business, keeping twenty-two splendid milch 
cows, and has shipped milk to Grand Rapids for 
the past ten jears. He has an orchard of two 
acres on this place. 

Socially, our subject is a member of the Free and 
Accepted Masons and has been Secretar}- and Treas- 
urer of the local order. He and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Grange, he having been Overseer and 
she Flora. He lias been Moderator of the local 
school district and in politics is a stalwart Demo- 
crat in general elections, but in local affairs votes 
for the best man. 

In connection with this biographical notice 
we are pleased to present the lithographic portraits 
of Mr. and Mrs. McClintock. 






j,.}..{..j..5.|-. 



^p^EORGE BOWLES. In this gentleman we 
(if "^ ''"'^ '"^'^ excellent example for young men 
^JJ^ just embarking in the field of active life 
to follow, showing what may be accomplished by a 
man beginning poor, but honest, prudent and in- 
dustrious. He is a substantial farmer on sections 
21 and 22, Ganges Township, Allegan County, 
where he is carrying on farming and fruit-growing 
extensively on one hundred and thirty broad 
acres. 

The father of our subject was George Bowles, a 
native of Kent County, England, where he was 
reared on a farm to farming pursuits. In early 
life he enjoyed but few advantages. His school 
days were few and limited, yet he was a great 
reader and was well posted for a man of that early 
day. He led the life of a farmer, and never left 
his native country. In 1824, George Bowles, Sr., 
was married to Sarah Knaper, the mother of our 
subject, a native of England, where she was born 



in 1810. To this couple were born nine children, 
all of wliom grew to years of maturity, except 
one. Those living are named: George, .Jr. (our 
subject); William, of England; Henrj', of Ganges 
Township; and Charles, also of England. The 
deceased are Sarah, Mary, Caroline, Edmond, and 
one who died in infancy. The grandfather of our 
subject was also named George Bowles, and was a 
gardener in England. 

The gentleman of whom this sketch is a life 
record was born in Kent County, near London, 
England, Ma^' 1, 1827. Here he was reared, re- 
ceiving but poor advantages for an education, and 
we find him, at the j'outhful age of fifteen years, 
tr3'ing to make his own livelihood by hiring out to 
farmers. He was married, in 1835, to Sarah, a 
daughter of .John and Sarah Hardaway. To this 
couple nine children came to brighten their home. 
Three of these died in infancy, and two after 
growing to womanhood: Alice J., wife of K. Sher- 
man, and Rose A., wife of Thomas Symons. Those 
yet living are George; John; Sarah, who married 
William Daily; and Mary, who married William 
.J. Demiiig. 

In 1850, our subject came to the United States^ 
locating in New York for two years, afterward 
living for eleven years in Kosciusko County, Ind., 
and in the year 1863 removed with his family to 
this count}', and took up the farm on wliich he at 
present resides. He purchased two hundred .acres 
of unimproved land, but sold seventy acres, now 
having one hundred and thirty acres which are 
under the best of improvements. Twenty-five 
acres of this is set in fruit, in which he takes a 
great interest and in which he has been more than 
ordinarily successful. Mr. Bowles' career was be- 
gun as a poor boy, as before stated. By energy 
and perseverance, united with economy and good 
business qualificatious, he has secured a competency 
besides the respect and esteem of all with whom 
he comes in contact. He has ever strictly observed 
that important factor in the successful public or 
business-life of anyone — honesty. He is a careful, 
conscientious business man, ever adhering to the 
dictates of his conscience in matters both of a pub- 
lic and private nature. 

Mr. Bowles has been honored by local offices, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



489 



anioiii; tliiMii hciiiu Iliijlnvay Cdiiiniissionpr, which 
lie lias liekl two years, and also being Drainage 
Coniniissiouer for two years. Tlic duties of 
these iKxilions lie discharged faithfully and 
conscientiously. He and his worthy companion 
fire valued and consistent mcinbers of the United 
Hivthreii Church. In i)olitics, 5Ir. Howies casts his 
vole for the man, irres[)ective of part}- principles. 



"-'tJ-r 



? I I I ' 1 ( I 



<S^- IIAHI.KS fUHSOX, a retired farmer, is at 
present residing on his beautiful farm of 

i^ eighty acres on section 9, Jlonterey Towu- 
shi)), Allegan County. He has been industrious, 
and has manifested good judgment in all his nn- 
dertiikings, and, as is usually the case with those 
who [lossess these traits of cliaracter, fortune has 
showered blessings upon him. Our subject is the 
son of James and Mary (I'omeroy) Gibson, natives 
of Westmoreland Countj-, Pa., where Charles was 
born October 11, 1811. 

When our subject was seven years old, his par- 
ents came West as far as Wayne County, Ohio, 
after which they removed to Hancock County, 
same .State. Charles (iibson remained at home un- 
til reaching his majority, assisting his fatlier in the 
work of clearing and improving his farm, .and 
thus became acquainted with all the detail of life 
in the country. 

Charles Gibson was united in marriage with 
Sarah liaird, November 14, 1833. Their union has 
been blessed by the birth of fourteen children, 
eight of whom are living, three dying in infancy. 
Mi-s. liaird passed from this life, October 16, 1889, 
being seventy-four years of age. William enlisted 
in the Thirteenth Michigan Infantry during the 
Rebellion, and served until the close of the war, 
but died before receiving his discharge, in June, 
186.'). The other members of the family were 
named Isaac, John (who died at the age of thirty- 
eight years), Mary Ann, Nancy Loraine, George 
P.. Charles 15., Jasper L., .Sarah (who died when 
two years of age); Jeremiah F.. who lives with his 
father, and married Lilli.an H.. daughter of John 
W. Cronk, and liy that union has become the father 
of three children: Gertrude. Sarah K. and Robert 



E. He manages the home farm for his father, who 
makes his home with him, having attained to the 
advanced age of eighty years. I.saiah Clinton, the 
youngest son, married Klla K. Cronk, and is the 
parent of three children; Edna ^l., Roy Edward 
and Flossie May. 

When our subject came to Allegan County, all 
his worldly possessions consisted of a yoke of oxen 
and a few household goods. He was a good hunts- 
man, and kejit his family sui)i)lied with wild game, 
shooting the first year eighty deer, fourteen wild 
cats and forty coons. They endured bravel^^ all 
the hardships which life in a new country entails, 
the snow the first winter, in 1851, being over three 
feet deep. It was thus very difficult to get about 
but by hard laljor he soon brought his land to an 
excellent state of cultivation, and it to-day j-ields 
a handsome increase. Our subject has forty-five 
grand-children living, nine deceased, and tengreat- 
grand-childrcn living. 



kORENZO D. BALLOr, a capitalist residing 
at Otsego, is prominent in the business cir- 
cles of Allegan County as au astute and 

far-sighted financier, wliose enterprise, at once 
bold and cautious, has secured him an .assured 
place among the mone3'ed men of Southern Michi- 
gan. He is a native of the neighboring State of 
Ohio, born in Independence Township, Cuyahoga 
County, March 20, 1824. His father was Philan- 
der Balhiu, who was born in New York in 1800. 
He w.as a pioneer farmer and carpenter of Ohio in 
earh' manhood, and was still in life's prime when 
he came to ^^lichigan in 1830. He w.as an active 
and useful i)ioneer of this State during the few 
short years of life that were left to him, but his 
career was brought to a close October 20, 183.5. at 
Ypsilanti,by his untimely death. His widow, who 
bore the maiden name of Sarah Comstock, re-mar- 
ried, and removed to Ctah, where she died. 

Our subject was one of three children. He 
gained the preliminaries of his education in the 
district schuols. and siibseciuently pui-sued a fine 
course of sluily in the High School at Yiisilanti, 



490 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



where he obtained high rank for good scholarship. 
He was yet quite young when he began to battle 
with the world, forced thereto b}' the necessity of 
having to help support his mother and famil_v.When 
about fifteen years old, he went to Kalamazoo to 
learn the art of printing, and was an apprentice 
under John H. McBride. Later he went to work 
in the office of the Gazette, and I'emained in Kala- 
mazoo about three years. In 1841 he went to De- 
troit and continued his trade in the office of the 
Constitutional Democrat, and after that set type on 
the Free Press. We next hear of him at Niagara 
Falls, where he prosecuted his calling for awhile. 
He finally drifted to New York City in 1845, and 
was employed on some of the leading papers of the 
metropolis for several j-ears, at first securing a 
position in the office of the Sun, then in that of 
the Herald, and finally, as an employe in the typo- 
graphical department of the Tribune, it was his 
good fortune to come under the notice of that 
eminent journalist, Horace Greeley. At the first he 
acted as "sub," but in two weeks was given a regular 
case. He even then had an eye for business, and, 
prudently saving his money, soon had enough to 
buy a share of the stock of the paper, purchasing 
it of .Tohn F. Cleveland, and at a later day selling 
it to Bayard Taylor, the renowned poet and trav- 
eler. He continued his connection with the Tribune 
for several years, and rose high in the esteem of 
his employers, who often sent him out as a reporter, 
and in that capacity he was sometimes a visitor in 
the penitentiar}' at Sing Sing. 

In 1855, Mr. Ballon abandoned newspaper work, 
leaving the Tribune office, where he had so long 
labored, with sincere regret, and coming back to 
Michigan, he established himself in the mercantile 
business, in partnership with his brother Byron, at 
Otsego, and continued in that line until 1864. 
During that time he visited New York twice a 
year to buy goods, and he always called on his old 
friend Horace Greeley, from whom he was sure of 
a warm welcome. In the year last-mentioned, our 
subject, who, like his old patron, had a taste for 
agricultural pursuits, turned his attention to farm- 
ing in Otsego Township, and devoted himself to 
tilling the soil until 1872, when he was appointed 
mail agent, his route extending from Grand I^ap- 



ids to Elkhart, Ind. In 1879, he gave up that 
office, and returned to his farm of two hundred 
and forty acres, which he afterward sold, and has 
since resided in the pleasant village of Otsego, 
where he has extensive property interests, and 
conducts a good business in loaning monej' at a 
satisfactory rate of interest. He possesses a strong, 
clear mind that has been broadened by contact 
with the world of men and letters, and his wide 
experience, knowledge of affairs, and read}- tact 
give him weight and inlluence, not only in money 
matters, but in all that concerns the best interests 
of village and county, with which he is thoroughlj- 
identified. He is a leader among the Republicans 
of this vicinity and is active in the councils of his 
party at county conventions and other political 
gatherings. He is fond of traveling, and familiar- 
ized himself with the West by an extensive tour 
throughout that part of the United States a few 
years ago. 

It was during his sojourn in the East that our 
subject was married in the city of Brooklyn, in 
1848, to Miss Sarah E. Bont, a native of Ulster 
County, N. Y. Theirs has been a congenial union; 
whose only sorrow has been in the death of two 
of their sons, Seth H. and Frank. Their only sur- 
viving son, Dow W., is married and lives at Grand 
Rapids, where he keeps a drug store. Mrs. Ballou 
passed away from this earth October 23,1891, 
leaving a large circle of friends to mourn her loss 
and respected by all who knew her. 



-5- 



- -^<g i 



^>-^<i 



ifiy- 



^' OHN F. EESLEY. Business men of Plain- 
well, as of other enterprising towns, are its 
bone and sinew, and draw to its centraliz- 
ing influences such citizens as are of profit, 
and will forward its prosperity. The genuine push 
of the Westerner is shown in the gentleman whose 
name heads this sketch, and who is the proprietor 
of the Eesley Mills. 

Hamilton County, Ontario, was the native place 
of our subject, his birth occurring December 11, 
1859. His father, Alfred R. Eesley, was born at 
Stafford, Warwickshire, England, where he prose- 
cuted the same business in which our subject is so- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArillCAL RECORD. 



491 



profitably cnsra^cd, and which was the occupation 
of many of his ancestors. On making his iiomc in 
the New World, which he did in 1856, Alfred Ees- 
ley came to Ontario, where he was engaged in 
milling for several years. At the present time he 
is engaged in the same business in Birmingham, 
Oakland County, this State. lie is a member of 
the IJapUst C'luircli, and is a ver\- prominent and 
influential man in his county. 

Miss .lennie (ioldie was the maiden name of our 
subject's mother, and her birthplace was Ayr, 
Scotland. She accompanied her parents to Amer- 
ica in 1H44, they locating in Montreal, Canada. 
For twti hundred years or more the male portion 
of the (4oldie family have been millwrights. Mr. 
Eesley is the eldest of a family of ten children, all 
of whom are living. His elementary education 
was obtained in the village schools of Plottsville, 
Ontario, and later in New York City, where his 
parents resided for a time. After their removal to 
Michigan, he again took up his studies in the 
schools of Hirminghan, and thus to-day is a cul- 
tured and educated gentleman. 

Our subject learned the trade of a miller under 
the instruction of his father, and in the spring of 
1881 came to Plainwell, and engaged to work for 
the Merrill Milling Company. He remained with 
them for about eighteen months, when he went to 
l.iK'kport, 111., where he spent about a twelve- 
month. Later he went South to Eufaula, Ala., 
but soon came to Huntington, Ind., and from there 
went to Coshocton and Frazicrburg, Ohio. He 
worked at his trade in all those different cities, 
and in 1887 returned to Plainwell, determined to 
make that city his permanent abiding place. 

Mr. Eesle3' worked hard at his trade, and, by the 
exercise of economy, soon saved a sum which en- 
abled liim to purcli.'i.se a mill, and he now ownstlie 
only steammill in Plainwell, which is equipped 
with all the modern apjilianccs by which he can 
turn out Hour in a remarkably short time. He 
manufactures flour, feed, buckwheat flour, etc ,and 
su|)))lics an increasing demand at home and in the 
nciglilioring towns. Mr. Eesley thoroughly under- 
stands the art of a millwright, and has the confi- 
dence of a large circle of friends. 

Miss Ilelle .Scott became the wife of our subject 



in 188.'). She is a native of Oun Plain Township, 
Allegan C'(junly, and a daughter of Henry K. and 
Eliza Scott, natives of the Empire State. Mr. Ees- 
ley, always an ardent temperance man, votes the 
Prohibition ticket. Socially, he is a Knight of the 
Maccabees, and in his chinch relations is a mem- 
ber of the Paptist society. He is rapidly building 
uf) foi- himself an enviable reputation, and we are 
pleased to be able to present to our readeis a sketcli 
of so woitliv a gentleman. 



*^^[ 



11®^ 



k@:E 



^\ ftJLLIAM BAR1S'E.S. Among the prominent 
\jjj// •ind active citizens of Allegan County we 
wW point to the gentleman of whom we write, 
who is a successful tiller of the soil on section (!, 
Allegan Township, where he owns a fine farm of 
two hundred and sixty-seven ncies. He is a na- 
tive-l)(>rn sou of New York, having had his birth 
in Newburgh, Orange County, September 13, 1856. 
He is the first in order of birth in a family of 
five children born U> Nathaniel and Martha (War- 
ing) Barnes, natives of the same place as their 
sou, our subject. His brothers .and sisters are 
named Emma, .Tames W., Charles L. and F'raiik. 
He received his education at Newburgh at the free 
academy, and afterward taught two years, and 
was then a salesman thirteen years in New York 
City in the produce business, he having had 
charge of the business of S. H. and E. JI. Frost. 

Our subject was sent by this firm to Allegan, 
Mich., to settle up a business transaction, and re- 
mained here for three months, and each year there- 
after for four years came to Allegan and remained 
three months for the tirui. In .Ijiiiuary, 1888, he en- 
gaged in the road-carl inanufactuiing business 
with Willard R. Church, at Allegan, and ran this 
business two years; he then sold out and purchased 
his present farm, and is now engaged in the dairy 
business. Ho also hius some ver\' line brood mares 
and fine .lersey cattle. 

The father f)f our subject engaged (piite exten- 
sively in farming and fiuit-i-aising, and also is 
interested in the dairy business. He is jet a resi- 
dent of Orange County. N. Y. He was .Supervisor 
of Newl)urgh some eight years. In i)olitics, he 



II 



492 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is a Democrat, and, with his wife, is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Cliurch. 

William Barnes was united in marriage, in 
1889, with Miss Louie Draper, of Allegan Count}-, 
and a daughter of L. N. Draper, also of Allegan 
County. No children have come to bless their 
fireside. In politics, Mr. Barnes is a Democrat, 
and is one of the sagacious and well-to-do busi- 
ness men of this county, liked and respected by 
all and alwa\-s willing to help others in the hard 
struggle of life. Tlic beautiful home in which he 
and his wife reside is surrounded by fruits of all 
kinds, and is made very attractive b}' the wa^y in 
which the grounds are tended. 



«^ 



jOBERT ADKIN. The farmers and fruit- 
^ growers of Casco Township, Allegan Count}', 
^ number among their most intelligent and 
enterprising citizens the gentleman whose 
name we have just given. He was born in Cam- 
bridgeshire, England, in 1841, and is the son of 
James and Mary (Ilattlej') Adkin. His father was 
also a native of the above-named counlj' in Eng- 
land, his birth occurring in 1817; the mother was 
born in 1819. The elder Mr. Adkin was married 
when about twenty-three years of age, in 1849, 
and in 1854 emigrated with his family to America, 
locating in Clinton County, Canada. He later re- 
moved to Dresden, Canada, where he purchased 
fifty acres of land, on which he is residing at the 
present time, being seventy-five years of age; his 
good wife passed away in her seventy-third year. 
The grandfather of our subject came to Can- 
ada with his son James, where he spent his last 
days. Robert Adkin began to make his own waj' 
in the world after reaching his fourteenth j'ear. 
His father being in limited circumstances, he gave 
all his wages to help support the family until at- 
taining his majorit}'. The wife of the original of 
this sketch bore the maiden name of Mary A. Bur- 
row, daughter of John and Elizabeth (James) Bur- 
row. Mr. and Mrs. Adkin have been granted a famil}- 
of four children, viz: Herschel, who married Miss 
Edith Harrison; Addie, IMaude, and Nellie, who 
died when eleven years of .age. 



Mr. Adkin, of this sketch, came to the States in 
1867, locating immediately in Casco Township, 
Allegan County. He purchased eighty acres, which 
is included in his present fine farm. His tract was 
unimproved at the time it came into his posses- 
sion, with the exception of a half-acre which had 
the timber felled upon it. With his characteristic 
industr}', he set about the work of clearing and 
improving his land, adding thereto as his means 
allowed, until at the present time he has one hun- 
dred and seventy acres of as fine land as there 
is in Allegan County. By a proper rotation of 
croi)S, his land has been brought to a high state 
of cultivation, and the various buildings erected 
which best subserve the purpose of the agriculturist. 
Sixteen acres of his farm is given to fruit-raising, 
of which he has some choice varieties. 

Our subject has held many township offices, 
but in politics is non-partisan. He is a member 
of the Subordinate and Count}^ Grange, and, all 
in all, is one of tlie wealth}' and respected resi- 
dents of Casco Township. 



r 



'^ MLLIAM A. REYNOLDS. This gentleman 
\/\I// ^^* retired from the active proprietorship 
^/^ of his farming interests, and now rents his 
place, comprising one hundred acres, in Watson 
Township, Allegan County. He is a native of New 
York and was born in Jefl'erson County, March 19, 
1817. His father, David, likewise born in the 
Empire State, was a farmer b}' occupation, and was 
reared in Saratoga County, whither his parents 
removed when he was a child. There he was mar- 
ried to Miss Susan Hewett, a native of the same 
State as himself, and the .young couple located at 
first in Saratoga County. Thence they removed to 
Jefferson County, but after their location upon a 
farm therein, difficulties arose and they separated. 
Mr. Reynolds is the only surviving member in a 
family consisting of thirteen children, and was the 
youngest child, with the exception of one that died 
in infanc}'. His mother took him and some of the 
older children under her care, but was unable to 
maintain so large a family and, accordingly, when 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



493 



William A. was only three 3-eai-s old, he was bound 
out to a cousin, James Ilevvett. That geutleniau 
treated him in such a way that the citizens, becom- 
inij indignant, took him from beneath his roof and 
placed iiim under the protection of anotlier cousin. 
From the age of nine to fourteen, he lived with 
William ISIillcr, hut upon the death of his motlier 
went to live witli .lared Congdon and tliere made 
his home until he was married. 

That very important event in the life of ^Ir. 
Reynolds took pl.ace Februarj- 5, 1837, when Miss 
Mar^' Russell became his wife. They became the par- 
ents of six cliildren, three sons and tliree daughters, 
namely: Edward II., of Cadillac, this State; Jane, 
the wife of JIartin V. Kent, of Watson Townsiiip; 
Elizabetli (Jlrs. Milo Barker), a resident of Fenn- 
ville, Mich.; Mary II., the wife of Horace Beach, 
whose home is on section 1, Watsou Township; Job 
E., of Fennville, and William, who died when six 
months old. The mother of these children died 
March 30, 1872. Mr. Rej'nolds was afterward 
married, in 1873, to Mrs. Mary Palmer, the widow 
of David Palmer. 

A nntive of New Jersey, Mrs. Re\'nolds was born 
.January 23, 1817. and is the daughter of Chris- 
topiier and Sabra (Miller) Crose. Her father was 
born in Germany, whence he emigrated to Amer- 
ica, and was married to .Sabra Miller, who was born 
near the city of New York and reared in Elizabeth- 
town. Mr. and Mrs. Crose were the parents of 
eleven cliildren, all of whom lived to mature years. 
After hk marriage, Mr. Reynolds resided at first in 
Mendon, Monroe County, N. Y., where for seven 
years he secured cm])lovment on a farm, being the 
most of the time engaged in running a threshing 
machine, lie removed from Mendon to Elba, in 
fienesec County, .and worked land on shares, as 
well as operating a threshing machine for four 
yeai-s. 

In 1811, Mr. Reynolds came to the State of 
Michigan, soj(jurning in .Marshall, Calhoun County, 
for foui- weeks, and coming thence to Allegan 
County. He remained one year in Gun Plain 
Tiiwnship, thence removed to Wat:<on Township 
and settled on section 12, where he now resiiies. 
When he first came to this place, December 25, 
181.J, he took up one hundred and sixty acres of 



Government land and, cutting down some tim- 
ber, constructed a rude log liou.se, 18x24, after- 
ward putting up a log stable, 16x24. He used 
cattle in breaking and clearing the land, and con- 
tinued gradually to improve his farm until he 
brought it to its present development. In 1866, 
he removed from his log house into his two-story 
frame residence, where he is now tianquillv p.ass- 
ing his declining years. 

While most of his enterprises have met witli 
success, Mr. Reynolds has experienced some losses, 
the most serious of which was the loss of his barn 
by fire, in 1833. Tiiis substantial building, which 
was 34x44 feet in dimensions, w.os taxed to its ut- 
most capacit)- at the time of its destruction, con- 
taining three hundred and sixty-two bushels of 
wiieat, a threshing machine, fourteen tons of hay, 
platform scales, a corn-sheller, fanning-mill, and 
many other useful farming implements. Of h.s 
one hundred acres, eighty are under cultivation, 
while the remainder is used for pasturage. In pol- 
itics, he is a Republican, and has .served as Justice 
of the Peace, School Director and Pathmaster. In 
his social relations, he is numbered among the 
members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
of Watson, and the Grange of the same place. 



^^ TEPHEN CASE. An influential position 
^^^ among the farmci-s of Allegan County is 
held by this gentleman, who owns and oc- 
cupies a farm on section 24, Watson Town- 
shi)). lie was born in Henrietta Township, Monroe 
County, N. Y., May 20, 1824. His father, John 
was a native of Rhode Island, and was reared to 
farming pursuits, which he followed both in his 
native St,a,te and in New York. He was one of 
the early settlers of ilonroe County, where his 
death took place when less than fifty veai-s old. 
The mother of our subject, who was known in 
maidenhood .as Elizabeth Holmes, was a native of 
the Empire State, and was twice married after the 
death of Mr. Case. 

Stephen Cose is one in a family which numbered 
fourteen children, two of whom died in infancy 
and one at the age of nine 3-ears. At present 



494 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



(1892) four are living, uamel^y: Hannah, the wife 
of Norman Boone, of Cuba Township, Allegany 
County, N. Y.; Levi, a resident of Winona, Minn.; 
Stephen, our subject; and Mary, the widow of Syl- 
vester Fay, and a resident of Cuba, N. Y. At the 
time of the death of his father, our subject, who 
was the eleventh child in order of birth, was still 
quite young, and when ten years old he was taken 
into the home of his uncle, Charles Case, with 
whom he remained until he was twenty-two. His 
schooling, which was limited, was received in the 
district schools of his native place and was early 
brought to a close by the necessity of self support. 

For four years IMr. Case worked upon a farm, 
his wages being $12 per mouth. In 1850 he re- 
moved to Cattaraugus County, N. Y., and with 
the earnings of the four years previous, he bought 
a farm of seventy-five acres and at once com- 
menced its cultivation. During the same year, 
1850, he was married to Miss Sarah, the daughter 
of Thomas and Mary (Taylor) Harris, natives of 
England. Mr. Harris came to New York when 
nineteen years old, and his wife emigrated to 
America when eleven years of age. They were 
married in the Empire State, and became the par- 
ents of eleven children, all of whom grew to man- 
hood and womanhood. Mrs. Case was born in 
Monroe County, N. Y., March 19, 1828, and was 
reared in Cattaraugus County, whither she removed 
when six years old. 

For five years Mr. Case remained upon his farm 
in Cattaraugus County, whence in 1855 he removed 
to Michigan and located on section 13, Watson 
Township, Allegan County. The eighty-acre farm 
which he here purcliased was covered with a dense 
forest growth, and the first labor attem|)led by 
him was the cutting down of some timber and the 
utilizing of it in the erection of a log house, 16x24 
feet in dimensions, and a log stable for the shelter 
of his oxen. Until 1865 he used oxen in cultiva- 
ting his place, but at that time he sold them and 
bought a team of horses. In 1870 he purchased 
the place where he now resides, and where he and 
his wife have established a pleasant home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Case are the parents of four chil- 
dren, viz: Mary E., who was born in New York 
in 1851, is the wife of James Fenner, and resides 



with her husband and their child on section 24, 
Watson Township; Ardell S., whose birth occurred 
in New York in 1853, married William Shepard,of 
Martin Township; Ella A., who was born in AVat- 
son Township in 1856, is the wife of William 
Hooper, of Gun Plain Township, Allegan County, 
and has four daughters: Pearl, Delia, Clara and 
Tlieda; Julia P., who was born in Watson Town- 
ship in 1858, is the wife of Delvan Hooper, of 
jMartin Township. Mr. Case has retired from active 
agricultural labor and rents his eighty-acre farm. 
He is a firm Republican, and at present is serving 
as Justice of the Peace, Highway Commissioner, 
and Health Officer of Watson Township, and has 
just been elected Supervisor of his town. 



-^3. 



-^} 



^-f^[ 



ACKSON BAKER. Tliis honored gentleman, 
who makes his home on section 3, is tlie 
oldest pioneer in Hopkins Township, Alle- 
gan County. His father, Harvey N. Baker, 
was a native of Massachusetts, his birth occurring 
in May, 1803. His father, Esick Baker, was a soldier 
in the War of 1812. The maiden name of the 
mother of our subject was Catherine Shufelt; she 
was a native of the Mohawk Valley, N. Y., and of 
Dutch descent. 

The parents of our subject were married in the 
East and there made their home until coming to 
Michigan, 111 1836. They stopped for a short time 
in East Plain Township and in 1839 came to Hop- 
kins Township, and, locating on section 28, were 
the third family to settle here. They found their 
way to their new home by the aid of the blazed 
trees, as there were no roads laid out. His father's 
original purchase of land consisted of eighty acres, 
but after clearing and cultivating this, he added 
to it eighty acres and at the time of his decease 
had a very productive farm. Although the mem- 
bers of the family were often supplied with wild 
meats, they suffered much from being deprived of 
many of the necessities of life and some times had 
nothing to eat but potatoes and milk. Mr. Baker 
had to go to Otsego or Allegan in order to get his 
grain converted into flour. He died February 4, 
1869, and his wife passed away the following year, 




RE5IDENCL UF JACK30N BAKER, SEC. 3, HOPK i (Jo TR.ALLEGAM CO., MICH 



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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



4^, 



April 18. Mr. Baker helped to organize Hopkins 
Townsliip and was always active in loc-al affairs. 
Before the war lie was a Democrat, but later voted 
the Repuhlican ticket. 

Our sul)jecl had thirteen lirotliers and sisters, all 
of wlioni grew to maturity and eight of whom are 
living. He was born March 16, 1829, in Canada. 
When seven years old, his parents came to I\Iichigan 
and when old encnigli to go to school he attended 
the first school ever organized in Hopkins Town- 
siiil). He remained at home until reaching his ma- 
jority, assisting liis father in clearing the lionie- 
stead. At tiiat time lie went to work in the woods 
and in clearing farms for otlier [leople. He was 
thus engaged for two years when lie located on a 
tract of his own. 

November 10, 1854, our subject and Miss Emma 
C., daughter of Cliester .and Lavina (Sperry) 
Adams, were united in marriage. Her parents were 
married in New York, of wliicli State the fatiier 
was a native, while her mother was born in Con- 
necticut. (Jrandfather Adams wasa soldier in the 
Revolutionary War. Chester Adams, after spend- 
ing a few years in Indiana, came to Michigan and 
located in Branch County when there were only 
three families in the township. Both parents died 
in 1847 after having reared a family of nine chil- 
dren, seven of whom are now living. Mrs. Baker 
was born August 21, 1833, in New York, and w.as 
fourti'en years of age when her parents died. 

Our subject was married in Hillsdale County, 
this State, and located upon the eighty acres of 
wild land which he had purchased. He now owns 
one hundred acres, almost all of which is cleared 
and under cultivation. He has resided upon his 
present farm for thirty-eight long years and is the 
oldest living pioneer in Hopkins Township. A | 
view of his cozy home, with the attractive rural 
surroundings, is presented on another page. 

Our subject and his wife have been granted a 
family of six children, five of whom are living: 
Clinton R. married Zelma Bear and resides in Hop- 
kins Townslii|). J. Rosiiia. who is the wife of 
(ieorge Kilgore, resides in Kalamazoo County. and 
has four children. Truman F. married HIaiichc 
Nichols; they make their home in this township; 
their family includes two children. Belle L. is the 



■wife of Silas Hilhert, is llic inuili.T nl' two cliihbcn 
.Mild also makes her home in this township, as does 
.loiiii M. who married .Maude E. Finch, by whom 
he hiis become the father of one child. The eldest 
child of our subject, Mary E., died in ()ctolK;r, 
1885. She was born February 7, 18.55, and was the 
wife of Albert T. JIudget. At her death she left 
three children: .lacksoii A., Rosa Belle and Carl S. 
Jlr. Baker carries on general farming, havinghis 
place well stocked with good grades of horses and 
cattle. Mrs. Baker is a member of tlie Christian 
Church and with her husband belongs to the 
Orange. Our subject has been a school ollicer of 
his district for the past twenty years. He has been 
Constable of his township and extremely active in 
every good work. In politics, he is a Republican, 
and with two brothers, Mih) and Edwin, served in 
the Civil War. 



\ll^^ EXKV ( . li.VRDEN. Togivetlie sketcli of 
'^ j) the life history- of a prfuninent agriculturist 




is a pleasant task, and we are pleased to 
have so good a subject as he whose name 
aiipears at the head of this iiaragraph — the propri- 
etor of the West View Fruit Farm of eighty acres, 
on section 8, Casco Township, Allegan County. 
His tract is un<ler excellent cultivation, thirty 
acres being in fruit. 

Mr. Barden is a native of the Wolverine State, 
having been born in Kalamazoo County. April 10. 
1845. He is a son of Riciiard and Elizabeth Banlen, 
for a further notice of whom the reader is referred 
to the sketch of .1. K. Harden, elsewhere in this 
volume. His early 3'ears were passed on the farm 
and at the age of nine he accompanied his parents 
on their removal to Allegan County, where the 
family of live made their home in a board cabin, 
twelve feet square. That rude dwelling soon gave 
wav to a more comfortable abode whic-h the father 
constructed. There our subject grew to manhood 
and attended the coiniiion schools, walking three 
miles during the .severe winter months to the house 
of learning. 

Henry C. Barden engaged to work out by the 



498 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



mouth after attaining liis twenty-seeonci ^^ear, and 
when not thus employed was busy improving his 
own land, which had been given him by his father 
and which consisted of eighty acres. He was mar- 
ried, November 18, 1869, to Miss Flora R, daugh- 
ter of Nathaniel and Marietta (Atwood) Munger, 
born March 15, 1850. Mrs. Bardeu's mother died 
when she was only three years of age; she is the 
only member living of a family of three, the other 
two children dying in infancy. Her parents were 
natives of New York and pioneers of Casco Town- 
ship, Allegan County. After the death of her 
mother, Mrs. Bardeu's father was married to Julia 
A. Russell, and by that union became the parent 
of three children, one of whom died in infancy. 
Clara is the wife of Louis Shumway, of Georgia, 
and ^lary is the wife of Arthur McDowell. 

After his marriage, the original of this sketch 
located on his farm, and with his characteristic en- 
ergy soon placed his eighty acres under excellent 
improvement. He has erected good and sulistan- 
tial buildings on his place, a view of whicli adorns 
another page. As a fruit-grower he is one of the 
most succesf ul in Allegan County. He is a great 
lover of horses and has on his place some beautiful 
and valuable animals. 

The union of our subject and his wife has been 
blessed by the birth of a son and daughter: Charles 
M. was born November 29, 1870, and Eva H., Jan- 
uary 1.3, 1873. In politics, he is non-partisan, re- 
serving the right to vote for the man whom he 
tliinks will best All the office, regardless of party. 
As a citizen of tiiorough integrity, enterprise and 
intelligence, Mr. Barden is highly prized in Allegan 
Countv. 









^I^OBERT CAMPBELL. Among the prominent 
llUir and prosperous farmers of Allegan County, 



Irf 

di 'Ji we name the subject of this sketch, who is 
located on section 8, Allegan Township. He 
was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., May 13, 
1815, to James and Jane (Armstrong) Campbell, 
natives of Mar3iand and Ireland, respectively. The 
father, of Scotch descent, was a large farmer in 
Pennsylvania, where he died. He held the office 



of Treasurer of Ligonier, Westmoreland County, 
Pa., a number of years. Politically, he was a Demo- 
crat and religiously, a Presbyterian and an Elder in 
the church. Mr. and Mrs. James Campbell were 
the parents of seven children, their son Robert be- 
ing the only one now living. 

Robert Campliell was reared on the farm to ag- 
ricultural pursuits and was united in marriage, in 
1843, to Miss Sarah J. Sands, a native of Pennsyl- 
vania and a daughter of James and Margaret 
(Pioctor) Sands, also natives of the Keystone State. 
The father was by trade a boot and shoemaker. 
They had a family of three children, two now 
living: Mrs. Campbell and Margaret (Mrs. Nordike). 
Six years after the marriage of our subject, he 
journeyed to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where he 
remained seven years engaged in farming. He then 
went to Trenton, Livingston County. Mo., and 
after remaining there two 3'ears came to Allegan 
Countv, Mich., and kept the Allegan House a short 
time. The lumber business then attracted the eye 
of our subject and he went to Heath Township, 
this count3',and engaged in that business one year. 
He then came to the place where he now resides, 
having purchased it five }'ears previously-. It was 
all heavil}- timbered and notiiing on the place but 
a small shanty, where he and his familj' lived for 
five years. He then built his jjresent fine residence, 
which is a model home in every respect. On this 
place he carries on mixed farming and stock-raising, 
keeping fine Jersey cattle and imported horses of 
the Norman, Clydesdale and the Cleveland Bay 
grades. 

Mr. Campbell served efficiently as Justice of the 
Peace of his township two years and was one of 
the Board of Review three years; Peach Commis- 
sioner five years and was on the School Board for a 
number of years. In politics lie is a stanch Demo- 
crat. Mr. Campbell has had seven children, six 
sons and one daughter, all having passed from this 
earth but one son, Sylvester C.,who is married to 
Emily Hall, and is the father of four daughters: 
Elizabeth, Dora, Margaret, and Emily. l\Irs. Camp- 
bell died in 1885. S. C. Campbell took for his 
second wife, in November, 1888, Miss Jennie Tink- 
ler, of Hastings, Mich. Miss Margaret Campbell, 
daughter of our subject, married Dartiny Church, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



499 



October 27, 1869. She passed from tliis earth 
June 24, 1878. She left one daujrhter, litliel Milfhed, 
who was five years old when her mother died. She 
was adopted by her grandparents and now resides 
witli llieni and bears their name. 

He of whom we write has a tract of land con- 
sisting of one hundred and ninety acres. Kighty- 
three are on section 8, on which he lives, and one 
hund ed and seven are in Pine Plains 'ruwnsliip; 
the latter he rents out. 



•yt^t-w W > h . 



]I^ONAl,l) CAMPBELL HENDERSON, of 
I J) Allegan, was born March 20, 182(;, in 
^^^' Thurso, Caithness County, Scotland, and 
is a journalist by profession. His parents, 
.James and Isjibella (Campbell) Henderson, were 
natives of Scotland, and were related to some of 
tlie most respectable families of Caithness, among 
wh(mi were the Campbells, Sinclairs and Mclvers. 
His fatlier received a superior education, being 
designed for the law. When a youth he w:is private 
secretary to Sir .lolin Sinclair, the admirer and 
correspondent of (ieorge Washington, and the 
cousin of the renowned British oHicer, Col. James 
Sinclair. 

In 1834 James Henderson emigrated to .\merica, 
and was emi)loyed in Hamilton, Canada, and 
Rochester, N. Y., in the construction of mills. He 
settled in Detroit in 1835, and removed from 
there to .\llegan in 1838, assisting in the construc- 
tion of the first flour mill erected here. Subse- 
quently he engaged in agricultural pursuit-s. and 
was ideniilied with farming interests the remain- 
der of his life. He possessed a line literary taste, 
and evince(l a studious interest in ever^- branch of 
intellectual in<iuiry, especially in works of a 
mathematical character. He died at his son's resi- 
dence, in Allegan, Septemlier 3. 187.5, at the 
advanced age of eighty years. His wife, a lady 
who was highly esteemed b^- all who knew her, 
died in Trowbridge. May 1, 1872. 

There were live children in the family of James 
and Isaliella Henderson, namely: Alexander, now 
deceased, formerly .Sheriff of Allegan County for 
two terms; Donald C., the subject of this sketch; 



James D., Assistant Quartermaster, U. S. Volunteers 
in tlie late war; Mr.s. Elizabeth S. Nichols, of 
.\llegan, and Mrs. Anne B. Clubb, wife of Rev. 
Henry S. Clubb, of Pliiladelphia. Pa., formerly of 
Grand Haven, Mich. When his |)arents removed 
to Allegan, their son, Don.ald C, was left in Detroit 
to attend the select school of Wa.shington A. 
Bacon, where he had for schoolmates some who 
afterward became the first men of Detroit. While 
pursuing his studies in that school, he was clerk in 
the theological bookstore of A. MeFarren, where 
the library of the Young Jlen's .StK'iet^' was kept. 
There he enjoyed every advantage for the culti- 
vation of his mind .and the gratification of his 
literary t.aste. His youthful readings embraced 
history, ancient and modern worlcs of travel, the 
standard English classics, theolog}' and all books 
of literary merit. 

When fifteen years of .age, our subject went to 
Allegan, and was placed by his parents in the 
village academy, where he completed his studies 
under the tuitum of the late E. B. Bassett. He 
early f(.)rmed a strong attachment for the standard 
authorities in English literature. In 1H42, through 
the inlhienceof his father, he obtained a situation 
in the old Allegan Record printing ollice, where he 
learned the art of typography. It was while con- 
nected with that paper that his first literary efforts 
weie laid before the public through its columns, 
and some of the articles of the boy -editor were 
not wanting in marked literary merit. 

In 1 845 the publisher of the Paw Paw Free Press, 
John McKinney, afterward State Treasurer, gave 
our young journalist the position of foreman of 
that ollice. In that connection he made all the 
literary and news selections, but the mechanical 
work being too arduous, he abamloned the printing 
business at the age of nineteen and resumed the 
position of book-seller's clerk in Detroit, where he 
remained until 1847. He proceeded thence to 
New York with the inU>ntion of engaging in 
MelropolitJin journalism. There lie formed the 
.ac(piaintance tif Horace Greeley, by whom he w.as 
given the po.sition of private secretary. He was 
advanced by that eminent journalist to the position 
of reporter and .a.ssociate editor of the New York 
rrihiiiw, which lie held from 1847 to 185.'), when 



500 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ho became one of the political .writers on the New- 
York Herald iu 1855, the time that paper boomed 
Gen. John C. Fremont for the Presidential nomi- 
nation in 1856. 

During his long connection, Mr. Henderson 
enjoyed the entire conBdence of its founder and 
distinguished editor-iu-chief, the lamented Horace 
Greeley, b^' whom he was promoted step by step 
to a leading position in the management of the 
Tribune, a position second only to that occupied 
by Charles A. Dana, now of the New York Sun. 
Returning to Michigan in 1856, on April 3, Mr. 
Henderson founded the Allegan Journal, with 
whose editorial management and publication he 
has been connected ever since, now nearly thirtj'- 
six years. The whole of this time the Journal has 
occupied a foremost place in Michigan journalism. 
Entering upon newspaper work in 1845, Mr. Hen- 
derson is, without question, one of the oldest and 
most experienced journalists in the Northwest. 
In his literary association he has been very fortun- 
ate, haying enjoyed the esteem of many of the 
most distinguished journalists and litterati of his 
time. Among tiie prominent public men whom he 
has known and seen are such personages as Abi'aliam 
Lincoln, William H. Seward, Heniy Clay, Alex H. 
Stephens, Robert Toombs, Stephen A. Douglas, 
.Jefferson Davis, Lewis Cass, Daniel Webstei', Kufus 
Choate, .John C. Fremont, Gen. Sam Houston, .John 
P. Hale, Thurlow Weed, Louis Kossuth, Charles 
Sumner, .James G. Birney, William L. Uarrison, J. 
R. Lowell and John Van Buren. 

With all the interest Mr. Henderson has taken 
in politics, he has never held any official positions, 
except a few of an honorar3' character, such as 
Coroner of Allegan County, President of Allegan 
Village, Compiler of the Legislative Manual for a 
number of years. Commissioner of the State Road 
from Allegan to Travei'se City, Secretary of the 
Census JNIarshals of New York City (under Hon. 
E. W. Leavenworth, Secretary of State of New 
York in 1855). lie was appointed by President 
Harris(m, in 1890, Census Supervisor for the 
Fourth Census District of Michigan, under R. P. 
Porter, General Superintendent of the United States 
Census, Washington, D. C. 

At the opening of the war in 1861, Mr. Hender- 



son was an officer of the Michigan Legislature and 
proceeded to Washington after the inauguration 
of President Lincoln, to witness the initial scenes 
of the War of the Rebellion and to render what 
service he could to the Union cause as a scout, for 
which he has received recognition by the military 
authorities. He subsequentlj' returned to his home 
in Michigan, engaged in recruiting, helping to 
organize several companies in Western Michigan, 
in the early stages of the war. He then enlisted 
as a private soldier in the Third Michigan Cavalry, 
and served on the staff of several Union generals. 
He was present in 1865 at the surrender of two 
rebel armies, that of Gen. Richard Taylor, at 
Mobile, Ala., and the forces of Gen. E. Kirby Smith, 
at Shreveport, La. Mr. Henderson was a delegate 
to the Republican National Convention of 1860 
and has attended nearly alt the Republican State 
and National Conventions from 1856 to the present 
time, except during the war. 

On March 18, 1876, upon the Allegan JournaVs 
entrance on its twentieth volume, it appeared in a 
large double-sheet number. Every article in that 
issue was original. Letters of congratulation were 
received by j\[r. Henderson for the newspaper 
enterprise evinced on this occasion from President 
Grant, Acting Vice-President T. W. Ferr_y, Secre- 
tary Chandler, Gov. Bagley, Schuyler Colfax, 
George William Curtis, Gov. Croswell, and a large 
number of militaiy, literary and political men 
throughout the Union. 

F. T. Ward, a newspaper man of experience and 
ability, is associated with Mr. Henderson in the 
publication of the Allegan Journal. The wife of 
Mr. Henderson's junior partner, 5L-s. Kate E. 
Ward, a lady of refinement and fine literary 
attainments, and an entertaining writer, has charge 
of the society and literary departments of the 
paper. The Journal has ever been held in the 
highest repute on account of Mr. Henderson's fine 
record as a journalist, his extensive acquaintance 
with the prominent public men of all parties 
throughout the Union, and his familiarity with 
the political histoiy of the country. A favorable 
notice from the Journal was never known to 
injure tiie political aspirations of anyone. On the 
contrary-, the good opinions of its presiding genius 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



501 



are always in order by tlie ri^iiiiir men of the State, 
wlio consult that Western oracle of the press with 
a confidence akin to that accorded of old to the 
oracles of (I recce and Home in the pre-newspaper- 
ial era. 

Mr. Henderson was one of the founders of the 
He[)ul)iicau party, and wlien the late Hon. .lacob 
M. Howard, of Micliii;:an, wrote to Horace (Jreelc}' 
as to a suitable name for the new political organiz- 
ation, he was consulted in reference to tiie matter. 
Previous to the organization of the Republican 
party, Mr. Henderson was a Free-soil, Anti-slavery 
Whig. Few men now connected with the press 
possess a more extensive knowledge of United 
•States English after the style of Horace Greeley 
and Tliurlow Weed, or a happit'r method of ex- 
l)ressing their views therein, through the columns 
of a newspaper, than the subject of our biography, 
who enjoyed the esteem of those eminent journal- 
ists when they were in life. He is indebted to 
them for many valuable suggestions in regard to 
news|)aper writing and management. Probably 
no editor in the State has warmer friends. Even 
his most bitter political antagonists admire his 
steadfast devotion to iirinciple and the honorable 
opposition which he uniforml}' evinces when deal- 
ing with political foes. lUit few editors have 
enjoyed a larger measure of success in the field of 
journalism or won a brighter record therein. 



EPHRAIM .S. ALLEN, the present efflcient 
Justice of the Peace of Hopkins Townshii), 
has a fine farm on section 1, Allegan 
County. His father and mother were Sheldon and 
Eliza (Wylie) Allen, natives of New York, born 
.June 3, 1804, and August 2, 1804, respectively. 
They moved to Lake County, Ohio, in 1810, and 
settled on a wild farm, which the}' cleared and cul- 
tivated. The good wife and mother died May 
17, 1854, and the father in 1878. 

Our subject is one of three children and was 
l)orn September 29, 1833, in Rome Township, 
Oneida County, N. Y. He was brought up on a 
farm and received a good district-school education. 



growing to manhood in Ohio. He remaine<l under 
the parental roof until attaining his majority, 
when he was married, January 1, 1855, to Nancy 
J. liarnes, a daughter of Timothy and Ruth (T.ay- 
lor) Barnes, natives of Connecticut and New York, 
respectively, the father being a lumberman. Ho 
was captain of a militia company and moved first 
to Pennsylvania and then to Ohio, in 1838, and 
settled in Geauga Count}' on a farm, and built a 
gristTuill, which he operated. Later in life he re- 
tired from active labor. His wife died in 1850 
and he in 1875, at the age of ninety-three 3-ears. 

IMrs. Allen was born Jul}- 27, 1834, in Chautau- 
qua Count}-, N. Y., and received a fair education. 
She has taught school some, and has a wonderfully 
fine talent in oil painting. She has been painting 
continuously for one year, and has some very line 
specimens now in her home. Slie has taken first 
premiums at county fairs. After marriage our suli- 
ject lived in Lake County, Ohio, until 18G2, when 
he came to Michigan and settled on his present 
farm. Here forty acres constituted their farm, thirty 
of which were under cultivation. Mr. and ,Mrs. 
Allen are the parents of three children, two living: 
Eliza Ruth Allen, wife of T. B. Rose, of Moline, 
who has one child; and (ieorge T., who is single 
and lives at home. Delwin married Vena O. Can- 
dee, and had two children; he died April 3, 188;». 
He hiid been telegraiih operator and agent on the 
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad about seven 
3'ears. He was a popular man with a bright future. 

Mr. Allen has given his children the best educa- 
tional advantages within his power and is greatly 
interested in such maters. He and his wife arc mem- 
bers of the Methodist Eiiiscopal Church, in the 
Sunday-school of which Mi-s. Allen has been a 
teacher. He h.as served as Steward, Clerk and 
Trustee, also Teacher and Superintendent of the 
Sunday-school. He has held many olBces in his 
school district and is at present Director. Socially, 
he is a member of the Independent Order of 
Odil Fellows, and is Noble Gi-and of Wayland 
Lodge. He is connected with the Masonic order 
and is a M.-jster M.ason, and ha* also l>elonged 
to the Patrons of Industry, and been a member of 
the Union League. He traveled for seventeen 
years, selling agricultural implements and sewing 



502 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



machiues. In politics, he is a straight Republican 
and is serving his second term as Justice of the 
Peace; he is also a Notary Public, and he and his 
wife are strong temiicrance people and held in the 
highest respect in the conimunit}'. 



^^=m>^^<m 



-j- 



'^ OIIN BAKER. We are pleased to be able to 
give in our list of the best citizens of Gun 
Plain Township, Allegan County, a sketch 
of Mr. Baker, who is one of the })ioueers of 
the county. He was born in Cayuga County, N. 
Y., October 15, 182,i,and is the sou of Conrad and 
Precilla (Slack) Baker, the father a native of Penn- 
sylvania and of German descent, while the moth- 
er^ native home was New York. 

The father of our subject w.as a farmer by calling 
and removed to New York when a young man, 
where he followed the above-uamed occupation, 
and where he passed his last days. Our subject is 
the only living member of their large family of 
children. He was reared on the farm and given 
very limited advantages for a schooling. .Tohn 
Baker came to this State as early as 1847, when in 
his twenty-second year, and made a purchase of 
eighty acres of land in Otsego Township, Allegan 
County. Ilis tract, when it came into his posses- 
sion, w.as in its primitive st.ate, but by working 
hard and diligently, he cleared off the timber and 
brought it to a good state of cultivation. Wild 
animals and game of .all kinds were plentiful when 
our subject came here, and Indians were very nu- 
merous. The settlers were very few and far be- 
tween, and but little indication was given of the 
thriving towns and beautiful farms that would 
soon be scattered throughout the county. 

July 29, 1848, our subject was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Eveline Holt, a native of Monroe 
County, N. Y. Mrs. Baker was the daughter of 
.lames and Thankful (Coon) Holt, both of whom 
were natives of the Empire State, and died wlien 
their daughter w.as quite young. Three of their 
five children are still living. To Mr. and Mrs. 
B.aker have been granted five children: Charles, 
who is married, and makes his home in Otsego 
Township; Er.ances, who is the wife of Montreville 



Good, of Saugatnck, Allegan County; Mary (Mrs. 
Henry Waite), who makes lier home in Gun Plain 
Township; George, who is married, and lives in 
Otsego Township, Allegan County, and William, 
also married, and who farms on the old homestead. 
They have all been given good educations, and 
Mary has been a school teacher. 

In politics, Mr. Baker votes independently, thus 
casting his vote for the best man, regardless of 
party. His farm comprises three hundred and 
sixty .acres of land on section 18, Gun Plain 
Township, where, in addition to raising cereals, he 
makes a specialty of merino sheep, having some 
valuable anim.als. Our subject is a truly self-made 
man, .as he started in life for himself without a 
doll.ar in his pocket, and is to-day one of the well- 
to-do f.armers of Allegan County. On first com- 
ing to the county he worked out at 110 per month, 
and, when having saved 1100, made a payment on 
his present farm. He remembers distinctly hav- 
ing cut wood for twenty-five cents per cord .and 
then paying seventy-five cents per bushel for corn. 
Mr. Baker is one of the very earliest settlers of 
Gun Plain Township and can relate many an in- 
teresting tale of pioneer hardships and privations. 



"\f [ OHN HUNT, who cleared a fine farm from 
the primeval forests of Martin Township, 
and still retains a portion of it in his pos- 
session, may well be denominated a pio- 
neer of Allegan County, although many years had 
elapsed since the first settlement had been made 
within its borders, when he came here to Iniild up 
a home. He has, during the period of his resi- 
dence here, thoroughly identified himself with the 
best interests of the community, and has been .ac- 
tive in political, religious and educational matters. 
Forty and more years have come and gone since 
he sought a home here, and the months in their 
flight have brought him an ever-incre.asing popu- 
larity among his fellow-citizens. 

.lames Hunt, the grandfather of our subject, 
was born in New .Tersey, of English parentage, and 
was identified with the Society of Friends. 
Among his cliildreu w.as James, Jr., who w.as born 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



503 



in Washington County, N. Y., and was reared to 
farming pursuits. He married Elizabctli Cooper, 
a native of Ireland, who came to America in 17!)6, 
when slic was six years old. After tlie marrijige 
of James Hunt, Jr., and Elizabeth Cooper, wliicli 
important event occurred in Washington County, 
N. Y., they located in the Km|)iro State, on a farm. 
Nine children were born to them, four sons and 
Ave daughter, five of whom are now living, our 
subject being the tliird in order of birth. Tiie 
parents are botii deceased, the mother dying in 
Rensselaer County, N. Y., and tiie father, in Wash- 
ington County, the same State. 

A native of New York, John Hunt was born in 
Madison County, JLay 20, 1814, and early in life 
accompanied iiis parents to Washington County, 
where he grew to manhood. In 18.33 he was 
married to Eliza F. Cory, who was born in Massa- 
chusetts, February 8, 1816, and the year following 
his union, removed to ^'ermont, where he settled 
in Arlington Township, Bennington County, and 
remained on a farm there for ten years. After- 
ward he made his home for five years in AVhite 
Creek Township, Washington County, and thence 
removed in 1850 to [Michigan, coming direct to 
Martin Township, Allegan Count}-, and locating 
where he now resides. At that time the place was 
heavily timbered, and deer and other wild animals 
were plentiful, while the countrj- gave few indi- 
cations of its present high civilization. 

Immediately after his arrival here, Mr. Hunt 
erected a log house, into which he moved his fam- 
ily. The succeeding years were devoted to the 
improvement of his place, of which he sold por- 
tions at various times, until he now holds only 
fort}' acres. He was reared in the belief of the 
principles adoiitcd b}^ the Whigs, and is now a 
stanch Republican. His first vote was cast for 
Henry Clay, in 1836, and he has never been ab- 
sent from an election since. He w:vs Highway 
Commissioner nine 3'ears, and has served as Jus- 
tice of the Peace for eight years. There has never 
been a law suit since he was elected to the last- 
named position, as he has settled all his cases with- 
out an appeal to the law. 

In educational measures, Mr. Hunt h.as been es- 
pecially interested, and was School Director for 



many yeare. When the first .scIk^oI was taught 
here, he boarded the teacher at his home, and paid 
half the .salary. He and his famil}' arc membei-s 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Martin, to 
the su|)port of wliich he has always been a gener- 
ous contributor. The parents of Mrs. Hunt, Au- 
gustus and Sarah I). ( Wrightington) Cory, were 
natives respectively of Khodc Island and Massa- 
chusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt hail a family of 
nine children: Joseph, Charles, Sarah, and William 
arc decea.sed; Harriet is the wife of James Henry, 
of New Brunswick; Hannah, married George W. 
Shcllman, of Kalamazoo; Ella has for eight years 
been matron of the Kalamazoo Asylum; Emma, 
was united to G. W. Gregg, and lives in Kansas; 
John resides in Owosso. 



r^ 



■ i n» 



PIIRAIM BROWNELL. This gentleman is 
the owner of one hundred and thirty-five 

acres of finely cultivated land on section 6, 

Allegan Townshi[), Allegan County, where he car- 
ries on mixed farming and stock-raising. He has 
erected fine buildings up<m his place, and has 
lirouglit it from a vast wilderness to what it is t^i- 
day. He has also been quite instrumental in the 
prosperity of the township and county, and h.as 
seen it converted from a wilderness to a nourish- 
ing and prosperous county. 

The original of this sketch was l)orn April 4, 
1817, to Ephraim and Sarah (Hicks) Brownell, his 
birthplace being Oneida County, N. Y. The 
father was a farmer and wa-s also engaged in lioat- 
iiig staves, etc., to Albany on the old Erie Canal. 
He came to Michigan with his family in 1838, and 
settled on the farm which our subject now owns, 
and with his help they cut the road to .Vllegaii 
Village. He at tirst lived in a rude log house, but 
soon erected a giKid substantial residence with 
Itarns and outbuildings, and continued to live 
here until his death, in 1863. His wife died some 
vears liefore him, in 18.')8. He was one of the 
prominent men of this county, and was a Demo- 
ci-at lu i)olitics. He and his wife were consistent 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Chui-ch, and 
to them were liorn nine children, five of whom 



504 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



survive: John; our subject; Amy, Mrs. Melvin 
Hogmire; Elizabeth, Mrs. William Rich; Sophroiiia, 
Mrs. John Rowley. 

Our subject received his education in Monroe 
Countv, N. Y., and was reared a farmer's boy, 
remaining with his parents until their death. He 
was married, January 6, 184.j, to Miss Eveline 
Tanner, of Monterey Township, this county. She 
is a daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Kenyon) 
Tanner, who came to Michigan in an early day 
and settled in Monterey Township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Brownell have had five children 
born to them, all but one of whom are living: 
Lelia, who married Dixon O. Chronester, and is 
the mother of four children: Ada; Dora, now 
deceased ; C'hleo and Leon; Ella, Mrs. George Bar- 
num, who is the mother of one child, Edith; Alton 
took to wife Lizzie Shumaker, and their home has 
been blessed by the birth of two children, Harry 
and Lena; and Alice, who is still at home. The 
last-named is a twin of Alton. Our subject has 
been Assessor of No. 5 School District for twelve 
years, and has held various other oflices of the 
township. He has also engaged in lumbering 
since coming to Michigan. He is a Democrat in 
his political views. He lielongs to the Grange, and 
is one of the stockholders of the Allegan Co- 
operative store, of Allegan, and has taken an active 
interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of 
both township and county-. He is a very gener- 
ous man, and can never look upon suffering with- 
out lending his help. He and his family are highly 
respected by all of their man}' acquaintances and 
friends. 



r 



♦^•l-ss* 



\ 



!)HOMAS PATTERSON. The beautiful es- 
tate of two hundred and forty acres on 
'^^^J section 27, Martin Township, is universally 
conceded to be one of the finest farms of Allegan 
Count}-. There Mr. Patterson is engaged in busi- 
ness as a general farmer and stock-raiser, making 
a specialty of merino sheep, of which he has one 
hundred head. In that department of farm work, 
he has been veiy successful, and now averages 



eight pounds of wool per sheep each year, one 
large sheep, of two hundred and ten pounds' 
weight, yielding twenty-flve pounds. The life of 
Mr. Patterson affords another splendid illustiation 
of the results of indefatigable labor, for when he 
arrived in Martin Township his moneyed capital 
consisted of $4, and his present enviable position 
has been obtained solel}' through his unaided 
efforts. 

Thomas Patterson, Sr., grandfather of our subject, 
was a native of Scotland, where he worked as a 
ship-builder and contractor until his death, at the 
age of seventy years. His wife, who was known 
in maidenhood as Agnes Shirrie, was a native of 
the same place as himself, and survived to the 
great ago of one hundred. On the maternal side, 
Grandmother Margaret Ferric lived to be one 
hundred years and five daj's old, so that on both 
sides, our subject belongs to a long-lived family. 
The parents of our subject were Thomas and Mar- 
garet (Alexander) Patterson, natives, respectively, 
of Barney Parish and Old Monkland, Lanarkshire, 
Scotland. For twenty-four 3 ears after their mar- 
riage, they remained in Blairtumock, and later 
sojourned in Milcroft for one year. They next 
rented a farm in Lanarkshire, which they made 
their home for five years. 

After residing one year in Glasgow, the parents of 
our subject emigrated to America in 1855, coming 
direct to Martin Township, Allegan Countv, and 
locating where our subject now resides. At that 
comparatively earl}' day, no im])rovements had 
been made in this section of the country, and no 
roads had been opened. The father built a board 
shant}', 26x18 feet, and continued to cultivate the 
farm until he died, at the age of eighty. The 
mother passed from earth when seventy-nine years 
old. They were the parents of nine children, all 
of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, 
namely : Margaret, Thomas, William, Agnes, Robert, 
Christiana, George, Andrew and Charles. 

The second in order of birth in the family is 
the subject of this biographical notice, who was 
born in Old Monkland, Lanarkshire, Scotland, Jan- 
uary 17, 1832. He received his schooling in his 
native place, and in the meantime assisted his 
father on the farm. He came to Michigan one 




1 

II 



^£.^. 




Cm,^^^^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



507 



year after his parents emigrated liither, and most 
of the improvements whicli liave been placed on 
the old homestead are the result of his arduous 
exertions. So long as his parents lived, he took 
the most devoted care of them, and they lacked 
for nothinij which affection and tender solicitude 
could suppl}'. In political matters, he has always 
been a firm Republican, and h.as served as Path- 
master, and in other olHccs of local imporkmce. 
He contributes liberally' to the support of the 
I'nited Presbyterian Church, of which he is an 
active member. 



€#i#^l|-^"l^ll^^ 



2^ 



So-^ — \ 

^P:0RGE E. JEWEIT. The fine farm of 
-, two hundred acres on section 8, Allegan 
'A, Townslni), Allegan Count}', was the prop- 
erty of the late Mr. .Jewett, whose portrait will be 
noticed on the opposite page. He was born in 
J.incoln County, Me., December 20, 182H, the son 
of Nathaniel and Alice (Erskine) Jewett, natives of 
tlie same i)lace as himself. Nathaniel was engaged 
in agricultural pui'suits and in milling, and [tassed 
his entire life in Maine. lie reared a family of 
five children: Nathaniel; our subject; Laura (Mrs. 
Hopkins); Sarah A. (Mrs. Hopkins); .John A. He 
was an old-line Whig, fought in the War of 1812, 
and was one of the prominent men of his countj-. 
His father, James, married Lydia Hilton, tlie^- be- 
coming the parents of five children. 

The original of this sketch remained under the 
parental roof until sixteen years old, and after- 
ward engaged in the lumber business in Maine, 
until he came to Michigan in 18-18. He first as- 
sisted in erecting a sawmill at the mouth of the 
Kalamazoo River, in Allegan Count}', and then 
worked in the same until 1853, when he purchased 
what is now the old homestead. The fii-st purchase 
was of tliree hundred and twenty acres of solid 
timl>er, of which he cleared ninety acres in eight 
months' time, and on that place he soon erected a 
eomf<u-tal)le and attractive residence. He carried 
on mixed farming, raising grain, fruit, cattle, and 
horses. 

In 1855, Mr. Jewett was married to Miss Con- 
stance A. Bingham, of Allegan County. Mrs. 
23 A 



Jewett is the daughter of Elijah and Caroline 15. 
(Huck) I5ingham, who were natives of New Hamp- 
shire and \'crmont respectively. Her father was 
engaged in the mercantile business and came West 
in 183G, settling in Allegan, Mich., and was the 
first Registrar of Deeds and County Clerk of Alle- 
gan. He also held the otlice of Notary Public un- 
der three different governors of Michigan, and 
was a very prominent and ellicient man in those 
days, as well as a scholar of broad information. 
Later in life he went to Buffalo, N. Y., where he 
died very suddenly-. The mother died in Allegan 
in August, 1837. He and his worthy wife were 
the parents of eight children, two now living: 
Mi-s. E. Wilder, of Allegan, and Mi-s. Jewett. The 
last-named was a teacher before her marriage and 
is a lady of culture and refinement. 

51r. and Mrs. Jewett had a family of four chil- 
dren: Karl B., who married Gr.ace E. Tomlinson, and 
is the father of three children: Harry E., Helen W., 
and Max B.; Alice E.; Von G., who married Miss 
Antoinette Sullivan, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, wliere 
he resides, and George H. Our subject gave all his 
children fine school advantiiges, and the family 
moves in the best social circles of the county. 

Our subject was President of the Farmers' Mut- 
ual Insurance Company, for Allegan and Ottawa 
Counties, and Adjuster for the same for many 
years prior to his decease. He acted as Direc- 
tor of the Allegan County Co-Operative Asso- 
ciation, for fifteen yeai-s, and Chairman of the 
Exe< utive Committee. He was connected with the 
Patrons of Husbandry in various ways, taking 
their products and shipping them, and assisting 
them in bettering their condition. In politics, he 
was a member of the Prohibition party. 

Mr. Jewett was recognized as one of the most 
enterprising farmers in his county, his fine resi- 
dence, with beautiful surroundings, sul)stantial and 
commodious barns and outbuildings, displaying 
his good Uiste and his knowledge of what is neces- 
sary to carry on a good farm. His house is ele- 
gantly furnished throughout and has all modern 
improvements. His fine library, the Iwautiful 
pictures on tlie walls, many of them the work of 
his daughter, and the bric-a-brac all give evi- 
dence of refined and cultured Uistes. In that lovely 



508 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 



home it was the delight of Mr. Jewett to entertain 
his many friends. 

On the 9th of March Mr. Jewett was taken seri- 
ousl.y ill with that terrible disease, pneumonia. 
All that professional skill and kind nursing could 
do was done to save him to his wife and familj^, 
but an all-wise Providence had otherwise decreed, 
and on March 22, 1892, surrounded by his devoted 
wife and affectionate children, feeling that life's 
work was done, he "wrapped the drapery of his 
couch around him and lay down to pleasant 
dreams," meeting the destroyer with that fortitude 
which had characterized him in all the trials com- 
ing to him in the course of an active life. He 
will ever be remembered with affection, not cnlj' 
by his immediate friends, but by all who knew 
him. His life was a success, not only financially, 
but the world is better for his having lived. 



1-^+^1^ 



&~ 



S) 



\fj OHN VAN RHEE, has met with more than 
ordinary success in prosecuting his calling 
^^^ as a farmer, and since casting in his lot with 
(^^ the pioneers of Overisel Township, Allegan 
County, almost a half-century ago, he has accumu- 
lated a valu.able property, and is now classed 
among the well-to-do agriculturists of this section 
of Michigan. He owns one hundred and twenty 
acres of land in this county, where he and his ex- 
cellent wife are enjoying the fruits of their united 
labors, in the comforts of a substantial home on 
section 3. 

A native of Holland, Mr. Van Rhee was born, 
November 6, 1817. He is the son of John Van 
Rhee, also a native of Holland, in which country 
he followed the occupation of a farmer. The el- 
der Mr. "\'au Rhee was married to Miss Hermina 
Bunker, a native of Holland, liaving been born 
May 6, 1782. Mrs. Van Rhee was a daughter of 
Garrit Bunkei-, and was very much esteemed by 
all her acquaintances. The parental family inclu- 
ded two sons and one daughter, of whom our sub- 
ject was second in order of birth. 

In 1847, Mr. Van Rhee decided to make his 
home in the New World, and setting sail from 
Rotterdam on the vessel "Harvest," after a voy- 



age of thirty-five days, landed in Baltimore. He 
came .at once to Ottawa County, and located one 
hundred and fifty acres of land, upon which he 
lived for six months, and, in 1848, made Overisel 
Township iiis home, in which i)lace he was one of 
the earliest pioneers, and well remembers the pri- 
vations and hardships which it w.as necessary for 
him to endure in order to bring his farm to the 
fine condition in which we find it at the present 
time. 

Mr. Van Rhee was married in Holland, previous 
to his migration to the United States, the lady of 
his choice being Miss Ladlaur, and to them have 
come a family of three children, namely: Minnie, 
Rolfe and John. Our subject combines with his 
calling as a farmer the trade of a carpenter, which 
he learned in his native land. Mr. and ]\Irs. Van 
Rhee are deservedly held in high estimation by 
the entire community, as they are among its best 
people. Their warm hearts, kind manners and 
many thoughtful, generous deeds, have gained for 
them the respect and friemlship of their neigh- 
bors, who feel that they can look to them for help 
in times of trouble and suffering. 

Our subject and his family are devoted members 
of the Holland Dutch Church, and their every-daj' 
conduct is guided by its precepts. In politics, 
he is, and alwa^'S has been, a stanch Republican. 



'jfjOHN BROWNELL, one of the pioneers of 
I Allegan Countj', and a prominent and pros- 
^^ I perous resident of Allegan Township, is a 
*^^fJ successful farmer on section 6, where he 
carries on mixed farming and stock-raising. He 
was born in Trenton Township, Oneida County, 
N. Y., Februar}^ 20, 1813, but when nine j-ears old 
his father removed his family to Monroe County, 
N. Y., where oursulijeet was educated. His father 
was Ephraim and his mother Sarah (Hicks) Brown- 
ell, natives of Rhode Island. For a more complete 
sketch of the parents, see the biography of Flphraim 
Brownell, Jr., on another page of the Recoud. 

Our subject remained in Monroe County until 
twenty-six years old, when he did boating on the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPII'CAL RECORD. 



509 



Erie Canal five years. lie came to Micliigan in 
1837, and settled on one hundred and forty acres 
covered with timi)er, ereeted a log house and 
eleare<l his farm. He now lives in a spacious 
liouse which is furnisiied witli all the modern con- 
veniences of to-day. lie lielped for seventeen days 
to cut a road through to Allegan Village, and there 
was then only one house between his pl.ice and 
Allegan, and some ten or twelve shanties in the 
village. He has been active and willing to help 
build the roads, churches, schoolhouses, etc., in his 
ti)wnshi|). 

Mr. Hrownell was married to Miss Lovina Sad- 
ler, who bore him six children, namely: Charles I{.; 
Martha I), and Amanda, deceased; Henry, AVilliam 
and Eva. The good wife and mother passed from 
this earth in 187.3, mourned by all her family. Our 
suliject was again married, April 1,1874, to Elizalieth 
Howe, of Monterey' Center and the daughter of 
Alonzo Howe. Our subject is a Republican in poli- 
tics; ho served as I'athmaster thirt}' years and also 
School Director and Moderator. He is one of the 
stock-holders of the Allegan Co-Operativc Store, 
of Allegan. He is a Christian gentleman, although 
not connected with any church, and has always 
done what he could to relieve suffering and dis- 
tress. He raises on his farm of twent}- acres fine 
stock of all kinds and takes especial pride in sheep 
and swine. 






y~ ILLIAIM A. BLISS. The gentleman whose 
life record we are al)out to give is a pros- 
l)crous farmer, making his home on section 
1.^, Allegan Township, Allegan County. He is a 
native of Rochester, Monroe County, Js. Y., where 
he w.as Imrn September 17, 1828, to the Hev. Will- 
iam C. II. and Lucy (Petty) liliss. The parents were 
natives of Charleston. N. H., and Avon, N. Y.. on 
the (ienesce River, respectively-. The father w.os a 
preaciier in the Methodist Episcopal Church, who 
commenced to preach when nineteen years old, and 
folldwcd the same calling until a good old age.dying 
when eighty -eight yeais old. The following is what 
the Stale Neivs of Detroit says of his death: "There is 
probably no other Mason in Jlichigan who has Ije- 



longed to the order as long as Father Bliss, of Alle- 
gan, who has just died. He joined the Masons 
more than si.Kty years ago, and his loyalty to the 
fraternity was only equaled by his love for .Meth- 
odism. He is said to have married half the older 
people in his vicarage, and preaciied as many fun- 
eral sermons. He spent sixty-nine years of his 
eighty-eight in the |)ulpit, entering the ministrv at 
nineteen, while living at Rochester, N. Y." 

Our subject came to Allegan in 1836, when 
Michigan was considered the frontier, and spent 
his life laboring in Kalamazoo, Cass and Allegan 
Counties. He was a man of a thousand, and the 
world would bo better off with a million like him. 
The la-st public act of his life w.as a prayer offered 
at the laying of the corner-stone of the Allegan 
Courthouse, when he was eighty-seven \-cars old. 
He was live teetten inches in height, and wa-s loved 
and respected bj- all. He was the father of five 
sons, our subject l)eing the only one now living. 
Henry E. and Edward T. lived to years of matur- 
ity. 

The good wife and mother lived with this father 
in Israel sixty-three years, and they were indeed 
equally yoked. She aided and stayed up his hands 
through all his labors. The latch-string of her 
humble home was always out to friend or stranger, 
none were so poor but in her the^' found a friend. 
She and her worthy husband were co-laborers dur- 
ing that transition period from the wilderness to 
smiling fields and broad farms. They are kindly 
remembered by thousands in the various counties 
where they labored. That they lived, the world is 
better; tlieir dying left a void that can hardly be 
filled. We are glad to be the mediums of perpetu- 
ating such lives as theirs, .and by this biography- to 
embalm them in the historical literature of the 
countrv, extending their intluencc on down to the 
latest generation. 

The grandparents of our subject were TlKim.as 
and Priscilla (Howe) Bliss, of Salem and Andover, 
M.ass., respectively. Thomas was a cabinet-maker, 
and came to Michigan in 183t), and settled in Alle- 
gan, where he followed his trade. He lived here 
until his death, which occurred in 1838. His fa- 
ther was Thomas T., of Massiidiusctts. who was a 
soldier in the Revolutionary War. and held the 



510 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



position of Captain. lie was granted by Congress 
a tract of three square miles in the central part of 
New York State. His remote ancestors were French 
people, who went to England in 1066, and it is 
thought others came to America about 1600. 

Our subject received his education at Albion, 
Mich., in the Methodist College. He has been en- 
gaged in the real-estate business, and opened up 
his present farm on wiiieh he now lives in 1857. 
It is one of the finest places on the Monterey road, 
consisting of one hundred and twenty acres. His 
large house stands in the center of a square acre of 
land, and has beautiful adornments about it. He 
here carries on general farming with great success, 
and has always taken an active interest in all that 
pertains to the growth and welfare of the town- 
ship and county. In politics, he is a stalwart Dem- 
ocrat, and is often called upon to take charge of 
funerals, going many times ten miles from home. 

He of whom we write was married, December 4, 
1851, to Miss Rhoda M. Wetmore, the daughter of 
Chester and JNIary AVetmore. They became the 
parents of two sons: William II., who is a merchant 
at Battle Creek, married Alice M. Ilurenden, and 
is the father of two children, Roy T. and Rhoda 
M. Wetmore H. is the last born. The good wife 
and mother passed from this life April 19, 1887. 
She was an excellent lady, and was loved and hon- 
ored by all. She did very fine needle work, and 
took great pride in it. On the 26th of December, 
1892, our subject was again married, this time to 
Miss Martha E. Fawsler, daughter of Moses and 
Elizabeth E. (Kronk) Fawsler, residents of Allegan 
Township. 



■» I t i" p^ 



■^ ^ ^' '<^r ' V ' 



W 



' AMES K. BARDP:N, a representative farmer, 
stock-raiser and fruit-grower, living on sec- 
tion 8, Casco Township, Allegan County, 
was born July 15,1849,in Kalamazoo County, 
this State. He is the son of Richard and Elizabeth 
Barden, natives of Ontario County, N. Y., and 
Yates County, N. Y., respeclively. The father was 
reared on a farm and received a good education, 
graduating from a college at Penn Yan, N. Y. He 
then tauglit school for several years, after which 



he directed his attention strictly to farming. His 
father was a soldier in the War of 1812, and lost 
his life in that conflict when Richard was a 
mere lad. 

In 1838, Richard Barden and his wile came to 
Kalamazoo County, this State, and located on two 
hundred acres of land within a few miles from 
where the city now stands. The land was in a 
wild and unimproved state when he took it, but 
he lived to see it all improved and under cultiva- 
tion. In 1855 he came with his family to Allegan 
Count3', buying four hundred and forty acres of 
unbroken laud, for which he paid $5.25 per acre. 
Of this he cleared and improved two hundred and 
forty acres, a portion of which is where our sub- 
ject now lives. 1 1 

Richard Barden was married, at the age of thirtj'- ' 
four years, to Elizabeth Kinney, a native of New 
York State, and a daughter of Peter and Mary 
(Presler) Kinney, the parents being natives of Ire- 
land. Our subject is one of five children born to 
this couple: Henry, James K., Olive, deceased (who 
was the wife of Frank Wood), and two who died 
in infancy. AVhen the father came to this town- 
ship, he found but few roads here, and had to cut 
his way to his land. Politically, he was a Whig in 
early life, but on the formation of the Republican 
party, went with that party. He was often called 
upon to hold different olHces in the township, such 
as Supervisor, Treasurer, Clerk, Justice of the 
Peace, etc. 

Our subject remained under the parental roof 
until the death of his father, which occurred in 
1891, and at the age of eighteen took charge of a 
farm. He received only a common-school educa- 
tion in Casco Township, having to walk three and 
one-quarter miles to the schoolhouse. In 1882, he 
was married to Sarah J. Hadawaj', a daughter of 
Samuel and Elizabeth Hadaway, whose sketch ap- 
pears elsewhere in this work. The union of Mr. 
and Mrs. harden has been blessed with one son, 
Flo^'d, who is a student at school. Our subject and 
his wife are worthy members of the United Breth- 
ren Church. He is a Prohibitionist, and a great 
worker in the temperance cause. He is now the 
possessor of a beautiful farm of one hundred and 
thirty-two acres, most of which is under the plow. 




RESIDENCE OF W . S. KEN Fl LLO ,5EC. l^i., HOPKING lP,ALLFGAiJ CC/i.liCn, 




^^^S^i:^^S^;^i^2s^^^^®S§^^^»:^5fi^^^^*^:J^ 



^'A'r/^gMl 








SOUTH- VIEW- FRUIT-AND STOCK FARM ." RES. OF JAMES K. BARDEN , 5tC.8,CA5C0 TR. ALLEGAN CO. 

MICHIGAN. 



11 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPIIiCAL RECORD. 



513 



and twenty acres of tlic tract are planted in small 
fruits. lie is a breeder of tine stock, and the pos- 
sessor of some of the best grades of Ilambletonian 
stallions in Western Blicliiijan. 

On another page will be uoticcil a view of the 
pleasant liarden liomestead. 




I^ILLIAM S. KKNFIELD is residing on sec- 
\\\a//' tion 12, Hopkins Township, Allegan 
J^' County. He is the son of Eraslus Ken- 
lield, a farmer of Massachusetts, where his birth 
occurred in 1801. His grandfather, Erastus Ken- 
lield, was a soldier in the Revolutionary AVar, and 
died when eighty-three years old. The great- 
grandfather of our subject was born in Ireland. 

The mother of our subject was Clarissa, daughter 
of .Samuel and Sallie Piper, her father having been 
a soldier in the Revolutionary War. A native of 
Connecticut, her birth occurred in 1806. She was 
married in the Bay State and resided there a few 
veai-s, when, with her husband, she came to Medina 
County, Ohio. Tliere they cleared up a farm and 
made their home until their death, the father dying 
in 1882 and the mother in 1887. They had become 
the parents of nine children who grew tomaturitv, 
eight of whom are now living. Two sons served 
in the Civil War, Henry being a member of Com- 
pany .\, Twelfth Oiiio Infantry, .and Lucius of Com- 
pnny H. Second Ohio Cavalry. The former was 
killed in the battle of Chattanooga. Mr. and Mrs. 
Piper were members of the Presbyterian Church, in 
which body they were active workers. In politics, 
the father was first a Whig and later a Kepubliean. 
lie served his fellow-townsmen as Townshiji 
Trustee. 

William S. Kenfield was born March 28, 1831, in 
Hampshire County, Mass., and was three j-ears of 
age when his parents moved to Ohio. There he 
grew to manhood on his father's farm, and was 
given a fair education in the schools of the neigh- 
iKjrhood. He came to Michigan in 1855, anrl for 
three j-eai-s was employed in working for other 
parties in Allegan County. 

July 3, 1858, Miss Sarah A., daughter of Jona- 



than O. and Sally (Congdon) Round, became tiie 
wife of our subject. Her parents were natives of 
Vermont, where the father's birth occurred October 
10, 1809, and the mother's July 4, 1810. The 
grandparents of IMi-s. Kenfield were Oziel and 
Annie (Olin) Round. 'Hie Round family origi- 
nated from three brothers who emigrated from 
Wales at an early day. Annie (Olin) Round wa.s 
a descendant of Chief Justice Theophilus Harring- 
ton, of A'erniont. The great-grandparents of our 
subject were Oeorge and Martha (Hopkins) Round, 
Mrs Round being a sister of Stephen Hopkins, one 
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 
George Round w:is a soldier in the Revolutionary 
War. 

The parents of Mrs. Kenfield were married in 
Rutland County, Vt., in 1830, came to Michi- 
gan in May 1834, and located temporarily in Corn- 
stock Tt)wnsliip, Kalamazoo Countv, where they 
constructed a log house and floated it down the 
Kalamazoo River to its destination. In 1837 the^' 
pernianentl}' located in Hopkins Township, then 
called Otsego Township, making their home on the 
northwest quarter of section 2(5. They were the first 
white settlers in the township.and the father had to 
cut a road for five miles from his bouse, so dense 
was the wilderness. His nearest neighbor was five 
miles distant, but Indians and wild animals were 
plentiful. The family numbered four children, of 
whom the youngest, Oziel Hopkins Round, was 
the first to die in the township, and U>r that rea- 
son this township was givdi its name. The father 
lived for fifty-three years in Hopkins Township, 
and for ten years before his death was totally l)lind. 
He had cleared one hundred and twenty-five acres 
of land, erected good buildings thereon, and a few 
^•ears before his death had retired from active work 
of any kind. Four of his family of nine children 
are now living. One son, Ruel J., was a soldier 
in Company II, Fourth Vermont Infantry, was 
wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness, and was 
taken prisoner and confined first in Libby and 
later in Andersonville Prisons. N'ery sikui after 
his exchange, he dic<l. and was liuried near (iolds- 
l)oro, N. C. 

Jonathan Rounds wjus a very prominent man 
and helped to orL!.inize Hopkins Township, of 



514 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 



which he was made the first Supervisor. He later 
filled the same position in 1855-56, and from 1872 
to 1875. He was also Township Clerk, and voted 
the Democratic ticket. Mrs. Kenfield was born 
November 5, 1838, and was the first white child 
born in Hopkins Township. She was given a good 
common school education, and is a very intelligent 
lady. After her marriage with our subject, they 
located on eighty acres of unimproved land, and 
are now successfully engaged in general farming 
and dairying. They have resided on their present 
farm for tlie past thirty-tliree years, and a view of 
their comfortable home appears in another page. 
One diughter has been gi-anted them, Carrie A., 
now Mrs. G. M. Gaylor, who resides in Otsego 
Township, Allegan County. She has one son, 
Elmer R., who is seven years of age. 

In politics, William S. KenSeld is a Republican, 
and has been Overseer of Highways. He is verj' 
popular among his fellow-townsmen, who have 
kept him in office for the past ten or twelve years. 



^>^^<i 



-j- 




iEORGE REDPATH. Located in the midst 
of a fine farming country, it is not strange 
that the village of Martin has developed 
extensive grain interests and sends large shipments 
of cereals to the important commercial centres. 
Mr. Redpath is here engaged in buying stock, grain 
and produce, and has a mill and elevator, as well 
as a large warehouse for storing grain. Together 
with his partner, P. D. Campbell, he has worked 
up the most extensive grain business in the county, 
buying and shipping large quantities and not only 
increasing his personal gains but enliancing the 
importance of Martin as well. 

Mr. Redpath is a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, 
and was born April 20, 1836. His father, John, 
was a native of England, his earlj"^ home having 
been on the border of Scotland and England, and 
he was reared to farming operations. The mother 
of our subject was likewise born in the "Land of 
the Thistle" and was known in maidenhood as 
Janet Purvis. In 1837 the parents emigrated to 
Petersborough, Canada, and after sojourning there 
for three years, removed from thence to Caledonia, 



Livingston County, N. Y., which was their home 
for twelve years. Thence they removed to Mich- 
igan, coming directly to Allegan Count}' and set- 
tling on section 19, Martin Township. The farm 
which they here purchased w.as gradually improved 
and remained their home until their death, the 
father dying when fifty-six years old and the 
mother when seventy -seven years old. 

A prominent man in Allegan Countj- during its 
early history, John Redi)ath was a stanch adher- 
ent of the Democratic party and served his fellow- 
citizens in various official positions, among them 
that of Justice of the Peace, School Director and 
other minor offices. He and his wife were the 
parents of six children, all of whom grew to ma- 
turity. Elizabeth and James are now deceased; 
Mary is the wife of John Gray, and resides in 
Minnesota; George, our subject, is the next in 
order of birth; Margaret is the wife of Archie 
Mathews, whose sketch is presented in another 
portion of this volume; Jane is the wife of P. D. 
Campbell, the partner of our subject. 

The earliest recollections of our subject are not 
of the land of his birth, but of Canada, whither 
he was brought by his parents when one year old. 
He was still a mere child when he removed 
with them to New York and his schooling was be- 
gun and finished in Caledonia, that State. When 
fifteen, he came to Allegan Count}' and after his 
father's death, when he was twenty-one years old, 
he took charge of the farm, which he operated 
until 1890. Since he has resided in Martin, the 
farm has been in charge of his son George. He 
was married February 13, 1865, to Helen Fox, 
whose native home was eight miles east of Roches- 
ter, N. Y., and the date of her birth April 18, 1834. 
Mrs. Redpath is one of two children born to 
Lewman and Mary (Sparks) Fox, both natives of 
Massachusetts. Her sister Mary is the wife of 
Porter Delamater of Minneapolis. Mr. Fox died 
when seventy-five years old, but the mother still 
survives and makes her home with our subject. 

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Redpath has been 
blest bj- the birth of three children: George, who 
married I^izzie McVean and resides on the old 
homestead; James and Anna, who are still at 
home. In connection with agriculture, Mr. Red- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ai9 



path formerly' en jiMtjed in biiyina: stock and run- 
ning a thresliing machine on his farm of one hun- 
dred and six acres. Politically, he is a Democrat, 
and has held various school olfices, besides serving 
as Postmaster for four yeai-s. lie is prominent as 
aMason and in religious convictions is a member 
of the Presbyterian Church. 



^OSIAll K. HARDING, who resides on a farm 
in Wayland Townshi]). Allegan County, 
came to Michigan in the early days, and 
has witnessed with pride and pleasure the 
rapid strides taken by this State from an unbroken 
wilderness to a country highly improved and 
dotted over witli large cities, thriving villages and 
highly cultivated farms. He was born in Oswego 
County, N. Y., October Ifi, 1826, a son of Solomon 
S. and Phila (Crissey) Harding. The father was 
a native of Connecticut, from which Slate he re- 
moved to New York at the age of twelve years 
and there followed the occupation of a farmer. 
The mother of our subject died when he was only 
six months old, and he has but little record of the 
family, l)Ut believes her to have been a native of 
IrehiTid. When eleven years old he had the mis- 
fortune to lose his father, and was therefore 
obliged to look out for himself. 

Mr. Harding had the advantages of a comraon- 
scliool education, which he improved to tlie best 
of his ability. At the earlvage of sixteen, he took 
possession of an eighty-acre farm in New York 
Slate, wliieh his father had left him, and began its 
cultivation and improvement. Here he remained 
industriously at work until twenty-three years old, 
when, in tlie fall of IHH), he sold out and came to 
Michigan, locating in Martin Township, Allegan 
County. At that time the county was an almost 
unbroken wilderness, and he relates many stories 
of the hardships and trials of tlie pioneer life, one 
of the greatest of these being the lack of neigh- 
bors, his nearest, one by the name of Brunson, 
residing tliree and a half miles distant. 

Mr. Harding remained on this place only three 
01 four veal's, when he removed to Hopkins Town- 
ship, two years afterward going to liradley where 



he was engaged ill general merchandising for about 
ten years. Since that time, he has resided u|ion 
his present farm, which he has been busilj^ engaged 
in cultivating and improving. He has been mar- 
ried three times, his first marriage taking place, 
August 29, 1847, when he was united to Helen 
M. Wood, of Oswego County, N. Y. To them 
were born three children, two of whom are deceased ; 
those left are Cora E., Ernest B. and Florence I., the 
latter being married and living in Philadelphia. 
On the death of his lirst wife, Mr. Harding was 
married to Miss Hannah Oardner, by whom he had 
seven children: Irwin, Emma ,1., Ida Dell, Mina 
May, Trudie B., ^'ine and Myrtle G. Of these 
seven, Emma and Mina are deceased. The present 
Mrs. Harding was before her marriage Miss Mina 
Woodworlh, of Martin Township. They were mar- 
ried June 20, 1883, and she had two children: Iva 
May .and IMaigaret L., both deceased. 

Mr. Harding has always been identified with the 
farming interests of this county and is looked upon 
as one of its suhsiaiilial men. In polities, he is a 
Democrat and has held the oflice of Justice of tlie 
Peace for twelve years, and during Cleveland's 
administration was Postmaster of Bradley. He was 
also a Director of the school for a number of years. 
He formed}' belonged to Fen ton Lodge, A. F. <fe 
A. M., at Wayland, also to the Patrons of Indus- 
try and the Grange. 



-^1= 



c=Ir=. 






JOSEPH F. WHEATON, a resident of Way- 
land Township, Allegan Counly, is a son of 
Samuel and Amelia (Feiitou) Wlieaton. He 
,,_^ was born Jlay 30, 1829, in Steuben County, 
N. Y. His father was born and reared in New 
Jersey, and followed farming and carpentering. 
On the pateraal side, Mr. Wlieaton is descended 
from Irish stock, and on the maternal side his an- 
cestors were from Holland. Mrs. AVheaton was 
born in Yates County, N. Y., and passed her life 
in Ihat Slate, dying in November, 1835. The 
father died in September, 1878. Our subject was 
reared and educated in the district schools of his 
native county. He learned the trade of a carpenter 
and worked at it until isrio, when he came to this 



516 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



State. He then located in Gun Plain Township, 
Allegan Countj', Mich., but in December, 1861, he 
moved to Dorr Township, and one year later to 
the village of Wayland. In the fall of 1865, Mr. 
Wheaton located on the place wiiere he still resides, 
comprising two hundred and fifty-two acres, about 
two-thirds of which is finely improved. 

The gentleman of whom we write was drafted 
into the army in the late war. He enlisted in 
Company K, Sixteenth ^Michigan Infantry, in 1865, 
and was in the Army of the Potomac. He was not 
in any active service. The improvements upon 
the place of this gentleman are of the very best 
and have all been placed there by him. It is con- 
ducted mostly through hired help, he doing little 
himself except superintending it, which he does 
sagaciously' and prudently. He has been united 
in marriage four times, his first wife being Miss 
Hannah Tuttle. His second wife was Roxannia 
French, and after her death Louisa Lovejo}' 
became his wife. March 1, 1876, he w.as united 
to his present companion. Miss Florence C. 
Dot)', of AVatsoii Township, this county, and 
by this union has become the father of five 
children: Charlotte A., John S., Cora M., George 
A., and Charley K.,who is deceased. The three old- 
est children are receiving excellent educations, 
and are studying the art of music. Mr. Wheaton 
is a Democr.at, politically. By his marriage with 
Louisa Lovejoy he had one son, William Anson, 
who is supposed to have been killed by a wreck on 
the railroad near Toledo. 



E^ 




EIN BRINOIAN is probably one of the 
best known men in Allegan County, hav- 
ing been born in Laketown Township, Feb- 
ruary 3, 1852. He follows the occupa- 
tion of a blacksmith in Overisel, where he receives 
a flattering degree of patronage. He is the son of 
Hendrick J. Brinkman, who was born in Holland 
and emigrated to America, when a young man, 
coming directlj^ to Michigan and locating on 
eightj' acres of land in Laketown Township. 

Our subject's father was one of the pioneers of 
Allegan County, having come here in 1847. At 



that time, neighbors were but few and far between, 
and many were the discouragements which he suf- 
fered in improving his purchase. Mr. Brinkman 
met and married the mother of our subject, who 
bore the maiden name of Jane Boars, in Laketown 
Township. She was a native of Holland, and by 
her union with our subject became the mother of 
five children, three sons and two daughters. The 
father was very prominent in local affairs in his 
day and was honored with the oflice of Justice of 
the Peace, of which he was the incumbent for two 
terms. He and his wife are now living in retire- 
ment in the village of Overisel, where thej' afe 
enjoying the fruits of their early industry, and are 
surrounded bj- hosts of friends, who hope they 
maj- be spared many years. They are among the 
veiy few old settlers of this county who are living, 
and are greatly esteemed l)y all who know them, 
their circle of acquaintance being very wide in- 
deed. Both Mr. and Mrs. Brinkman are conscien- 
tious members of the Reformed Church. 

Mr. Brinkman, of this sketch, received a good 
education, and remained under the parental roof 
until he reached his eighteenth year, when he was 
apprenticed to learn the trade of a l)lacksmith, 
which calling he is so successfully prosecuting at 
the present time. He has made Overisel his home 
for the past nineteen jears, and hence is one of 
the oldest workmen in his line in the village. 

The original of this sketch was married in Over- 
isel, to Miss Mary Browers, the marriage being- 
solemnized September 8, 1882. Mrs. Brinkman is 
the daughter of Henry Browers, one of the old 
and prominent citizens of Overisel Township. He 
was greatlj' interested in all public affairs, and 
was a recipient of many offices of trust and respon- 
siblity within the gift of the people. He died in 
1888, and his amiable and excellent wife makes 
her home on the old homestead. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Brinkman have been granted a 
family of two children: Julia J. and Horace J. 
Mr. Brinkman owns considerable real estate in the 
village, his possessions numbering five acres. In 
politics, he is a Republican, having the greatest 
faith in the future of that party. He has been 
urged to accept political positions; he served as 
Constable for four terms. He, with his wife, who is 



1 







PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



519 



an intelligent and estimable lady, is a member of 
the Reformed Church. He is a constant worker, 
and is well known in the county as favorable to 
all "ood causes. 



11? EE UEUEL. The life of this gentlem.an. 
I (^ who is a prosperous merchant of Bradley, 
jlL^ furnishes a splendid illustration of what in- 
dustry and perseverance can accomplish in the way 
of building up a successful business from a small 
beginning. Mr. Deuel was born in Portage County, 
Ohio, February 27, 1840, and is a son of .Jonathan 
and Polly (.Tones) Deuel. His parents were both 
bom and reared near Saratoga Springs, N. Y., and 
his father was by occupation a farmer. They re- 
moved to Ohio about the year 1828, and located 
upon a farm where our subject spent the first 
twelve years of his life. He then went lo Kent, 
Ohio, and was engaged in business with his brother, 
Zebulon T. Deuel. He received his education at 
the district school, using to advantage all the op- 
portunities offered him for mental improvement. 

Mr. Deuel remained with his brother until about 
twenty years of age, and in 1861, came to Michi- 
gan, being variously employed for the next eight 
years. In 1869, he bought out the stock of gen- 
eral merchandise of Mr. Harding, at Bradley, Alle- 
gan Count}', in whose store he had been employed 
as a clerk, for two years previous. He went in 
debt for $4,600, having no money atall with which 
to pa^' for his purchase. It is an evidence of his 
abilitj- as a financier, and of his energy and indus- 
try, that he now has a flourishing business and a 
fine trade, some j-ears selling goods to the amount 
of *30,000. 

Mr. Deuel was married, December 31, 1867, to 
Sarah Andrews, of Watson Township, Allegan 
Count}', and of this union, four children were born. 
Two of these, Caroline Belle and Alice Maliehdied 
in infancy; those living are: W. Artiiur and Nor- 
ton G. Mrs. Deuel died, July 15, 188G, and was 
interred in the cemetery at Bradley, April 22, 181) 1 ; 
our snbject was again married, this time to Leona 
Bruce, of Albion, Noble County, Ind. 

In addition to general merchandising, Mr. Deuel 



is also carrying on a feed-mill and grain elevator 
at Shelbyville, and is interested in the lumber 
business at that place, spending his time between 
the two towns. He is a prominent and inlluential 
man in his vicinity, and does all in his power to 
aid in furthering the interests of the county. He 
is a charter member of Bradley Lodge, No. 2'.»G, 
A. F. A- A. ]M., of liradlcv. Midi.; he is also a mem- 
ber of De Witt Clinton Consistory, of Grand Uaj)- 
ids. He is likewise identified with the United 
Workmen and Knights of the Maccabees; has filled 
tlie offices of Clerk and Treasurer of the township 
in which he now resides. In connection with this 
biographical notice, the reader will be pleased to 
notice a portrait of Mr. Deuel. 

IJAMES ANDERSON. It is conceded tliat 
the prosperity of Allegan County lias been 
greatly promoted by its foreign-born citi- 
zens, who have aided in developing its re- 
sources and advancing its interests. In that class 
prominent mention belongs to Mr. Anderson, who 
was born in Ireland, in 1821, and who for nearly 
forty years has devoted his energies to tilling the 
soil in Allegan County. His father, Joseph, emi- 
grated from the Emerald Isle to America, in 18;'i0, 
and died in Rochester, N. Y., at tlie age of sixty- 
five years. His mother, Esther (Conner) Ander- 
son, was born and reared in Count}' Kildare, Ire- 
land, and died in Michigan when past her four- 
score years and ten. 

The parental family consisted of nine children, 
two of whom died in infancy, and five now survive. 
Our subject, who is the third son, was reared in 
County Dublin, and there remained until he was 
about thirty years old. In 1848, he emigrated to 
America, remaining six years in Rochester and 
coming thence, in 1854, to Watson Township, AIK"- 
gan County, where he purchased one hundred and 
thirty-nine acres on .section 1.'). I'pon the place 
which was wholly unimproved, he built a log house, 
18x24 feel, and continued to cultivate the soil un- 
til 1864, w1ien he bought the farm which he now 
owns. At that time, only ten acres hail been 
placed under cultivation, but through his efforts 



520 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRATHICAL RECORD. 



tliey have been finely improved, and now contain a 
fine set of farm buildings, among tUem an attractive 
residence, which was erected at a cost of ^i>l,500. 

The marriage of Mr. Anderson to Miss Bridget 
Crowley, a native of County Clare, Ireland, took 
place in Monroe County, N. Y., in 1850, and 
brought mutual happiness until the devoted wife 
was called hence, March 2, 1882, At her decease, 
she left six children, one son dying in infancy'. 
Mary Ann is the wife of John Maloney, of Watson 
Township; Ellen married John [Mart, and resides 
in Watson Township; .Josepli was united to Mary 
]\Iyron, and makes his home in the same township; 
James married Lizzie Maron, and lives in Wat- 
son Township; Jane makes her home in Monroe 
County, this State; Charles, who married Delia 
Kelly, resides with his father. 

At present, Mr. Anderson is not actively engaged 
in agricultural pursuits, although he superintends 
his farm of one hundred and seven acres. In the 
society of his children and grandchildren, of whom 
there are thirteen, he is quietly and happily pass- 
ing- the twilight of his life. He takes considerable 
interest in political affairs as a member of the Dem- 
ocratic party, and finds a religious home in the 
Catholic Church. He has held the various school 
offices and contributed to the material welfare of 
tlie community. 



H' 



■B 



gS C ■ ' 



\Tf OSEPH SMITH. The name of this gentle- 
man is a familiar one throughout Allegan 
County, where he is known as the owner of 
a farm on section 17, Pine Plains Township. 
In 1875, he located upon the estate which he still 
operates, and which comprises three hundred acres 
of good land. In connection with his agricultural 
pursuits, he manages a sawmill, and both as a 
farmer and miller his efforts have been successful. 
He is a man of marked energy, and his success is 
the more remarkable, when it is remembered that 
lie was m childhood deprived of the advantages of 
a good education, and was compelled to work his 
way unaided from an humble to a prosperous po- 
sition. 

The boyhood days of Mr. Smith were spent on a 



farm in Union County, Pa., where he was born in 
1835. His father, Jacob, was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, and, at the age of nineteen, married Eliza- 
beth, daughter of George W3'ant. They became 
the parents of nine children: Julia, John, Cath- 
erine, Aaron, Isaac, Maria, Joseph, Susan and Rob- 
ert. In 1857, the father, accompanied by his wife 
and children, emigrated West to Michigan, locat- 
ing near Bristol, St. Joseph County, and there 
operating as a farmer and miller until his death. 

Early in life, our subject was thrown upon his 
own resources and compelled to make his wa}' in 
the world unaided. He learned the trade of a car- 
penter when eighteen, and was engaged for several 
3'ears in that way. When ready to establish do- 
mestic ties, he was married to Rosana, daughter of 
John and Lydia Cline. After his marriage, he re- 
moved to St. Joseph County, this State, and re- 
mained upon a farm there until 1875, the year of 
his removal to his present place. By indefatigable 
energy and unremitting labor, he has gained pos- 
session of a splendid farm, and is known as one of 
the most successful farmers of Pine Plains Town- 
ship. 

In all his enterprises, Mr. Smith has received the 
devoted co-partnership of his estimable wife. She 
was one of seven children who were named Sam- 
uel, Polly, James, Joseph, Susan, Sophia and Re- 
becca. Her father, who was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, followed farming in that State during his 
entire life. Mr. and ]\Irs. Smith are the parents of 
seven children, namely: Elnora, wife of Samuel 
Emery; Emma, wife of John M. Mann; Elizabeth, 
now Mrs. Henry Emery; John and James, who 
make their homes in South Dakota, and Erank and 
Wiliiam A., who still remain at home. 



Si-J-S-^-l-b 



ORRIN GOODSPEED, one of the oldest and 
most resjtccted residents of Dorr Township, 
Allegan Countj', came to Michigan in 1845. 
He was born in the township of Mentor, Geauga 
County, Ohio, on the 6th of August, 1816, to Na- 
thaniel and Catherine (Miller) Goodspeed. Mr. 
and Mrs. Miller were both natives of Syracuse, 
N. Y., and Mr. Goodspeed followed farming and 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



521 



tanning .as liis life voc.ition. They .ire boHi now 
deceased. 

Our subject was reared on the farm m Ohio, and 
his advantages for an education were somewliat 
limited. lie came U> IMidiigan in 181;'), and lo- 
cated in Dorr Tovvn.ship, where he is the oldest liv- 
ing inhabitant. lie took up his land from the 
Government and his neai'est neiglil)or was live or 
six miles aw.a^-. One hundred and sixt}' acres con- 
stituted the first tr.act he took up, with an addi- 
tional seventy-one acres, and a forty a little fur- 
ther north. He erected a log cabin, into which he 
moved with his wife and family, and for something 
to protect the house against the storms of winter, 
he drove two stakes in the ground, placing a pole 
on them, and setting boards upright against Ihe 
pole. This served the purpose <iuite satisfactorily. 
On his coming to this State, he brought with him 
twelve head of cattle. Of course in the winter 
there was nothing for them to subsist on, and Mr. 
Goodspeed would cut down trees and the cattle 
would feed off the tops of them. Hy the next 
spring he iiad eighteen acres of land cleared and 
ready for the plow. Grand Hapids was the mar- 
ket to which all the settlers in tliis vicinity had to 
go, and Mr. Cioodspeed has made many a trip with 
his ox-team to that place to sell his produce, and 
bring other provisions home with him. There 
were no roads and it took two days to make the 
trip. 

Mr. Goodsi)ced and Jliss .Sarah Curtis were 
united in marriage March 9, 1837, the ceremony 
taking place in .Summit County, Ohio. Mrs. Good- 
speed was a native of Steuben Countj', N. Y., and 
became the mother of twelve children, whose rec- 
ord is .as follows: George N., born February 14, 
1838; Cyrus P:., September 20, 183!); Daniel V., 
April 27, 1842; William R, April 20. 1844; Charles 
L., June 21, 1846; Orrin A., March 30, 1848; Syl- 
via A., May 20, 18.')0; Catherine Jane, May 1, 
1852; Jolni W. W.. M.ay 24,1854; .Sallie M., May 
22, 185G; Phebe .\., February 22, 1859. The 
mother of this family passed to the other world. 
September 28. 1801. 

Mr. Goodspeed li.as always made farming his vo- 
cation, and is well known and iiighly respected 
throughout the township, lie was present at the 



first township meeting licid in Dorr Township, it 
then embracing botli Ibipkins and Watson Town- 
sliips. The first one in Dtirr Township, after the 
division of the three townships, was held at his 
house, and there were only thirteen voters. He has 
alwa3-s been a firm Democrat, and li.as been Super- 
visor of his township one term, Township Clerk 
and Highway Commissioner, which he held with 
great satisfaction to the peoi)le. 



^•{••{•4"!',^XJ)'^>'5''{''{**r 



-.{..{..j.^. s^^i? .5..i.^..5.r 



<^ l>>ILLIAM H. PAKMKLKK li.as a i)le.asant 
\^// ''"™'' "^^ section It, Hopkins Township, 
^^!^/ Allegan County. His parents were Alfred 
and Silvia (Kutty) Parinelee, natives of Con- 
necticut, and farmers by occupatif)n. After their 
marri.age they moved to Ohio, and located in Sum- 
mit County, where they were among the pioneers. 
They remained there for many years, and, when 
selling out, moved to Indiana, where tlicy located 
on a farm, and remained until the death of the 
father in 18K!. The mother then came to Mich- 
igan, where she i)assed away about twelve years 
ago. 

The parental family of our subject included 
eight children, only one of whom, K.dwin, besides 
our subject, is living. Mr. and ;Mrs. .\lfred Par- 
melee were members of the Congregational Church, 
and the father took an active part in politics, be- 
ing a Whig. William II. Parmclee w.as born Octo- 
ber 23, 1830. ill .Middlesex County, Conn. He 
was taken to Ohio when an infant, by his parents, 
and was there given a good education, and reared 
on a farm. When completing his studies in the 
common schools, Mr. Parmelee entered Western 
Reserve College, but was obliged to abandon his 
studies, when in his .Sophomore year, on account 
of ill health. He is a truly self-made man, having 
worked during the summer months to p.ay his way 
through school. He picked up and .^old chestnuts 
to pay for the fust lexicon lie ever owied. He 
taught school while prosecuting his studies. He 
later learned the carpenter's trade, which he fol- 
lowed a .short time, and in 1855 caine to Michigan. 

There were but two families Iwatt-d on the 
northwestern ((uarter of Hopkins Township at the 



522 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



time our subject came here, and his land was then 
in its primitive condition. lie cleared a portion 
of his farm, and then returned to Ohio. A twelve- 
month later, he came back to the new home and 
erected a shanty in which to establish his family. 
His tract consisted of one hundred and twentj' 
acres, to which he has since added, until he now 
has in his possession one hundred and sixty acres 
of land. 

In, 1857 Mr. Parmelee and Miss Clarissa Bissell 
were united in marriage. Mrs. Parmelee was the 
daughter of Blodget and Lucinda (Pardee) Bissell, 
the father a native of Massachusetts, and the mother 
of Connecticut. They settled on the Western 
Reserve in Ohio before the "War of 1812, where 
they were farmers. Mrs. Parmelee was born March 
27, 1831, in Ohio. Our subject has cleared one 
hundred acres of his estate, and placed it under ex- 
cellent cultivation. The log house in which the 
family lived for fifteen j'ears has given way to a 
pleasant dwelling. Ills large barn is 40x70 feet 
in dimensions, to which he has later added an 
eighteen-foot wing. His granary is 18x26 feet, 
hog house, 16x24, and his poultry house, 14x18 
feet. The latter is plastered, has a oement floor, 
and double windows. He also has a woodhouse, 
creamery, etc. The cattle in which he takes special 
pride are the Holstein. He also has Poland-China 
swine, and gives his attention exclusively to 
farming. 

Mr. and Mrs. Parmelee have five children, all of 
whom are living, with one exception. Howard E. 
is a merchant at Hilliard's Station, and married 
Marian M. Waterman; they have one child. Sil- 
via L. is the wife of Jfimes B. Stuch; Harmon B. 
married Laura Shields; and Mason E. is single. 
The parents are members of the Congregational 
Church at Hilliards, in which body Mr. Parmelee 
is Deacon and Trustee. He is also quite active in 
Sunday-school work, and is now Superintendent 
of the same. He has given his children excellent 
educational advantages, three of them having at- 
tended institutions of learning awa}' from home. 
Mason E. is a graduate of the Business College at 
Valparaiso, Ind. 

Our subject has taken an interest in school 
affairs, and has been on the Board for a number of 



years. He is opposed to secret societies, and votes 
the Republican ticket, although he favors prohibi- 
tion. He has been Township Clerk, School In- 
spector, and Supervisor of Hopkins Township. 
The Bissell family in America are descended from 
three brothers who crossed the Atlantic and 
settled in Massachusetts at an early day. The 
gran df ather was a soldier in the War of 1812. 



i i iii O J ' i ^ t j i ^ ( ^ 




RTHUR ANDERSON, of Allegan County, 
is one of the foremost farmers and stock- 
men of Martin Township, where he has an 
extensive and well-appointed farm, which 
he devotes to raising grain, and to breeding fine 
horses, cattle, sheep, etc. He is a native of Aber- 
deenshire, Scotland, November 22, 1838, being 
the date of his birth. He is descended from, one 
of the old Scottish families, and his father and 
grandfather, both of whom were named William 
Anderson, were natives of the same place where he 
was born. The father married Elizabeth Ann 
Murray, who was born in the same locality .as 
himself, and in 1852 they emigrated to this country. 
After landing on these shores, they came directly 
to Allegan County, and located on a farm in Gun 
Plain Township, where Mr. Anderson devoted 
himself to agricultural pursuits for many years, 
and did his share in developing the countv. His 
industry was well rewarded, and in 1874 he was 
enabled to retire from active business to a pleas- 
ant home in Martin village, where his remaining 
daj's were passed serenely until life's close, Novem- 
4, 1890. He was a true Christian gentleman, and 
a stanch defender of the faith of the church to 
w.hich he belonged, the United Presbyterian, he 
having been one of the leading members of the 
same. His wife had preceded him in death, dj'ing 
in 1861. Tliey were the parents of three children, 
of whom our subject is the eldest. The others are: 
William, a resident of Martin Township, and 
Annie, wife of Peter McArthar, who lives near 
Ogdensburg, N. Y. 

He of whom we write was thirteen years old 
when the familj' came to the United States, and 
the most important part of his life has been passed 



POltTliAir AND lilUGRAl'lIICAL RECORD. 



.-)2.? 



in Micliitf.in. lie remained an inmate of his 
fatlier'.s liome until he married in tiie spring of 
1865, and established one of his own. He lived 
with his l)ride on his father's place the ensuing 
3'ear, and in 1866 settled on his farm on section 
27, Martin Township. He liist hought two hun- 
dred acres of land on sections 27 and 3t; his next 
purchase was an eighty-acre tract, to which he has 
since added more land by furllicr purchase, and 
now he lias in all three iiundred and sixty-six acres 
of very fine fanning land lying on the two sections 
mentioned, all of which is improved but twelve acres 
of valuable timber. It is a iieauliful farm, with sub- 
stantial and commodious buildings, attractive sur- 
roundings, and all the conveniences for conducting 
agriculture after the best modern nictiiods. Mr. 
Anderson does a general farming Imsiness, and is 
very methodical in carrying it on, everything 
being done systematically and pr(>nii)lly, and even 
the minutest details looked after with care. He 
keeps a careful account of his stock, and he lias a 
record of the business that he has transacted eveiy 
day since he was twenty years old. 

Our subject had one hundred acres in wheat this 
year. and raised other crops in like proportion, all 
yielding him abundant harvest. He is particularly 
interested in tine stock, and is noted llnoughout 
the county for his blooded horses and cattle. He 
has one hundred acres of excellent iiasture land, 
and every facility for raising stock to the best 
advantage. He first began to handle iiigh graded 
Short-horn cattle in 1871, commencing on a small 
scale, and now has a valuable herd of tliirty or 
forty of that lu'eed. In 1878, he commenced 
shipping cattle, and has continued shipping ever 
since, sending a large lot to Manistee in 1889. He 
also raised fine blooded iiorses, and has a thorough- 
bred Clydesdale stallion, "Blythc Hen." Hissheep, 
of which he has about one hundred, are Jlerinos, 
and are line specimens of the breed. 

The marriage of Mr. Anderson and Miss Anna 
Robertson was solemnized March 8, 1865. Mi-s 
Anderson is also of Scottish birth and antecedcnt.s, 
her native pl.ace being in Perthshire, .Scotland, but, 
like her husband, she has passed the most of her 
life in this country, coming here when a child of 
seven years, and ever since has lived in Allegan 



County. Her marriage with our subject has been 
blessed to them by the birth of ten children, as 
follows: William, now deceased, and an infant 
un-named, deceased; .lohn C; .Jessie. I.; .lennicM.; 
Anna; Arthur .1.; George, deecjvsed; Mary E.; and 
Han-}' Clifford, all of whom are at home with 
their parents. 

As will be seen by the perusal of this sketch, 
our subject is one of the progressive men of his 
township, and has been an important f.actor, not 
only in raising the standard of stock bred here, 
and adding to its agricultural wealth, but he has 
played a responsible part in the management of 
civic affairs, often being called ujion l)v his fellow- 
citizens, who hold him in high estimation, to 
accept some position of public trust. He was a 
member of the County Board of Supervisors two 
years, has been Drain Commissioner, and has been 
Township Treasurer, besides Ijciiig School In- 
spector and holding other otlices at various times. 
In politics, he is a strong Republican, and is well 
informed as to the political issues of the d.ay. He 
is prominent in religious circles as an Elder of 
the United Presb3-terian Church at Martin, and he 
gave liberallv of his means toward its upbuilding. 



^^EORGE A. MOSHER. This gentleman, who 
III ^ — , since a bo^' has devoted almost his entire 
'^^Ij time to the practice of that "art preserva- 
tive of all arts," through whose influence civiliza- 
tion and the diffusion of knowledge has been made 
possible in all lands and in all tongues, has worked 
his way up from the compositor's case to llic 
editor's chair, which latter position he most alily 
fills. 

Mr. Mosher is a native of Allegan Countj' and 
was born in Wayland Township, February 1>, 1857. 
He is a son of Ambrose and Sarah (Condil) Mosher, 
his mother being a native of New York, who is 
still residing in the village of Wayland. The 
father, a native of the same State as his wife, and 
who was a lumberman bj- trade, died when our 
subject was but a year old. The latter had only 
the advantages of a common-school education, but 



524 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lie well improved these, and found a ready use for 
the knowledge so acquired when he decided to 
learn the trade of a printer, entering the employ 
of A. V. Hopkins, then editing the Wayland Neivs. 
Here he remained but one year, when, owing to 
the death of Mr. Hopkins, he was obliged to seek 
emplo.yment elsewhere, soon after going to Petos- 
key, Mich., where he worked on the Democrat for 
about two years and a half. 

At the expiration of this time, Mr. Mosher estab- 
lished the Petoske3' Record, which he conducted 
with success for six and a half years, but on ac- 
count of ill health felt that a change of climate 
was necessary, and accordingly removed to Colum- 
bia, Brown County, in what is now South Dakota. 
He then, in company with U. V. Thomas, estab- 
lished the Columbia Dispatch, wliich he carried on 
for a year, when he returned to his old home in 
this State, and on September 24, 1884, started the 
Wayland Olobe, which he has conducted with 
marked ability up to the present time. The paper 
is classed among the best in this county, is well and 
judiciously edited, and has a good circulation. Be- 
ing a practical printer himself, Mr. Mosher is com- 
petent to oversee all the details which go so far to 
make a paper attractive in its appearance, as well 
as interesting in its matter. 

In addition to his editorial duties, Mr. Mosher 
for two years filled the position of Township Clerk, 
and was also the Village Recorder for the same 
length of time. He was married, November 10, 
1878, to Miss Sarah Smith, of Petoskey, and they 
are the parents of two children: Carrie M. and 
Rollo G. Mr. Mosher is identified with the Re- 
puljliean party and has always been an active 
member, taking a great interest in political affairs 
and also in everything which is conducive to the 
progress and development of his native county and 
the welfare of his fellow-citizens. 



' . 4 C^ \ 



\M' 



BAMUEL FOX, who resides in Wayland 
Township, Allegan County, where he has 
) owned and operated a farm for the last 
" " quarter of a century, is a native of Ohio, 
being born in Beaver Township, Columbiana 



County, April 9, 1820. His parents, Jacob and 
Anna (Fox) Fox, were natives of Pennsylvania, 
but were reared in Ohio, where his father followed 
the occupation of a farmer. At that time country 
boys had but a poor opportunity for an education, 
as the settlers were few and far between, the schools 
were scarce and the course of study pursued very 
limited. In addition to this, our subject was the 
eldest of a family of ten children, and his boyhood 
days were spent principally in assisting his father 
in the manj' duties pertaining to farm life. 

In 1837, when eighteen years of age, Mr. Fox 
began learning the carpenter's trade five miles 
east of Salem, Ohio, and after mastering it sufti- 
cientlj', began working for himself, continuing in 
this occupation for twenty-seven years, remaining 
in his native State and working at various places 
at his trade until 1866. He then purchased a 
gristmill at Homeworth, in Columbiana County, 
that State, which he operated for five years. At 
the expiration of this time, he came to Michigan, 
locating in AVayland Township, Allegan Countj^, 
on a tract of eighty acres. It was all wild unim- 
proved land. He also purchased eighty acres, three 
miles east of his other place in the same township. 
These two pieces of land he has thoroughly im- 
proved, and as the result of much hard labor and 
careful management has brought to a high state of 
cultivation. 

The marriage of our subject occurred December 
17, 1843, when he was united to Catherine Fox, 
who departed this life February 14, 1846. He was 
afterward married, April 13, 1851, to Elizabeth 
(Bear) P'ox, who died June 27, 1858. He was 
united to his present wife, whose maiden name was 
Elizabeth Benner, January 26, 1860. She was the 
daughter of Michael Benner, her mother's maiden 
name being Elizabeth Purkey. Mrs. Fox is a na- 
tive of Knox Township, Columbiana County, Ohio. 
Bj' his first marriage our subjet became the father 
of two children: Solomon and Katie Ann. By the 
second marriage two children were born: Albertand 
Annis. Our subject and his wife are the parents 
of two children: Viola and Leotis. These chil- 
dren are both married and residing in homes of 
their own. 

Mr. Fox has retired from active labor turning 



yORTRiUT AND BIOHRAPHICAL RECORD. 



o2-) 



the work of the farm over to his yoiinp:cst son. He 
takes !io particular interest in politieal affairs, al- 
though he votes the Democratic ticket, and has 
never heen an oHice-holder since coniin<>^ to this 
State. lie and his wife are nienibei-s of the Meth- 
odist Protestant Church at Bradley, and are highly' 
esteemed by a larj^e circle of friends and acipiaint- 
ances. 



r^ 



J/OHN F. BEEBE. A faithful defender of 
the Union durinji the late war and an influ- 
ential farmer of Allegan County, located 
' on section 20, Watson Township. Mr. Beebe 

justly merits the confidence of his fellow-citizens. 
lie is a native of New York, and w.as born in 
Junius, Seneca County, May 16, 1818. His fa- 
ther, John Beebe. a native of Jlassachusetts, was 
a tanner and shoemaker by trade and died when 
forty-four j'ears old. His mother, Lydia A. 
(French) Beebe, was also a native of the old Ba}' 
State, and attained to the age of sixty -seven years 
and thirty-three days. 

The family of which our subject is a member 
consisted of the following children: Laura, Maria, 
George, Sophia, Julia, Nathaniel (who died in in- 
fancy), Albert \V., Cordelia, John F. and Ezra 
F. Only two are now living, our subject and his 
sister Cordelia. The former was a child of little 
more tlian two years when his father died, and he 
was, therefore, early thrown upon his own resources. 
At the age of ten years he accompanied his mother 
from the old home in Junius to Milo Township, 
Yates Coiinty, N. Y., where he remained eight 
years. In 1H.'5H, ho removed West to Michigan, 
and commenced to work in Lenox Township, Ma- 
comb County, where he arrived witii only five 
shillings in his possession. 

By carefully hoarding his earnings, which were 
|!13 |)er month, he was enabled to l)uy a tract of 
land in Macomb County, where he built a house 
and iiartialiy improved the land. Later, he sold 
it and bought forty acres in Lenox Township, 
but becoming financially involved by sickness, he 
resumed work at his trade — that of a blacksmith 
— which he learned in New York. In 185.5, he 



traded his place for the one he now owns in Wat- 
son Townsliip, and here he has since resided. He is 
prominent in the imlilic affairs of the community' 
as a member of the Republican party and the 
(Tr.'ind Army of the Repul)lic of Allegan. For 
twelve years he has served efliciently as Justice of 
the Peace, and was also Treasurer one year and 
School Director. 

In 1862, Mr. Beebe enlisted in Company L, 
Fourth Michigan Cavalry, and from Detroit 
marched to the front, participating in every battle 
from Nashville to Atlanta. He served until the 
close of the war, being off duty only two days 
during the entire period of his service, and al- 
though ofttimes in great peril, yet escaped with- 
out a wound. He was with the regiment which 
captured Jefferson Davis, and after an honorable 
service was discharged at Nashville, Tenn., in 
July, 1865, returning from that place to his home 
in Allegan County. 

The marriage of Mr. Beebe to Miss Lucretia, 
the daughter of Jacob and Fannie (Allen) Miller, 
took place October 10, 1838. Mrs. Beebe was born 
in Brighton Township, Monroe County, N. Y., 
.September 21, 1817, and came to this .State in 
1837. She is the mother of six children, as fol- 
lows: John H., who resides in Otsego Township, 
Allegan Countj'; Cordelia, the wife of C. M. 
JMiiier, and resides in Watson Township; Julia, 
who married G. A. Miner, and resides in Watson 
Township; Harris, who died when thirteen months 
old; and two that died in infancy. 



^IjOIIN FROII.M. Many of Allegan County's 
I best agriculturists have come to this coun- 
^=J\'i try from across the seas, and among them 
l^g// we name the gentleman of whom we write, 
who was born March 11, 1815, in Schlcswig, Ger- 
many. He is at present a resident of Hopkins 
Township, owning a fine farm of forty acres on 
section 2, which is taking his time and attention. 

The names of the parents of our subject were 
Henry and Doretta Frohni, natives of the same 
place as their son, where the father was born in 



526 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1809, and tlie mother in 1811. They were mar- 
ried in the Fatherland and Mr. Frohm served as a 
soldier in the German army artillery. They came 
to America in 1852, and settled in Baldwinsville, 
N. Y., he working on a farm there two and a half 
years. He then came to Michigan in 1855, and 
located in Cooper Township, Kalamazoo Connty, 
where he remained for the same length of time 
and finally came to Hopkins Township, this 
county. Here he settled on section 3, on a wild 
swamp farm of eighty acres. It was almost im- 
passable at all times of the year, and only about 
ten acres of this was at all dry. He paid fifty cents 
per acre for it and had to support his family by 
working out for others. His nearest neighbor was 
a mile away and no roads were laid out around 
him. He remained on this place until his death, 
and made of it a good farm by draining it. He 
died in 1888, his good wife preceding him the same 
year. They both lie in the cemetery at Ohio Cor- 
ners and a fine monument marks their graves, cost- 
ing $200. They were the parents of ten children, 
five of whom survive. The mother was a devout 
member of the Christian Church, while the father 
belonged to the Lutheran Church. In politics, he 
was a Republican. 

Our subject had but poor chances for schooling, 
as he had to commence working out when only 
fourteen j-ears old. His first place was with Nelson 
Chambers, of AV^a3iand. He helped to maintain his 
parents until after he reached his majority. He 
worked ten years for Edwin Byles, of Doi'r Town- 
ship, in the lumber business. The first land our 
subject owned was eighty acres on section 33, Dorr 
Township, which he cleared, cropped and stocked. 
This was before he was in the lumber business. He 
then worked in Kalamazoo for Henry First. He 
has owned several pieces of land at different times. 
He improved ten acres on section 2, just east of his 
present farm, and also eighty acres on section 21, 
where he put up a large granary, erected a house 
and barn and fenced and drained his place, and 
likewise ten acres on section 14. He also built a barn 
on section 35 in Dorr Township where he lived two 
years. 

September 14, 187(), was tlie date of the mar- 
ri.age of our subject with Miss Angelina Clack, a 



daughter of Frederick and Susan (Hall) Clack, of 
AA'^ayland Township, of whom a sketch will be 
found in this book. Mrs. Frohm was born October 
21, 1855, in Dorr Township, and there received her 
education. They have become the parents of one 
chiid, Lena, now nine years of age and attending 
school. After his marriage, Mr. Frohm resided for 
one year in Dorr Township and then bought forty 
acres of his father's farm and cleared half of it, 
erecting a house. December, 1890, he removed to 
his present farm and at once erected a granaiy, and 
in 1891 built his present attractive residence. He 
has been an industrious man all his life and not in 
the least afraid of hard work. In politics, he is a 
stanch Republican and he and his wife are atten- 
dants of the various churches of the township and 
are considered good Christian people. 



-^^SS 



B>-^<^ 



-i^ 



i)HOMAS HOWER. This gentleman was 
born in the land far across the sea, Octo- 

^^ ber 15, 1827, in Prussia, near the River 
Rhine. He is now a resident of Clyde Town- 
ship, Allegan County, where he is carrying 
on farming pursuits. He is a son of John and 
Catherine Mower. The parents were both born in 
Prussia. The father was engaged in farming and 
buying grain and remained in that country all his 
life. He received a good education and gave his 
children the very best advantages for the same. He 
was married to Catherine Gerst and to them were 
born five children, namely": Anna M., Maiy, 
Thomas, John and Matilda. 

The subject of this notice served four years in 
the German army, entering in 1847. He was 
wounded in the left leg and w.as taken prisoner 
but soon made his escape. In 1853 he set sail for 
the New World, and, upon landing, settled in New 
York State, where he remained for some time. For 
tlie next four years he was in various States. In 
1857 he was married to Catherine Schrout, a native 
of lUel, Prussia. Mrs. Hower is a daughter of Mar- 
tin and Anna (May) Schrout. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Hower five children have been born, three dying in 
infancy: Charley is a resident of Grand Rapids and 
is married to Ilattie Gaze; John is a resident of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



529 



California and follows l)lacksinilliiii!|.' Our subject 
stn-vc'd an appi-onlifesiiip to a blaeksinilli and 
wori<ed one year at his trade in Chicago, but since 
that time has given his attention to farming. He 
removed to Barry County, Mich., beft)re tiie war 
and came to this county in 1872; he has re- 
sided on his present farm thirteen years. He is 
the possessor of forty acres of fertile land and lias 
put all the iniproveraents on it iiimself. 

Tiie subject of this sketch enlisted in the late 
war in 18G2, on August 14. He enrolled his name 
with Company' I, Twenty-lifth Michigan Infantry, 
and fought under Thomas at Nasliville. He was 
taken sick and was in the hospital several months. 
He was mustered out and honoi'ably discharged at 
Detroit in 18(!4. He now draws a pension, having 
been disaliled in the service. He is a member of 
the Grand Army of the Republic at Fennville. 
Our sul)ject and his wife are members of tlie Roman 
Catholic Church. In politics, Mr. Ilower is a Dem- 
ocrat but not strictly a party man. In local affairs 
he always votes for tiie man and not for the party. 



HI-^-i^l!^^^ 




LPIIEUS D. TOWSLEY, a prosperous 
farmer residing on section 14, Wayland 
Townshii), Allegan County, is the son of 
Samuel and Harriet (Hryant) Towsley, 
natives of Connecticut and Canada, res|)ectively. 
The elder Towsley was a farmer, and came to 
Michigan from Canada where he had previously 
lived. His father wa.s a ca|)tain in the British 
-Vrmy in the War of 1812. .Samuel and Harriet 
Towsle}' were the parents of nine children, of 
whom the following survive: William H., who is 
a physician at Caledonia, this Stat«; Lucius M., a 
resident of Ovid Township, Branch County, this 
State; Hester Ann, now Mrs. .Tolin (^iiimby, also a 
resident of Branch County, and our subject. The 
parents passed a w.ay in Wayland Township, the 
father dying September .30, 1884, and the mother 
May 12, 1870. 

Alpheus Towsley was born in Cass County, this 
State, Scptcml)er 14, 1840. He received a limited 
24 A 



common-school education, but gained a splendid 
practical education being of an observing disposi- 
tion and a great reader. He began the struggle for 
life at the age of twenty-two yeai-s, by working on 
his father's farm in Brancli County, for two years. 
In 1865 he moved to Wayland Township, Allegan 
County, arriving here on the da}' that Abraham 
Lincoln was inaugurated for his second term. He 
settled on section 11, taking up eighty acres of 
land in the woods which he immediate!}- set about 
to clear and improve. He added to this purclia.se 
from time to time, until he is now the fortunate 
possessor of two hundred and eleven acres of finely 
cultivated land, the improvements of which he 
has completed all by himself. Upon his lii-st settling 
here, he built a board shanty, but since has erected 
a more comfortable and commodious residences 
besides other excellent buildings. 

Our subject was married, December 18, 1862, to 
Miss Theadotia Abbott. Mrs. Towsley w.as born in 
Coldwater, Branch County, this State, and h.as be- 
come the mother of f>nc child, Rutli B., wlio 
married G. T. Hines, the depot agent at Bradley, 
Allegan County. They have one child, Ora G. Mr. 
Towsley and his worthy helpmate, like all early 
settlers, endured manj- hardships and privations 
but have pulled through victoriously and are now 
living in contentment and happiness. He is a 
member of the Republican part}- and has been hon- 
ored l)y his [ellow-citizens with the ollices of Town- 
ship Treasurer and for the past fourteen ^-ears has 
been Commissioner of Highways. He has also 
been a member of the School Board ever since he 
came to this township, and is always in favor of 
anything that will enhance the prosperity of his 
township. He is a prominent member of the 
Grange of his township. On his land Mr. 'J'(>w.s- 
ley raises a variety of crops, for which he finds a 
ready market, and also keeps a number of good 
cows, making a considerable amount of fine butter. 
Ho certainly by his thrift and industry made farm- 
in" a success, and is one that can be looked to as a 
model. 

He and his wife were formerly meinbeis of the 
Wesleyan Methodist Church, but there being no 
denomination of that kind here, thev now attend 
church in Bradley. Elsewhere in this volume will be 



530 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 




noticed a portrait of Mr. Towsley, also a view of the 
comfortable home which he has established through 
persevering efforts and judicious management. 

is" *~^^'<" T^lr^ '^ i 

,..., L\A 11. TRACY. Among the quiet and 
(@^lJI| unostentatious, j'et thoroughly worthy an d 
(s eflicietit. members of the farming commu- 
nity of Ganges Township, Allegan County, 
we are gratilied to mention one who bears an hon- 
orable name. He is at present residing on section 
32, where he has a tine body of land. Mr. Tracy 
was born in Ottawa, La Salle County, 111., January 
17, 1842, and is the son of Thomas and Mary 
Tracy. 

The father of our subject was born in Berkshire 
Count3-, Mass., December 16, 1790. He was there 
reared on a farm, and attended the common schools 
of his neighborhood. When twenty 3'cars of age, 
he bought his time of his father, paying $50 for 
the one j-ear. Previous to that, however, he had 
accompanied his parents on their removal to New 
York, and in 1814 enlisted in the United States 
army, and served his countrj' five j'ears. 

In 1832, Thomas Trac}' removed West to Illi- 
nois, where he was later joined by his parents, and 
where they spent their last days. The maiden name 
of our subject's mother was Mar^' A.Walden, daugh- 
ter of Edward and Lyda Walden, natives of Con- 
necticut, but pioneers of Wood County, Ohio. The 
parental family included the following seven chil- 
dren: Thomas, who is deceased; Electa, our sub- 
ject. Mar}-, Cyrus and Harriet. The latter three 
are deceased, and Charles is residing in Arkansas. 

The elder Mr. Tracj^ followed farming in Illi- 
nois until the death of his wife, which occurred in 
1852, when he returned to Ohio with his family. 
In 1853 he came to Michigan, and located on the 
farm which is tlie present home of our subject. He 
was married again, tliis time to Mrs. Agnes (McCul- 
lough) AVarner, and to them was born a daughter, 
Rosa B. Mr. Tracy was a prominent citizen of his 
township, and in politics, was a Jacksonian Demo- 
crat. He became a member of the Ancient Free 
and Accepted Masons in 1814, and was a charter 
member of that lodge at Ottawa, 111. At the time 



of his death, November 7, 1879, he was the oldest 
Mason in the State of Michigan, so far as known. 

Alva H. Tracj' remained under the parental roof 
until attaining his twenty-second year, aiding his 
father in clearing the new farm. AVhen starting 
out for himself, he learned the trade of a carpen- 
ter, which occupation he has since followed in con- 
nection with his farming operations. He has been 
very successful as a carpenter, and lias erected 
many of the beautiful houses in Ganges Township. 

.January 16, 1866, our subject was married to 
Miss Rebecca A., daughter of William and Matilda 
(Osl)orn) Swaney, natives, respectively, of Penn- 
svlvania and Ohio. IMrs. Tracy was born in Vir- 
ginia. In politics, the original of this sketch is a 
Democrat, and, notwithstanding Ganges Township 
is strongly Republican, the high regard in which 
he is held is such, that he has been chosen Super- 
visor and Treasurer of his township, holding each 
office two terms. He is the present Supervisor, 
and discharges the duties of that responsible office 
in such a manner as to give satisfaction to his fel- 
low-townsmen. He has held many other offices of 
trust, and is looked upon as one of the representa- 
tive citizen of his community. Both he and his 
wife are members of the Townsliip and Countj- 
Granges. Mr. and Mrs. Tracy have no children of 
their own, but have taken into their home one 
niece, Lucy A. Amidan, and two cousins, viz: Es- 
tella and Anna Higby. 



'i-^^-^E 



_v 



^ 



■i-^^^-i^ 



^^jHARLES A. TIEFENTHAL. This repre- 
il sentative farmer, residing on section 8,Hop- 

^^/'' kins Township, Allegan County, is a native 
of Prussia, being born March 15, 1841. His par- 
ents, Arnold and Annie Caroline (Heider) Tiefen- 
thal, were natives of the same place as their son. 
The}' were married in that country and always re- 
sided there. The father was a mechanic bj' trade- 
He and his good wife were the parents of six chil- 
dren, three living: William F., iMinuie (Mrs Julius 
Schoening) and our subject. 

The last named came to America when a mere- 
cluld and lived at Chicago, where he attended the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAVHICAL RECORD. 



.5.31 



public schools. lie learned Ihc printer's trade and 
worked in tlie ollice of the A^ational Democrat and 
the National Union. August 2, 1861, he enlisted 
in his adopted country's defense in Companj- A, 
Third Miclli,<,^an Cavalry. He was promoted to be 
Sergeant-Major and participated in the following 
battles: New Madrid, Island No. 10, Farmington, 
siege of Corinth, Spangler Mills, Bay Springs, 
luka, Corinth, Ilatcliie's Hun, Holly .Springs, Ilud- 
sonville, Liimkins Mills, Oxford, Coffeeville, 
IJrownsvilk', Clifton, Panola, (Jrauada, IJyhalia, 
Wyatt's Ford, Ripley, Orizaba, and Kllistown. He 
served until September 24, 1864. when he was 
honorably discharged. He was never wounded or 
off duty while in the service, nor sick a day. 

Upon his return from the army, Mr. Tiefenthal 
settled upon a farm in Allegan Township, tliis 
county, consisting of forty acres of wild land. He 
at once set to work and cleared thirty acres of it, 
when he traded for a farm of one hundred and 
twent}' acres in Monterey Township, which was 
partially improved. 

On December 31, 1865, Mr. Tiefenthal was mar- 
ried to Miss Susan Hofmaster, who was born .Tanu- 
ary 3, 1847, in .Springfield, Mahoning Count3', 
Ohio. She is a daughter of Joseph S. and Amelia 
(Lamb) Hofmaster, both of whom are now de- 
cca.sed and who came to Michigan in 1855, settling 
in this township. Our subject and his wife are the 
parents of eight children: Joseph A., born March 
13, 1867; George W., September 5, 1868; William 
F., June 23, 1870; Herman A., .September 25, 1875; 
John E., September 30, 1877; Lizzie E., !May 11, 
1879; Henry A., October 25, 1882, and Susan J., 
June 13, 1885. Our subject moved to Hopkins 
Township in 1875 and settled upon his present 
farm of eighty acres, which had but few improve- 
ments on it when he purchased. He has cleared 
sixty acres and has erected a commodious resid- 
ence antl barns and is successfully engaged in gen- 
eral farming, raising cereals of all kinds. 

Socially, Mr. Tiefenthal is connected with vari- 
ous organizations such as the Harlow Briggs Post, 
No. 80. O. A. R.; the Ancient Indejjendent Order 
of Odd Fellows; the Knights of the Maccabees and 
the Patrons of Industry. He has been Past tirand 
of the Odd Fellows. I n politics, he is a stalwart 



Reiiublican and h.as been Justice of the Peace of 
his township, also .School Director in Monterey 
Township and has served his township as Jloder- 
ator. He and his family enjoy to an unusual 
degree the confidence of the community. Mr. 
Tiefenthal has a very fine talent for penmanship 
and has cultivated it to some extent. He h.ns 
man3' excellent specimens of his work in his beauti- 
ful home. 




JIEOPIIILUS \f. SITHES, of section 12, 
Pine Plains Township, Allegan County, is 
a native of (Juecns County, Ireland, being 
born near Dulilin in 1841. He is the son of Henry 
and Mary (Yates) Sitlies. The father was born in 
the same place as his son, in 1805, and was reared to 
farm pursuits. At the age of twent3'-two, he w.as mar- 
ried, Mrs. Sithes being a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
Yates, both from Lancaster, England. The father 
of our subject had born to them four children, of 
whom one is dead. Those left are Joseph; Mary J., 
wife of Robert Simm, and our subject. They were 
members of the IMetliodist Episcopal Church and in 
1853, emigrated to the United States, locating on 
a farm in .Saratoga County, N. Y. At the expira- 
tion of three vears, they removed with their fam- 
ily to Canada .and located on a farm in CJr.ay 
Count}', where Henry 8. died in 1891. The rest of 
the family are still residents there. 

Mr. Sithes first began active life in Canada by 
working on a farm by the month, but in 1864. he 
decided to come to the .States and journeyed to 
Michigan and settled in this county. He w.os in 
the milling business about six years, when he bought 
fort}' acres of Ins present farm. It was a new and 
unbroken tract but he has >ince added to his original 
purch.ase and erected good substantial buildings 
thereon, and the whole eighty-live acres are in an 
excellent condition. 

December 29, 1869, was the date on which our 
subject was married to Mary A. Judd, a daughter 
of Aarrony and Lodica Judd of Allegan County, 
who removed here from New York. This couple 
have become the parents of two children: Clesson, 
who received his education in the Allegan High 



532 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 




School, and Dica who is at present a teaclier of 
music. Oiir subject and his wife are members of 
tlie Methodist Episcopal Church of Mill Oroveand 
most worthy supporters of that denomination. 



ll;-^ IRA^I BAILEY. It is sometimes thought 
by superficial people, who know nothing 
of agriculture, that no special intelligence 
IS required to till the soil, and, indeed, if 
the mechanical work was all that was necessary, 
this would be so, but, as in every branch of in- 
dustr}', the thoughtful and logical carrying out of 
theories that have been tested by experiment and 
science is found to be advantageous to the farmer. 
He of whom we write is one of the class who 
believe in progression and advancement. He is the 
owner of one of the finest farms in the county, 
which is located on section 20, Monterey Township, 
Allegan County. It contains one hundred and 
sixty acres, and is well improved with all the build- 
ings which are to be found on the estate of a first- 
class agriculturist. His beautiful brick residence, 
which was erected in 188G, and is represented by 
a view on another page, is finished in hardwood, 
and cost over 15,000. Its furnishing indicates its 
inmates to be people of refinement and education. 
Hiram Bailey is the son of Charles and Betsej- 
(Fox) Bailey, natives of New England. They re- 
moved to Monroe County, N. Y., many years ago, 
where the subject of this sketch was born, his natal 
day being December 14, 1827. His father was a 
farmer in moderate circumstances and young 
Hiram was brought up to a full knowledge of 
that occupation. His educational advantages were 
limited to the common schools of that period, and 
when eleven years of age he went to live with an 
uncle. He remained with him until reaching bis 
majority when he started out to battle with life on 
his own account. He worked at such labor as he 
could find to do for a short time and then became 
sternman on the Erie Canal and afterward captain 
for seven years. 

Our subject has been twice married, his first 
union taking place April 15, 1852, with Miss Maria 
Jamison and to them were born three children: 



Emma,who married Eugene McOmber and resides in 
Monterey Township; Mary E., who married Henry 
Iluskinson and makes her home in Livingston 
County, this State; and Etta M., now Mrs. Fre- 
mont Fettenberger, who also makes her home in 
Monterey Township. INIrs. Maria Bailej^ passed 
from this life September 15, 1868, and our subject 
was married a second time in February, 1872. The 
maiden name of Mrs. Bailey was Harriet Ashley, 
daughter of Joseph Ashley, and by her union with 
our subject she has become the mother of two 
children, a son and a daughter, the latter of whom 
died in infanc}'. The son, Hiram W., resides with 
his parents and is attending school. 

In his political relations, Mr. Bailey adheres to 
Democratic principles and has been honored by 
his fellow-citizens by being called upon to fill 
nearly all the various town offices. Socially, he is 
a member of Allegan Lodge, No. 180, A. F. & A. 
M. and is also a member of Allegan Chapter, No. 
50, R. A. M. Mr. Bailey came to the Wolverine 
State in 1853, and the log house in which the fam- 
ily resided is still standing upon tlie place. He 
started out in life without any aid whatever, and 
has to-day the finest farm in Allegan County and 
is ranked among the progressive and enterprising 
residents of his community. We are pleased to be 
able to place before our readers a sketch of such 
a worthy gentleman. 



PREDERICK CLACK, a foreign-born citizen, 
1 and a retired farmer of Wayland Town- 
, ship, Allegan County, was born in Cam- 
bridgeshire, England, December 18, 1820. His 
parents were both born and reared in the same 
place as their S(m, and bore the name of James and 
Ann (West) Clack. James Clack learned the trade 
of a shoemaker, which trade he followed most of 
his life. Both parents spent their last days in 
England. 

Frederick was reared to farm pursuits in his na- 
tive land, and received but scant advantages to- 
ward an education, he having to work the greater 
part of the time. ilr. Clack came to tliis country 



P3RTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



535 



in 1851, liis wife remaining in Enjrland until the 
year foUowiiiir. His brother Matliias c-anie to Amer- 
ica witii liim, and they located toj^ether in New- 
York State. At the expiration of two years, our 
suliject came to Battle Creei<, Mich., and three years 
latercame to Dorr Township, and, after some time, 
hwatcd a place of two hundred and forty acres on 
.section 2G. 

Susan Hall was married to Mr. Clack, December "20, 
1811. She is tlie daughter of John and Ann (Tit- 
niar.sh) Hall, natives of England. Mrs. Clack was 
born December 18, 1823. Twelve children have 
blessed this home, recorded as follows: Ann, Re- 
becca, Eliza; Frederick, born November 1, 18.'')2; 
Harlow, May 10, 1854; Angeline, October 21, 1856; 
Daria.s, June 1, 18,')9; John, Harry, Matilda, and 
two died in infancy in England. With the assist- 
ance of his family, Mr. Cl.ack has greatly improved 
and cleared his estate, and now h.as a beautiful and 
fertile tract, with a commodious house and barn. 
He resided on this place for a (juarter of a cen- 
tin-y, but in 1880 came to the village of Wayland, 
where he makes his liome, retiring from manual 
labor. lOacli of his sons has a tr.act of eighty 
acres of land which they are successfully farming, 
the land being owned by the father. 

The gentleman of whom we write is, in politics, 
a Republican, and is a naturalized citizen of the 
United .States. He and his estimable wife are faith- 
ful meml)ers of the Methodist Church, uniting with 
that faith before coining to America. His son Fred- 
erick is an exhorter in the church. 

'ij^^ ATHAN LEIOHTON, a prosperous farmer 
I j) on section 36, Clj-de Township, Allegan 
l^M) <-"<^»"'l.V, was born on July 26, 1831t. lie is 
a son of Nathan and Abigail (Carll) Leighton. 
Nathan Sr. was born February 2, 1804, at Port- 
land, Me. When but six years old, he emigrated i 
with his parents to Waj'ne County, N. Y., and he 
was there reared on a farm and received a common- 
•school education, but, by his own leading and 
studying, much of the time b}' the fireplace with 
no light but the burning logs, he prepared himself 
for teaching. Al the aye of eiifhleen, he bou''lit 



his time of his parents for $50, and began to serve 
an apprenticeship to learn the trade of a masoii 
for three years. After working at his trade but a 
few years, he went into the sawmilling business in 
Wayne County, also running a farm at the same 
time. In 1853 he left the State of Ne-w York, and, 
with his family, located in Ingham County, Mich.-, 
where he bought two hundred acres of land, and 
there lived until his death, which occiiired in 
1883. 

Oursubject is the third-born i'l a family of eleven 
children, eight of whom grew to j-ears of maturity: 
Mary L., the wife of S. D.Watson; Stephen P., our 
subject; Abigail, the wife of .Silas ^'anetta; Clar- 
issa, the widow of James Espy; Nancy, who is 
married to B. F. Carll; Sarah L., who married 
INIarett Chapell; and Susan, who married AV^illiaifl 
Showerman. The deceased were Ilir.am, who died 
when twelve years old; Surena, also at the age 
of twelve, and James when but one year old. 
Nathan Leighton liegan for himself at the age of 
twenty-three by establishing a general mercliandi.se 
store at Williamston, this State, and for two years 
afterward was engaged in draying, and then en- 
gaged in farming in Ingham County, which he 
continued about ten years. In 1881, he purchased 
his pre.sent farm of one hundred acres in this 
county, on which he carries on mixed farming 
quite successfully. 

He of whom we write w.as married to Julia 
Dancer, a daughter of John and Jane (Powell) 
Dancer. She is one of seven children: Le Roy, 
Fr.ank, Julia, Nelson, Jeremiah, FIdward, and Al- 
fred. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Leighton has 
been blessed b^' the birth of five children, three 
of these dying in infancy. The living ones are 
Ada, who is a .teacher of Allegan County, and 
.Susan, who is attending the district school of the 
neighborhood. Our subject is a member of the 
Masonic order of Allegan. He joined this order 
at Williamston and there served one year as Master 
Mason, for which services liis brethren presented 
him with a Past Master's jewel, valued at ^25. 

At the time of the late war, Mr. Leighton en- 
listed twice, but w.TS rejected each time on account 
of poor health. He lield many of the local olliees 
of Ingham Countv, and at present is holding the 



536 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



office of Supervisor of Clyde Township, being the 
first Democrat ever chosen to that office in this 
township. 

Politicall.v, the father of our subject was a Jack- 
son ian Democrat, anil was also a member of the 
Free and Accepted Masons, and he and his wife 
were consistent members of the Universalist 
Church. 



4 



^ 



^ 




\, ICHARD B. NEWNHAM, who has been for 
many years a resident of the village of 
4i \\\ Saugatuck, Allegan Count3', is a well- 
I known citizen who stands high in the esti- 
mation of the people, both on account of his per- 
sonal qualities and his reputation as a gallant 
soldier during the late war. He is the son of John 
and Lucy (Linney) Newnham, natives of Hamp- 
shire, England, where lie was born May 24, 1819, 
in the city of London, his birth taking place at al- 
most the same hour as that of Queen Victoria and 
only half a mile distant from the place where she 
■was born. His father dying when Richard was 
about ten 3-ears of age, he went to live with his 
graudfathei Linne3', where he remained until 
reaching manhood. He learned the slioemaker's 
trade but not finding it congenial to his taste he 
entered the police force of London in which he 
served over twenty years. At the time of his 
resiguation he was in command of a division. After 
giving up this occupation, he engaged in amerc.in- 
tile speculation which did not prove a success. He 
then came to America, first locating at Cleveland, 
Ohio, in 1863, where he worked at his trade for a 
time, soon after entering the army. He was at first 
employed in the Quartermaster's Department of 
the Tweut3--third Corps which was then attached 
to the Army of the Ohio. He went through the 
celebrated Atlanta campaign, after which he was 
employed in the gunboat service until the close of 
the war. He saw man3' desperate encounters and 
served his adopted country faithfully and well. 

At the close of the war in 1865, Mr. Newnham 
came to Saugatuck, where he has since resided. He 
here opened a siioe shop, in addition to which he is 
also interested in fruit-growing. In November, 



1839, he was married to the lad3' who has presided 
over his home and shared his fortunes for tift3--two 
3^ears. Her maiden name was Hannah Harrison 
and she was a daughter of AVilliam Harri- 
son. She is a native of Stratfordshire, England. 
Of this union thirteen children have been born, 
eight of whom are living, four residing in England 
and four in this country, as follows: John, who 
married Susan Arundel, is an engineer residing in 
London; Lucy married Capt. Edwin Grossman, a 
sailor, and resides in Bristol; Hannah C. and Mary 
A. also reside in England, the latter at Tunbridge 
Wells; Richard L. is an attorne3--at law residing at 
Allegan; Lizzie A. married J. G. Annesly and re- 
sides in Allegan County ; Stephen is a lake engineer; 
Maria C. is a teacher in the High School at Allegan 
and taught nine 3'ears in Saugatuck. 

Politicall3', Mr. Newnham is a Democrat and has 
held various local offices. He has been Justice of 
the Peace for five terms. Village Clerk, and School 
Director for seven 3-ears. Socially, he belongs to 
the Masonic fraternity and the Odd Fellows, in the 
latter of which he is Past Noble Gr.and, and also 
Chief Patriarch of the Encampment; he is Post 
Commander of Peter Van Arsdale Post, No. 148, 
G. A. R. His fainil3- are members of the Episcopal 
Church. They are highly respected in tiie com- 
munity as intelligent and loval citizens. 



^ AMES CRILL, a resident farmer of Pine 
Plains Township, Allegan County, was born 
in Lancaster, P^rie County, N. Y., March 16, 
_ 1813. He is a son of James and Mary 
(Krows) Crill. James Crill was born in Penns3-1- 
vania, and his younger davs were spent in his 
father's linseed-oil mill. He received a good 
common-school education, and was married in 
his native State to the mother of our subject, a 
native of the same State. After their marriage 
they moved to Erie Count3-, N. Y. The3' were 
the parents of nine children. James Crill was a 
Captain in the War of 1812, and in politics was a 
Democrat. He and his wife were members of the 
Christian Church. When Mr. Crill first came to 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



537 



this State in 1854, he located on a farm in Branch 
County, wliere lie remained eiijht yeai's. lie llien 
came to make his home with our subject, wlicre he 
died at the age of eisriity-six years. 

.lames C'rill, Jr., commenced workinii in a saw- 
mill at sixteen years of age in New York, and 
while yet in that State he took as his life com- 
panion Eliza Tiiayer and to them have l)een horn 
six cliildrcu: William K.. .lames, Nettie, Ilattie, 
Delia. and Dora B. Mrs. CriU's parents were named 
John and .\nua Thayer. When our suhjec-t came 
to his pri'scnt liomo in 1865, he bought one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of timber land, and now he 
lias by his own efforts most of it improved. His 
grandfather (rill served in the Uevolutionary 
War. 



_j=dg) 



l>^^<i 




ny- 



LVIN IirTC'IIINS. who resides on section 
3(5, Sauyatuck Township, Allegan County, 
i \ is one of the substantial farmers of that 
county, and is indebted to his own indus- 
try and perseverance for the position which he 
now holds. He owns one hundred acres of highly 
improved land, which is devoted to fruit-growing 
and general farming. His parents, David and 
Sally (Burnell) Ilutchins, were natives of New 
York and Connecticut, resi)cctivcly. The subject 
of this sketch was born in Rutland County, \t.. 
April 5, 180!t. He was brought up to the occupa- 
tion of a farmer, and while a boy worked for 
some years in the cotton and woolen mills. As he 
■was the oldest son, he was obliged to assist liis 
father in the supi)ort of the family and remained 
with him until he was twenty-four years of age, 
when he started in life for himself. 

When twenty-live years old, Mr. Ilutchins was 
happily- married to Clois C. Fuller, and their union 
has been blessed with eight children, six of whom 
are living: Sarah, born June 18, 1835, married 
James H. Miller and died September 5, 1852; Min- 
erva, lK)rn September 9, 1837, became the wife of 
David liarrington and resides in Clyde Townslii|), 
Allegan County; William W., born October 14, 
1840, married Hettie Wilson and resides in Fcnn- 
ville; Cornelia, born August 2fi, 1844, became the 
wife of Walter rulmaii and resides in Cl^'deTnwn- ^ 



ship; David, born October 27, 1846, died Septem- 
ber 5, 1852; Horace, born October 4, 1848, married 
Lessetta Walter and lives in Clyde Townshij); 
Orrin, born October 1, 1852, married Lnella Mills 
and resides with his father, assisting him to con- 
duct the farm; Hattic E., born January 24, 1862, 
married F. N. Arnold and resides in Clyde Town- 
ship. The mother of these children died March 
24, 1874. 

Mr. Hutchins arrived in Allegan County, Mich., 
August 26, 1844, with but twent^'-live cents as his 
entire capital, but by the kindness of his brother 
Ilamson, whose sketch appears elsewhere, he was 
given shelter for his family. He went to work in 
the lumber camps and at such other occupations 
as he could find. Later he cleared up the farm on 
which he now lives and has now a comfortable 
home in which to pass his declining years. He is 
a fine example of what may be accomplished by a 
brave spirit in the face of overwhelming discour- 
agements, and has won the respect and esteem of 
all who know him by his ujiriglit, honest life. 
In politics, Mr. Ilutchins is a Rcixililican and takes 
a warm interest in everything relating to the [)ro- 
gress of his township and county. 



A 



I.I.I All GORDEN is successfully carrying 
fe) on the cultivation of his farm on section 
jj^— ->"' 15, Salem Township, Allegan County. His 
place numbers fifty-five acres and is improved 
with all the buildings which goto make up a first- 
class estate. It is further embellished by the erec- 
tion of a fine dwelling, which lies in the village of 
Burnip's Corners, of the above-named township. 
Elijah (iorden of this sketch is the son C)f 
Samuel .and P0II3' (George) Gorden, natives of the 
Keystone State. His parents were pioneers of 
Hancock County, Ohio, where our subject was born 
September 28, 1833. His father being a farmer, 
he was thus trained in all those duties which make 
the cultivation of the soil easy and successful. He 
remained under the parental roof until attaining 
his majority and then learned the trade of a plas- 
terer. He carried on that occupation in connec- 
tion with farming until 1865. 



538 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Miss Elizabeth Tucker became the wife of Elijah 
Gorden in October, 1856. She was the daughter 
of Joseph Tucker, a native of Bucks County*, Pa. 
Her parents were also early settlers in Hancock 
County, Ohio, where she was born. The union of Mr. 
and Mrs. Gorden has been blessed by the birth of 
three children: Samuel I., who died at the age of 
sixteen years; Joseph M., who married Noi-a Jones, 
is an undertaker and furniture manufacturer at 
Burnip's Corners, Salem Township,Allegan County; 
he has one son, Glenn. Linna B. is now Mrs. J. 
F. Leader and makes her home in Salem Township; 
her husband is a plasterer by trade and has one 
son, Joseph. 

In 1865, our subject came to Allegan County, 
which has been his home since that time. In poli- 
tics, he is a stanch Democrat and has been elected 
to the offices of Supervisor of Salem Township, 
which he held for six terms, and was also Town- 
ship Treasurer for a number of terms. Socially', he 
is a member of Salem Lodge, No. 169, I. O. O. 
F., in which order he is Past Noble Grand. Religi- 
ously, he is a liberal contributor to the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

Mr. Gorden purchased his farm when in a wild 
state, and by persistent industrj' cleared and im- 
proved it, until it is to-day one of the most 
productive in the township. His parents are 
both deceased, as are also thoseof his wife. Grand- 
father Tucker was a patriot m the War of 1812, 
and our subject had a brother in the Civil AYar. 



_^] 



-^3 



^+^ 



.(^=.^ 



i^' 




RADLEY GILBERT, a retired and influen- 
tial farmer of Dorr Township, Allegan 
IJ County, was born in Chester, Geauga 
County, Ohio. He is a son of Joel and 
Criseilda (Crocker) Gilbert, his birth occurring 
June 7, 1827. The father was born and reared in 
Connecticut and the mother is a native of New 
York State, the former following the trade of a 
carpenter and a farmer. 

Bradley Gilbert was reared on the iiome farm in 
Ohio, and received what education he could in the 
common district school. He spent the first 3'ears 
of his maturity in farming in his native county. 



hiring out to the farmers in the vicinity. He is 
one of a family of four sons and three sisters born 
to his parents. His father was thrice married. 
His second wife was the mother of one son and five 
daughters; by his first wife he had one son and one 
daughter. The parents died in Ohio. 

Mr. Gilbert was married in Geauga County, 
Ohio, April 2, 1849, to Martha Jane Bates, who 
was born in Hampshire County, Mass. She was 
the daughter of Erastus Bates and Susan (Thomas) 
Bates, and is now the mother of seven children. 
Those living are named as follows: Flora Isadore, 
Arthur C, Elmer Lauren, Almon. They have 
lost three boys Almon, Albert and and Alton, twins, 
all of whom died when j-oung. Flora I. married 
E. N. Bates and Arthur married I^mma Ander- 
son. Mr. Gilbert came to Michigan in November, 
1855, and located two hundred and eighty 
acres of wild land. He immediately cleared and 
improved this tract. He soon after entered into 
partnership with his brother L. C. Gilbert to keep 
a dairy, which business he carried on four j-ears 
in Ohio, before coming West. He has always been 
identified with the farming interests of this town- 
ship since coming here and now carries on his es- 
tate of four hundred and twenty acres by the aid of 
his sons and hired help. His sagacious super- 
vision and good judgment have made of this place 
a fertile and attractive estate, and it yields forth 
its crops with an increasing profit. 

Mr. Gilbert enlisted himself in his country's 
cause, enrolling his name with the First Michigan 
Engineers and Mechanics and he was with Sherman 
on his march to the sea. He suffered greatly from 
exposure and hardships besides the hard and 
heavy work he had to do. He was at Savannah 
with Sherman, from whence they went to Raleigh, 
N. C, and after the surrender of Gen. Lee at Ap- 
pomattox Court House be went to a hospital in 
Philadelphia, and in July, 1865, in Detroit, he was 
honorably discharged. After the close of the war 
he returned home and engaged in the pursuits he 
had left. In 1878 Mr. Gilbert embarked in the 
mercantile business at Moline, opening a large 
general store in partnership with J. Y. Ortou. 
They soon sold out to McLeod and Trautman 
Bros, and later, in company with William Y. Traut- 



"■A. 



'J- 



'I 







W^ A.KNAPP. 



I 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



511 



irrnn, purchased tlic store again. He operated it nntil 
1890 when lie sold his interest to K. N. liatcs. his 
son-in-law. Mr. (Jilbert served ediciently in the posi- 
tion of Postmaster of Moline, and has also been Ex- 
press Agent of that place. He is now retired from 
active labors, enjoying the fruits of a life, well 
spent. He is a stanch Reputilican in his political 
views and has held several ollices of liis township. 
He and his worthy wife are consistent and valued 
members of the Congregational Churcli at Dorr. 
He is a member of the Grange and formerly was 
a member of the Free Masons. 






i****t 



f-S-t-^+i 



<» Ifen.LlAM A. KXAPP is now retired from 
V / W '■'"' •'**^''''^''' fli'ties of life and lives in .Vllogan. 
W^ lie is an early settler of Michigan who has 
done much for the improvement of this section of 
the State. .V man of i)rinciple and integrity, his 
influence is as powerful, in an unconscious way, as 
it is helpful by intent. As property increased in 
value, he of course grew in weallli until he is one 
of the prosperous men in Allegan ('ount\-. Among 
his personiil characteristics arc those of a cordial, 
kindly spiiit which makes warm friends and stanch 
ailherents. He never turns away the |>oor from 
his door without some gift. 

William A. lvnap|) was born ui Livingston 
County, N. Y., December 15, 1820, and is the son 
of Kbcnezer and Polly (Legg) Knapp, natives of 
Massachusetts. The family belongs to fine old 
New England stock and upon the maternal side is 
of Scotch descent. Three brotlieis came over in 
the '•Mayllower" and founded in America a family 
which can trace its lineage back through these 
1)rotliers,to the illustrious house (jf Argyle. 

The father of our subject was a hatter by trade 
and carried on a large business in Rochester, N. Y. 
He came West to Allegan County, this State, where 
he conducted the same trade for eight years, then 
reluming to the Empire State died and was buried 
in Mt. Hope. He was a patriot in the War of 1812 
and was present at the battle of lUai'k Rock and 
the burning of Buffalo. The parents were mem 
hers of the Presbyterian Church and Mr. Knnpp 
was an old-line Whig in politics. 



Our subject is the only member of the parental 
family of eight children now living. He was edu- 
cated in Rochester, N. Y., and .assisted his fatlierin 
his business of a hatter until sixteen years old. 
Then, in 183G, he came West to Michigan, coming 
from Detroit to Allegan on foot, a distance of one 
hundred .and seventy-five miles, and m.aking the 
trip in a little less than live days. He crossed the 
Kalamazoo River in an Indian canoe and on ar- 
riving here went to work in a sawmill, wlieie he 
labored for two years. In 1837 he had purchased 
a farm in ^lonterey Township, AUeg.an County, 
wliich he traded later for a farm, two and one-half 
miles north of the vill.age. His tract consisted of 
eighty .acres of heavily timtiered land. He soon 
cleared and improved it, erecting a frame house 
which is still standing and is now occupied l)y his 
tenant. 

In 1837 William A. Knapp went West to the 
Pacific Coast and engaged in the fur business, trad- 
ing with the Indians. There were nine in the 
parly when they set out, l)ut four died while in the 
AVest. Our subject returned to Michigan in 1831). 
when lie went East and brought his parents with 
him to the AVolverine State. That was in 1840, at 
which lime he engaged in running a l)oal on the 
Kalamazoo River, from Allegan to Saugaluck, 
taking flour down the river and on the return trip 
bringing back merchandise. He c<Mitiniied in that 
line of work for twelve yeare, after which he fol- 
lowed farming until 1861. 

Mr. Knapp was the first man in Allegan Town- 
ship who enlisted in defense of his conntr3- after 
the first call for seventy-five thousand troo|)s. 
He w.as not accepted, however, on .account of a 
serious woiiml which he rcteiviMl in his :irm' while 
in the sawmill, .\ltlioiigh he could not go to the 
front, he did valiialile service in assisting to raise 
companies, one of which was called the Allegan 
Rangers. Mr. Knapp aided in the payment of 
every draft made in Allegan Count}- by contribut- 
ing ^30. 

Since leaving his farm, our subject has resided in 

Allegan village where he is beloved by all who 

I know him. He is one of the seven men who formed 

the first Re[)ublican club in .Vlleiran. .\fter com- 

, ing here, in I8(>1, he wius I'nder .Sheriff of the 



542 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



county for seventeen years and has been Scliool 
Director for twelve j'ears, also Pathniasler. Mr. 
Knapp was married, in 1844, to Miss Sarah Jeiiner, 
a native of England, who was one of the two first 
white girls in Allegan Township, and who went to 
school with the Indians. Mrs. Sarah Knapp died 
July 3, 1866. 

Our subject and his wife became the parents of 
four children: Adrian J. married Lucy Niles and 
they have three children: Gaylord, Carrie and 
Charles; Henry F. married Miss Maiy Bentley and 
they also have three children: Glenn, Myrtle and 
Hazel; Sarah is Mrs. Kidwell and has become the 
motlier of four children: Bessie, Nina, Pieice and 
Mitcliel; AVill C. married Mary Wright. 

Mr. Knapp was married in December, 1866, to 
Elizabeth A. Bentley, daughter of Samuel A. and 
Electa (Baird) Bentlej'. ller father was a native 
of Monroe County, Jlich., and her mother of 
Wayne Count}', Ohio; they were married in Mon- 
roe County, this State. By his second marri.age our 
subject has become the father of three children: 
Emma, a graduate of the High Scliool in Allegan 
where she is now a teacher; Eddy B., and Elizabeth 
P. Mr. Knapp is a strong Prohibitionist and is a 
member of the Union League, iii whicii body he is 
Marshal for Allegan County. At one time he 
knew every family in the county; even now he lias 
a wide acquaintance and is greatly respected 
wherever he is known, and we are pleased to pre- 
sent his portrait and biographical sketch to our 
readers. 



*^*^* 



_y 




r' 



AMBERT HOFFMAN resides on section 
IC, Overisel Township, Allegan County, 
where he owns eight}' acres of flnel}' im- 
proved land, which he devotes to diversified 
crops. The buildings that have been erected upon 
the estate are neat and substantial, sufflcienth' 
commodious for tlieir respective uses, and include 
every necessary and convenient edifice. Mr. Hoff- 
man pursues his calling with zeal and intelligence, 
winning from the soil an abundant sliare of the 
various grains whieli he cultivates, and in this 



way securing for himself and family all the com- 
forts of life. 

Mr. Hoffman is of good blood, being a descend- 
ant of .James Hoffman, a native of Holland. His 
motlier, known in her maidenhood as Miss Ben- 
dina Klaasen, was also a native of Holland, and 
was born in November, 1801. The parental fam- 
ily numbered five sons and three daugliters, of 
whom our subject was the first in order of birth. 
Our subject's parents emigrated to the United 
States in 1846, and came to Michigan in 1847, 
locating on a farm in Holland Township, Ottawa 
County. Later, they removed to Fillmore Town- 
ship. Allegan County, where they resided until 
their death, the father's decease occurring in De- 
cember, 1857, and the mother's, in September. 
1851. 

The gentleman, wliose life history is the subject 
of this sketch, was born August 3, 1823, in Hol- 
land. He remained in his native country, assist- 
ing his father in whatever way he could, and at- 
tending school, until twenty-three years of age, 
when, tiiinking he would like to tiy his fortune in 
the New World, he embarked on the sailing vessel, 
"Isabelle," and after a voyage of sixty-four days, 
landed in New York, coming directlj' to Michigan, 
which Slate he lias since made his home. 

Before leaving his native land, Mr. Hoffman was 
united in marriage with ^liss .Jane Kooz, also a 
native of that country, and whose birth occurred 
August 16, 1821. Mrs. Hoffman is a daughter of 
John and Hendrienna Kooz, and is a lad}- greatly 
respected by all who know her. Our subject and 
his wife have been granted a family of seven chil- 
dren, who bear the respective names of James, .Jo- 
hannus, John, Berrien J., Johanna, Bennie J. and 
Henry J. Johannus is a minister in the Reformed 
Church. He is a man who has many warm friends, 
who fully appreciate his worth and natural kind- 
ness. 

When our subject located upon his eighty-acre 
tract of land in Overisel Township, it was in a 
wild state, but the energy and good judgment he 
has displayed in its management has brouglit it to 
a high state of productiveness. Politically, Mr. 
Hoffman casts his vote with the Republican party, 
and religiously, he is an active member of the Re- 



POltTllAlT AND BIOGRAl'HlCvy;. RECORD. 



543 




formed Cliureli, of which body he haslieen nii Elder 
for twenty years, and has also rendered valua- 
ble service in preaching, both in Overisel and ihc 
eastern part of Overisel Township. Mr. and .Mrs. 
IlolTinan are people of many ple.asant social (piali- 
tie^, and are well liked l>y the entire coniniunity. 



ON. FRANKLIN SEVEUKNS, at present a 
resident of C'l>de 'rowiiship, Allegan 
County, where he is residing on a beautiful 
little farm al)<)nt three miles south of the 
village of Fennville, is a native of \'erniont. He 
was born October 1. IS 11, in Orleans County, to 
Isaac and .\bigail (Dean) .Severens. The father 
was horn at Salisbury, N. II., and spent his bo\-lu)od 
days on tiie home farm until twenty-one years old, 
when he settled on a farm of his own near Derby, 
Vt. lie was at that time married to the mother of 
our subject, a daughter of Isaac Dean. To Mr. 
and .Mrs. .Severens, the elder, were horn ten chil- 
dren, four of whom they reared to manhood and 
womanhood. They were James; Betsey (deceased), 
who wa- the wife of the late William Moon; 
Hannah, who married .James Dane, is now deceased, 
and Franklin, our subject. The good wit\' and 
mother of this family died some years before her 
husband. They were both worthy members of the 
Baptist Church. The husband was again married, 
tliis time to Mrs. Sarah (Weaver) Pulsipher, of 
Rockingham, \'t., where they both spent the re- 
mainder of their daj's. Politically, he was a member 
of the Whig party and was a member of the Free 
and .\ece[)ted Masons. 

Upon reaching his majority-, the subject of this 
notice went to Portland, Mc, where he w.as en- 
gaged as a clerk in a wholesale and retail grocery 
store for about two years. He then returned to 
Rockingham, ^'t., and IH.'U was married to Eliza- 
beth I'ulsijiher, a daughter of his step-mother. 
To our sul)jcct and his wife were born seven chil- 
dren, namely: The Hon. Henry F., of Kalamazoo; 
Charles W. 1'., decc-vied; .hinies, of Jlinne.sota; 
Elma. the wife of (Jeorge \V. I'crhani; .lefTerson, 
dece!t><ed; .Seymour. of Nan liuren (dunty, and Jesse 
F., wlio IS decciused. 



Politically, our subject was a Democrat in 
l)rincii)le, and voted for Gen. J.ackson, but was 
such an Anti-Slavery man that when the Republi- 
can party was organized he joined that i)arty and 
has been since then a stanch supporter of its [ilat- 
form. In 185!l he was chosen to represent his dis- 
trict in Vermont in the State Legislature. This 
responsible position he held two regular terms .and 
one special term, in which the body voted $1,000,- 
000 to be paid by the .State in aiding the war. 
Since coming to this county, he has often been 
called upon to hold local oHices in his township 
and was Township Clerk six years. His comfort- 
able and attr.active home on section 19, Clyde 
Township, consists of sixty acres and he is spend- 
ing the evening of his life in retirement frfun the 
active world. He and his family are held in the 
highest esteem by their lellow-citizens and many 
acquaintances. 



^ iMIITNEY HARPER, an intelligent and 
\/\/// well-known farmer residing on section 3;j, 
\^s§ Trowbridge Towii>hip, .VUegan County, 
was born July 1(1, 18111, in Wayne County, N. Y.. 
•and is a son of James and Polly (I^aml)) Harper, 
also natives of the same .State, where they were 
married and spent their entire li\es. The father 
was a carpenter and jt)iner l)v trade and died in 
186.5, at the age of sevent3-two years. The death 
of his wife occurred in 1880, at the age of four- 
.scorc years. Their family numbered fourteen 
children, twelve of whom grew to manhood and 
womanhood, while five are j-et living. 

With his father our sul)ject learned tlie carpen- 
ter's trade, at which he worked until eighteen 
years of age, when, in 18.'57, he left home and 
started for Ypsilanti, Mich., where he worked at 
building railroad bridges. After two years S|)ent 
in the West, he returned to New York, but again 
c.'iine to Michigan in the spring, making iiis home 
near Ann Arbor, where he once more worked on 
railroad bridges. As a companion and helpmate 
on life's journey, he chose Mary .\nies, their union 
being celebrated in 1811. Her parents. Robert 



544 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and Margaret (Wilkins) Ames, were natives of 
New York, and in 1831 came to this State, locating 
in Saline Townshii>, AVashtenaw County, on an 
unimproved farm wliicli lie developed into rich 
and fertile fields. In 1842 they came to Allegan 
County and settled on a tract of eighty acres of 
wild land in Trowbridge Township. The deatli 
of Mr. Ames occurred in 1863. His first wife died 
in 1823, after wliich he was again married and had 
a large famil3'. Bj' the first union there were two 
daughters: INIrs. Harper and Mrs. Jane Knox. The 
former was born in Seneca County, N. Y., Septem- 
ber 8, 1821. 

Mr. and Mrs. Harper liegan tlieir domestic life 
in Dexter, INHch., but afterward returned to the 
Empire State, where they spent eight years. Then 
again they came West and started farming in Trow- 
bridge Township, to whicli our subject has since 
devoted his time and attention. He had at that time 
only $600. He built a log cabin without windows, 
and a piece of carpet was hung up for a door. They 
endured all the hardships and privations of frontier 
life and lived in true pioneer style. After ten 
j'ears, in which time Mr. Harper cleared and fenced 
sixty acres of land and made many other improve- 
ments, he took his family back to New York, and 
for three years carried on a tavei-n in Waterloo. 
Wlien he once more came to Allegan County, he 
took u)) his residence on his present farm of one 
hundred acres, ninety of which yields to him a 
golden tribute in return for his care and cultiva- 
tion. His pleasant residence he erected at a cost 
of $1,000, and he also built a barn, 35x45 feet, to- 
getiier with other outbuildings necessary for the 
care of his stock and grain. He planted a good 
orchard and his farm is now operated b}- a tenant, 
although he superintends its management. 

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Harper was blessed 
with a familj' of five children: George, who en- 
listed in the Third Michigan Cavalry, after a 
year's service died of smallpox in the United 
States Hospital at Memphis, Tenn., at the age of 
twenty years; Charles married Mercy Scott and is 
living in Trowbridge Township. He also served 
in the late war until its close. Newton resides on 
tlie home farm. Emma is the wife of Frank 
McCormick. of Allegan, by whom she has one 



child. Ella is the wife of Delos Hicks, a resident 
farmer of Trowbridge Township. The children 
were all provided with good educational advan- 
tages and have become useful men and women and 
respected members of society. 

Mr. Harper is a Democrat and has served as a 
member of the School Board. He is a well-read 
man, who keeps informed on the questions of the 
day, both political and otherwise. Although he 
began life empty handed, lie is now a substantial 
citizen, having worked his way upward to a posi- 
tion of affluence. 



*^^ ^ i@^@l ^ .1^^ 



w 



AMES E. TANNER. This gentleman is a 
resident on section 34, Dorr Township, Al- 
legan County. He was born in Chester, 
Geauga County, Ohio, March 1, 1840, to 
James and Anna (McCououghey) Tanner. The 
parents were both born and reared in Ohio, and 
the father was a farmer. Our subject was reared 
on the old farm and gained but a limited education. 
His father was called from this life when he was 
but seven years old. He remained under the par- 
ental roof until reaching the age of fifteen 3'ears, at 
which time he left home to take care of himself. 
He journeyed to McHenry County, 111. One year 
later he came to this State and located in Allegan 
County-. Here he remained and farmed until the 
spring of 1864, when he sold out and bought the 
place where he now resides in Dorr Township. 

In October, 1862, the original of this sketch was 
married to Lodema Avery, of Hopkins Township, 
Allegan County. Mr. and Mrs. Tanner became 
the parents of five children: Lucinda, William H., 
Mary, Agnes and Silas. The oldest daughter is 
now deceased. The mother of this family passed 
from earth in March, 1880. Mr. Tanner was a 
second time married, Octoljer 2, 1890, taking as 
his companion Mrs. Amy Bullis, a native of Ohio. 
This union has been blessed by the birth of one 
child, Howard. The estate on which Mr. Tanner 
now lives was almost a wilderness when he took it 
up, there being only fifteen acres cleared and very 
poor and small buildings on it. He has erected a 
commodious and handsome residence and sub- 



K)RTRA1T AND BICGRAPHJCAL RECORD. 



545 



stantial oulbuilr)in<js anrl is carry! ng on a flourish- 
ing business in general farming. He pays consid- 
erable attention to dairy products and at present 
keeps twelve fine milch cows. In politics, Mr. 
Tanner is and always has been a stalwart advocate 
of the Republican party and has been lionored with 
several township olliccs. lie was tlie incumbent of 
the position of Highway Commissioner two 3'ears 
and has held all the school offices. He has been 
a prominent member of the C4range but is now de- 
mitted. He belongs to the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen and takes an interest m good 
schools. 



e^; 




,,..f LHERTUS KOLVOOHD, senior partner in 
'f^EJli the firm of Kolvoord it Tepavest, proprie- 
tors of a general store at Hamilton, is un- 
doubtedly tlie most successful business 
man, in his line, in the village, if not in the 
count}-. He is regarded as a man of exceptional 
integrity and standing in the financial world, and 
is quite prominent in public life in this commu- 
nity. The firm carry a general stock of rcad}"- 
made clothing, boots, shoes, dry goods, millinery, 
crockery, groceries, meats, etc., etc. The building 
which they occupy is 44x50 feet in dimensions, 
with a Kisement the same size. Sir. Kolvoord 
has been in business in Hamilton for ten years, 
and is consequently one of the best-known resi- 
dents in the county. 

Our subject was born in Holland Township, Ot- 
tawa County, February 18, 1856. He is a son of 
John Kolvoord, a native of the Netherlands, and 
who made settlement, in 1847, in Holland, with 
the Holland Colony. The maiden name of our 
subject's mother was Grietje Blink, also a native 
of Holland. She is still living in Overi.sel Town- 
ship, Allegan Count}', aged sixty years. The 
father died in 1857. 

He of whom we write was the fourth in order 
of birth in liis parents' family of live sons. lie 
was reared in Holland and Overisel Townships, and 
although lie started t)ut to do for himself at the 
age of nine years, made his home under the ])ar- 
ental roof until he reached his majority. When 



nineteen yeai-s old, lie entered Hope College at 
Holland, and was graduated from the preparatory 
department, in 1879. His marriage occurred in 
tlie above-named year, when he was united to Eliz- 
abeth J>anehouse, who was a native of Allegan 
County. Mr. and Mrs. Kolvoord have become the 
parents of three ciiildren: Glen, who is deceased; 
Gracie, also deceased; and Leon. 

Mr. Kolvoord started in the mercantile business 
in 1881, and the present partnership w.is formed 
in 1891. The firm carry on a very successful 
trade, and are noted for the courteous treatment 
of their patrons. In polities, our subject gives his 
allegiance to the Republican party. He h.<is never 
sought office, but at the solicitation of his fel- 
low-citizens, he has served them as Township 
Treasurer for two 3'ears, and at the present time is 
School Iusi)ector. 



JACOB ECllTINAW, a prominent farmer of 
section II, Way land Township, Allegan 
County, was born in Mahoning, Ohio, April 
23, 1843, and is the son of Peter and Re- 
becca (Snyder) Echtinaw, both natives of I>an- 
caster. Pa., the former of whom followed the occu- 
pation of a farmer. Our subject came to Michigan 
with his parents when ten yeai-s old, and his edu- 
cational advantages were but few. They settled 
in Ovid Township, Branch Count}-, at which 
place he grew to manhood. He is the eighth child 
in his father's family of twelve children. The 
parents passed away in Branch County, Mich. 

Our subject enlisted in ilefense of his country's 
honor, March 30, 1864, in Company E, Nine- 
teenth Michigan Infantry. He was with .Sher- 
man's army in all his campaigns and went on the 
famous march to the sea with that illustrious 
general, and was also present at the (J rand Re- 
view at Washington. He was honorably dis- 
charge at I^uisville, Ky., remaining there some 
time. He returned to Michigan and came to Alle- 
gan County in the fall of 1865. Subsequently 
purchasing the place on which he now resides, 
wiiich was then an unimproved piece of land, he 



546 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



went to work with a determined will to make an 
attractive and profitable farm, which he has suc- 
ceeded in doing. He is now the possessor of eighty 
well-tilled acres, on which are splendid buildings. 
Jacob Echtinaw mari'ied, on the 8th of November, 
1866, Miss Mary Ann Towsley, a native of Branch 
Countj-, this State. To them have been born six 
children: Edwin, who is now in Chicago engaged 
in a nutriment establishment; Rose, who is now 
Sirs. .John Sturgis, of Leighton Township, this 
county, and who taught school previous to her 
marriage; John, Harriet, Harry and EfBe, all of 
whom are j'et under the parental roof. Mr. 
Echtinaw is a true-blue Republican and cast his 
first vote for Abraham Lincoln. The family stands 
liigh in the social circles of the township. Mr. 
Echtinaw is a Master Mason, being a member of 
James Fenton Lodge, No. 224, at Wayland, and 
also belongs to the Grand Army Post at Bowen. 



^ • 



m>-^¥r<m^ 



(^^UOMAH A. BARNES, a resident of Way- 
/i^S^, land Township, Allegan County, was born 
^vji/' in Newcastle, Canada, November 30, 1831. 
He is a son of Gilbert and Lydia (Lawson) Barnes, 
natives of Connecticut and New York, respectivel}'. 
The senior Mr. Barnes was a millwright and ship 
builder, coming to Michigan in 1832 or 1833, and 
was one of ten men who founded the city of Grand 
Rapids. His residence in this State was ver}- shoi t, 
he having fallen into the Grand River, and was 
drowned. His body was not found until the fol- 
lowing spring, when it had floated down the river 
to the shore of Lake Michigan. The good mother 
died before the family removed to this State. 

After the death of his father, our subject was 
taken to his half-brother's in Monroe County, N. 
Y., where he remained until 1840. His advantages 
for an education were verj- limited, and he soon set 
about to make his own way in the world. He re- 
turned to Michigan and locating in Ovid Township, 
Branch County, did whatever he could find to do, 
but most of the time worked at the carpenter and 
joiner's trade, which he had learned while in New 
York. 

Mr. Barnes was united in marriage with Mary J. 



Burley, of Harleman, Newcastle, Canada, the cere- 
mony taking jjlace October, 1855. Tliey are the 
parents of five children, two of whom survive, 
George W. and Daniel E. Those deceased are 
Gilbert "W., Andrew J. and Lidey. He enlisted in 
1863, in Company H, Eighty -second Ohio Infan- 
try, and was attached to the Army of the Cumber- 
land, First Brigade, I^ighth Division, and Twen- 
tieth Corps, under Gen. Sherman. He was engaged 
in active operations during the next two years, and 
a part of the time in the guerrilla warfare. He was 
sick and taken to the hospital at Louisville, Ky. 
He was honorably discliarged in October, 1864. 

After the close of the war, Mr. Barnes spent a 
short time in Ohio, afterward going to Windsor, 
Canada, where he remained one and one-half years. 
He decided to return to Michigan, and located in 
Grand Rapids three years. At the end of that time 
he came to Wayland Township, where he has since 
remained. In 1883 he erected a mill for the manu- 
facture ofeider, jellies, sorghum and potash, besides 
running a gristmill, which has been very success- 
fully and profitably carried on. The building is 
50x50 feet in dimensions, and two stories in 
height, employing from four to twelve men. Mr. 
Barnes is an ardent advocate of the Republican 
platform, but has never been an aspirant to office. 
The memory of the late war is brought back to him 
by his connection with the Grand Arm}' of the Re- 
public at Wayland, being a member of Sterling 
Post. In religion, he is a free-thinker. 

, OS3 



iICHARD JOHNSON. In this gentleman 
Allegan County has a most worthy citizen, 
L \\\ who is an excellent type of its farming 
^^ population. He has a good farm lying on 
section 22, Martin Township, upon which he con- 
ducts a profitable business as a general farmer and 
stock-raiser. He claims the township of Gaines- 
ville, W^'oming Countj", N. Y., as his native place, 
and August 10, 1835, as the date of his birth. His 
father, who bore the same name as himself, was 
born in Dutchess County, N. Y., and was there 
reared on a farm, adopting the calling of a farmer 
for his life work, when he arrived at years of dis- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



547 



cretion. lie iiiiirried Ilelona Lester, who was horn 
and reared on a farm near his birtliplace. Tliey 
si)ent a part of their married life in Cattaraugus 
County, N. Y., whence they came to Michigan in 
1870, and spent their remaining j'ears in retire- 
ment in the village of Martin, in the enjoyment of 
an ample income. The father died at the ripe age 
of seventy-five, and the mother's life w.as brought 
to a close when she was seventy years old. They were 
the parents of nine ciiildren, three daughters and 
six sons, of whom these three are living: Andrew, 
a resident of Castile, "Wyoming Country, N. Y.; 
Charles, a resident of JNIinnesota; and our subject. 

Richard .lohnson is the fifth child and third son 
of his parents. He passed his early life in his na- 
tive county, and completed his education in its 
public schools. When he was nineteen years old, 
he started out to try life on his own .account, be- 
ing a strong, capable, independent youth, well able 
to look after his own interests. lie worked out by 
the job on a farm until he had laid by suflicient 
money to enable him to marry, that important 
event in his career taking place October 11, 1857, 
on which date he was wedded to Miss I^ydia ISIc 
Intyrc. His wife is also a native of the Empire 
State, born in MachiasTownsliip, .lanu.iry "24, 1885. 
Their parent-s were neighbors in their childiiood, 
she being the only daughter of .loseph and I'hebe 
(Lewis) Mclntyre, natives of New York, who had 
six ciiildren. of whom live are now living. 

After marriage our subject located in his native 
township on a leased farm, which he operated some 
six years. In 18(55, he made u|) his iiiiud that he 
could do still better in Michigan, and came hither 
with his family, coming directly to .Allegan Countj'. 
He imiiK'diately invested his monej' in an eighty- 
acre tract of land in Hopkins Township, of which 
ten acres were improved. He [ilaced upon it many 
substantial liiiinovements during the three years 
that he remained upon it, building two barns, set- 
ting out an orchard of one hundred and thirty 
trees, and placing considerable more of the land 
under tillage. ^Vhen he disposed of the place at 
the end of that time, he realized |!1,200 upon it. 
He puich.ased his ju-esenl hon'e.slead of forty acres 
on section 22, Martin Township, in 1868, and has 
since added thereto, making one hundred and live 



acres of choice land in all. Hcsides raising grain 
and other farm products, he devotes a part of his 
farm to stock purposes, and has a fine fiock of sev- 
entj'-fivc sheep, besides cattle and horses. 

Mr. iind Mrs. Johnson have li.ad seven children, 
namely: Ernest, now deceased; Adell, deceased; 
Nellie, the wife of the Rev. Frederick I5en-y, p.astor 
of the Baptist Church at Koseland, Chicago; Jesse 
E., who married Miss Nettie Brown, and lives in 
Otsego; William who lives at Morg.an Park, Chi- 
cago; and Arthur, who lives at home. 

Our subject is a man of strong moral character, 
who leads a consistent Christian life, and is greatl}' 
respected by his neighbors and all who know him. 
He is strictly temperate in his habits, and an earn- 
est advocate of prohibitive legislation as regards 
the liquor traffic, and casts his vote for the Prohi- 
bition party. Both he and his wife are members in 
high standing of the Methodist E[)lscoi)al ('iiuicli, 
in which he holds the ollice of Steward. 

A ' ^^^ <••?•> & "^ & 

\TS^ UNCAN C. McVEAN. The brief outline of 
the life of this eminently useful man, who, 
by the exercise of industry, good sense and 
well-cultivated moral feelings, has been enabled to 
effect a large amount of good and beneficially 
to influence the condition of mankind, cannot but 
be a valuable addition to this volume. .Mr. Mc- 
Vean is a prominent farmer of Allegan County, 
and the owner of one hundred and sixty-five 
acres on section 30, Martin Township, also ninety- 
two acres on section 31, which he has brought to 
a high cultivation. At one time he engaged in 
business .as a stock-dealer, but at present limits his 
attention to general farming. 

Mr. McVean traces his ancestry to the Highlands 
of Scotland, whence his paternal gramlfatlier. 
Daniel, emigrated to America about 1771, .-nul 
participated in the Rcvolutionaiy War as .S-r- 
geaiit. Duncan, father of our subject, was born 
and reared in Johnstown, N. Y.. where he learned 
the trade of a carpenter and wagon-maker, and 
made the first wagon he ever owned. .V gener- 
ous, genial man, he was respected by all with 
whom business or social relations brouirht hlin 



548 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



into contact, aud when ho died, in 1827, he was 
moiuued by a host of warm friends. Tlie mother 
of our subject, whose maiden name was Jane 
Ci'eighton, was a native of New Yoik Slate, and 
was there reared to womanhood. Iler father, 
.John Creighton, was a native of the Highlands 
of Scotland, and emigrated thence to America at 
the same time that Daniel McYean crossed the 
ocean. A devoted patriot, he gave liis services 
to his adopted country' during the War of the 
Revolution. 

The record of tlie parental family of seven 
children is as follows: Janet, Mrs. Porter, is de- 
ceased; Isabel, wife of H. K. Mills, resides in 
Plainwell, this State; .John and Daniel were twins, 
the latter deceased and the former a resident of 
Caledonia; Margaret is the wife of M. Wylie; 
Duncan C, the subject of this sketch, was the 
sixth in order of birth; and Ann, who married 
William Russell, is deceased. Our subject was 
born in Caledonia Township, Livingston County, 
N. Y., November 29, 1824, and, bereaved by the 
death of his father when three years old, made his 
home with his motiier until lie was twentv. In 
September, 1846, he came to Michigan, locating in 
Martin Township, and, with his brothers, taking 
up land from the Government on sections 30 and 
31. He there built a small frame house, 16x20 
feet, and devoted the ensuing 3'ears to the im- 
provement of the place. 

In November, 1855, Mr. McVean was married 
to Mar3' A., the daughter of Robert and -Mary 
(Simpson) Davidson, natives of Scotland. Mrs. 
McVean was born in Genesee County, N. Y., Oc- 
tober 16, 1837, and came to Allegan County with 
her parents when she was about nine years old, 
settling in Gun Plain Township, where she grew 
to womanhood. Mr. and Mrs. JMcVean are the 
parents of nine children, namely: Franklin, who 
married Belle Crosby and resides in Gun Plain 
Townsliip; Daniel, who was united with Lillian 
Pollitt, and is a farmer of this county; Alice, the 
wife of Chester Roberts, of Allegan ; Flora, the 
wife of William Crosby, of Dakota; Lizzie, who 
married George Redpath and resides in Martin 
Township; Hugh, .Jennie, milliard and iNIarion, 
wlio are at home with tlieir parents. 



Politically, Mr. JIcYean is a firm Repiil)liean, 
and in his religious preference is identified with 
tlie Presb3'terian Church of Martin, in which he 
has served as Deacon and Trustee, and has ever 
been liberal in the building up of the church. 
The members of his familv are likewise members 
of that church, and are highly- esteemed in the 
social circles of the community. 



*^H^ 




NDREW J. KENT. To record the iinpor- 
tant events in the life of a gentleman of 
I!) honor, energy and enterprise is always a 
pleasing task, and it is therefore with 
pleasure that the biographical writer invites the 
reader to the account, in its princijial outlines, of 
the life of Mr. Kent, a prominent citizen of Alle- 
gan County', and a farmer on section 14, Watson 
Township. The two hundred acres which are in- 
cluded in his estate have mostly been brought 
under cultivation and have been embellished with 
a substantial set of farm buildings. 

In New York, in Almond Township, Steuben 
Count}', Mr. Kent was born December 5. 1825. 
He is of English descent, his paternal grandfather 
having been a native of England. .Tamos Kent, 
his father, was a native of Vermont, and followed 
the trade of a blacksmith, both in Almond Town- 
ship, Allegany County, N. Y., and later in Cuya- 
hoga Count}', Ohio. In 1846, he came to Michi- 
gan, locating on section 22, Watson Township, and 
becoming the owner of over one thousand acres in 
Allegan County. Upon his farm he erected a log 
house and also a log shop, where he carried on his 
trade until his death at sixty-six. 

Unto James Kent and his wife, Hannah (Veley) 
Kent, have been born fourteen children, our sub- 
ject being the sixth in order of birth. He was ten 
3ears old when he accompanied liis parents to 
Ohio, and he started out in life for himself three 
years later, in Raisin this State. For two years 
he remained with Mr. Van Nest on a farm, spend- 
ing his winters in the school room and his sum- 
mers in tilling the soil. He returned to the Buck- 
eye Stale at the age of fifteen and visited there for 





.^^ W x^^ 




Sc^^y-^^.^ ^. 7^J^^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



553 



two iiiontlis. lie next located in Ridgeway Town- 
tihip, 1-enawee County, where for twelve months 
he worked on a farm, and afterward sojourned in 
Ohio for one year. 

For one year Mr. Kent was employed on a farm 
fifty miles below Chicago, and from there went to 
IMuskogon, this State, where for two years he 
worked in tlio lumber woods. He afterwards came 
to Watson Township and assisted in clearing the 
farm where he now resides. He has since his mar- 
riage, in 1857, received the cheerful co-operation 
of his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Beard, 
and who is a native of this State. IMr. and JMrs. 
Kent have reared four children, namely: James A., 
who resides in Watson Township; Elizabeth, the 
wife of William Jones; Arthur 1)., and Abraham 
11.. who are at home. Politically, Mr. Kent is a 
Democrat, and, with his family, enjo^'s the confi- 
dence of bis fellow-citizens. 

Our subject, ever loyal to his country , at the 
age of twenty-two enlisted in Company A, First 
Michigan Regiment, mider Capt. Cortineus, and 
went to the Mexican War where he served for 
eight months, when, becoming unfit for service 
on account of sickness incident to the country, he 
was discharged and returned home and w^as under 
the doctor's care for two years. Mr. Kent 
lived in Otsego for seven years, where he carried 
on the drug business, but returned to liis farm in 
1874, where he has since resided. 






JOSEPH II. WETMORE. The members of 
any agricultural community who reside in 
close proximity to a city not only find a 
convenient market for their produce, butare 
alile to enjoy all tliq comforts of the city, with the 
plcajiures of rural life. The estate which Mr. Wet- 
more owns and occupies is most advantageousl3' 
located in the vicinity of Allegan, now one of the 
most enterprising villages of Western Michigan. 
It comprises four hundred acres on sections 3 and 
I, Allegan Township, and is embellished with a 
lirst-c-lass set of buildings, although .Mr. Wclinore 
sustained a severe loss in the destruction of his 
Ix-autiful home by fire in October, 1 HH9, Mr. Wct- 
25 A 



more is now living at the old homestead, which he 
purchased in 1870, and has since occupied, with 
the exception of a few years during which he re- 
sided in Allegan. 

In March, 1826, Mr. Wetmore was born in West- 
ford, Otsego County, N. Y., and is the son of 
Chester and Mary (Dutnont) Wetinorc, natives 
respectively of Connecticut and Westford, N. Y. 
After the marriage of the parents, which occurred 
in the Empire State, the father operated there as a 
farmer until 1835, when in October he came West 
to Michigan and settled in Gun Plain Township, 
Allegan County. There he purchased land and 
sojourned one year, removing thence 'to the place 
which is now the home of his son, our subject, and 
which is situated four miles north of the village of 
Allegan. He had purchased this property on com- 
ing to Jlichigan, and the land being heavil}' tim- 
bered, he was forced to do considerable pioneer 
work. 

When the father came to Allegan County, lie was 
compelled to open a road to his farm and build a 
boat to ferry across the Kalamazoo River to 
bring his household goods to his pl.acc. After his 
.arrival, he at once built a log house, 20x3(1 feet, 
eighty rods west of the present home, but in 1840, 
erected the first frame house outside of the village 
of Allegan. This was 24x36 feet in dimensions 
and was considered a fine house in those d.iys. 
With the various enterprises tending to promote 
the interests of the new county-, Mr. Wetmore was 
closely identified, and served .as one of the first 
Commissioners for assessing the county. He was 
industriousl}' occupied in clearing his land, of 
which he improved one hundred acres, and also 
operated as a stock-man During the spring fol- 
lowing his location here, he made a trip to Indiana 
in company with Mr. Ives and brought back one 
hundred head of cattle. He was a very benevo- 
lent m.an and a member of the Haptist Church, 
while his political affiliations were with the Demo- 
cratic party. His death occurred in 1872, he hav- 
ing survived his wife, who died in March, 1868. 
Of their six children, only two are now living, our 
subject and Albert D. The Wetmore family is 
descended from sturdy. New England stock, and 
traces its genealogy l)ack to the Pilgrim Fathers, 



554 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



three Wetmore brothers coming over in the "May- 
flower." 

The education.al opportunities which were ol'- 
fererl to our subject were eagerly taken advantage 
of, and after he completed his common-school edu- 
cation he attended the Methodist Seminary at Al- 
bion, this State. He was reared on his father's 
farm and remained at home until he was twenty- 
eight years old, when he purchased eighty acres of 
the old honipstead and eighty acres of land ad- 
joining. He impi-oved the place, and erected a 
commodious residence and substantial outbuild- 
ings, adding to his acreage by the jiurchase 
of the farm belonging to his father, which still 
remains in his possession. In connection with 
his farm, he has been interested in a meat-market 
in Allegan, and also purchased a mill in Allegan, 
which he ran for a short time. Then he pur- 
chased another gristmill in that place, which he 
continued to operate until it was sold in 1884. 

On October 4, 1854, Mr. Wetmore was united in 
marriage with Miss Caroline F. Davison, of Bing- 
hamton, N. Y. Mrs. Wetmore is the daughter of 
Ira and Julia A. (Rood) Davison, natives respect- 
ively of New .Tcrsey and New York, and her father 
was a builder and contractor. He came to Michi- 
gan in 1838, and settled in Trowbridge Township, 
Allegan County, where he lived two years. 
Thence he removed to the village .and followed his 
trade in connection with an oversight of his farm- 
ing interests until his death in 1890. The mother 
still survives at the age of. seventy-seven j'ears, 
and makes her home with Mrs. Wetmore. 

Mrs. Wetmore and her brother, .lason Davison, 
are the onl}- survivors in a family of eight child- 
ren. She was educated in the schools of Allegan 
and i^rior to her marriage followed the profession 
of a teacher. She is the mother of six children, 
of whom the following are noted: Lillian is the 
wife of William Neier, and the mother of 
five children: Lizzie Olie, Claude, Nera B., .lessie 
and an infant unnamed; .7. Lee is living with his 
father; Ada E., Mrs. A. H. Fostc r, has three chil- 
dren: Winnifred, Wellington and Hazel; Jesse W., 
Truman C. and Carrie F. complete the family 
circle. 

Mr. Wetmore is a supporter of the Union Labor 



part^' and belongs to the Patrons of Industry. He 
h.as held various official positions, serving as Jus- 
tice of the Peace for two years and as Highway 
Commissioner. So high does he stand in the con- 
fidence of his fellow-men, that he could have been 
nominated for Governor had he consented. He 
has received the nomination for Senator three 
times, but failed to secure tlie election on account 
of his party being very much in the minority. 
However, when votes were counted, the other can- 
didates found that they had a foeman worthj' of 
their steel. Socially, Mr. Wetmore is identified 
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and 
gives his support liberally to all progressive meas- 
ures. 

A lithographic portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Wet- 
more accompanies this sketch. 



c^F^HOMAS MONTEITH, an influential farmer 
of Allcg.an Countv, who resides on section 




.32. Martin Township, was born February 
2, 1817, in Caledonia Township, Livingston 
County, N. Y. He is the lirother of Walter Mon- 
teith, whose sketch will he found in .another por- 
tion of this volume. Our subject w.as reared in 
his native i)lace and obtained his education, which 
was somewhat limited, in the common schools of 
the neighborhood. In 1838, when he had attained 
to his raiijoritj', he came to Michig.an, in company 
with his father; two brothers. William and Wal- 
ter, had preceded him hither. 

From tlie Empire State Mr. Monteith came di- 
rect to Kalamazoo, most of the trip being made 
by stage, and from Kalamazoo he walked to Plain- 
well, thence to Martin Township. Here the father 
took up section 32, of which he gave Thomas one 
hundred and sixty acres, his present farm. At 
that time it w.as all raw land, the surroundings 
were uninviting and neighbors few, and it was only 
by the exercise of tireless industry and unceasing 
perseverance that the place was brought to its 
present cultivation. When Mr. Monteith first set- 
tled upon it he remained with his brothers, but 
later built a log house, in which he kept "bache- 
lor's hall." 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



555 



Money was scarcp and I lie little received barely 
sullieed to ])ay taxes, while the products of the 
farm were exclianjied for the necessities of daily 
life. Each year ten acres of land were cleared, 
until the whole place was lirou<i;ht under a good 
state of cultivation. When read^' to establish a 
home of his own, Mr. iMonteilli was married, Au- 
gust 18, 1H47, to Mai-ijaret ('., daughter of Robert 
and .Ienni(^ (Pollock) Campbell, natives of Scot- 
land. When quite young, Mr. and Mrs. Camp- 
bell came to America, and their marriage took 
place in Saratoga Count}-, N. Y. Their familj- 
comprised five children, three of whom are now 
living. The father died at the age of fifty-six, 
and the mother when four-score and nine. 

In (lalway Township, Saratoga County, N. Y., 
Mrs. Monteith was born .June 28, 1824, and when 
eleven years old came to Michigan with her par- 
ents, with whom she remained until her marriage 
ui St. .Iose|)h County. After their marriage, 3Ir. 
and Mi-s. Monteith settled on the place which is 
still their home, and were soon comfortably domi- 
ciled in one of the best log houses in the county 
— the work of Mr. Monteith. After making their 
home in that plain, but comfortable, house until 
I860, they erected the beautiful residence, which 
is conceded to be one of the most attr.active. in the 
community, at a cost of about '11,000. There are 
also four substantial barns, as well as other farm 
buildings, on the homestead. 

Eight children blessed the union of ^Ir. and Mrs. 
Monteith. Robert C. married Sarah (J. Living- 
ston, and they reside in Coultersville, Randolph 
County, 111., where he is Pastor of the United 
Presbyterian Chvu-ch; David P. married Ida B. 
Ross, of Plainwell Township; Thom.as was united 
with Emma C. Henderson, and resides in Martin 
Township; Mamie B. is at home wiih her parents; 
.Maggie S. is the wife of .James E. Harper, a lead- 
ing jeweler of Delhi, N. Y. .lulia A. died at the 
age of four j'ears, and one of a pair of twins died 
in infancy, while tlie other (.lennie) passed aw.ay 
at the age of thirteen years. 

Tlie farm of three hundred and twenty' acres, 
which is the proi)erty of Mr. Jlonteith, has by his 
tireless exertions been brought to its pre,sent high 
^tale (if cultivation. When lie came here, his 



neighbors were a few scattermg white families, 
and Indians, who would often come in close 
proximity' to his house. All kinds of wild animals 
abounded,and displayed the same fearlessness wliich 
characterized the savages. He remembers when 
there were onl}- three hou.ses in Battle Creek and 
very few in Kalamazoo, and has been a witness 
of the startling changes which the last half-cen- 
tury has wrought. Politicall}', he was formerly a 
AVhig and cast his first vote for Gen. Harrison in 
1840, and is now a member of the Republican 
party. For eight 3-ears he served as .Justice of 
the Peace, for twenty years as School Director, 
and has been Highway Commissioner. In the 
work of the United Presbyterian Church, he li.as 
been active, and is now Trustee. When the 
church was organized fifty ^ears .ago, its first 
meetings were held in a house on IMr. Monteith's 
farm, and he and the members of his family have 
been its most liberal supporters since its organ- 
ization. 



'^llAiY ROSSMAN. This gentleman, who 
l@/ij|| has now retired from .active life and is 
spending his years in comfort in his beauti- 
„^^ ful home in Allegan, has always held a 

prominent pLace in this county and is well known 
and respected bj' its citizens. He was born in 
Aurelius Township, Cayuga County, N. Y'.,.June 14, 
1812, .and is a sou of George .and Ruth (Wood) 
Rossman, natives of New Y'ork and Connecticut, 
respectively. His father was an old Revolutionary 
soldier and a farmer by occupation, and also a 
mechanic. He removed to Ohio in an early daj-, 
where his wife died, in ^Madison County. He re- 
turned to New Y'ork and his death occurred atMt 
Morris, Genesee County, that State. 

The subject of this sketch was the youngest of a 
family of sixteen children and was eight years old 
when he went to live with a sister at Springport, 
N. Y'., remaining there one year and attending the 
school which was two miles distant. After leav- 
ing his sister's, he went to Aubura and was there 
apprenticed to learn the trade of a machinist, 



556 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



working in a furnace aud niacliine shop for three 
years. He continued at his trade as a journeyman 
until 1836, coming to Michigan in that year, stop- 
ping first at Marshall, in Calhoun County, where 
he remained six months building a furnace and 
operating it, in which he ran the fii"st iron and cast 
the first plow made in Miciiigan. He then came 
to Allegan and started a furnace and made the 
first sled made in this county. Later he added a 
machine shop and ran it in connection with his 
furnace for twenty-nine veal's. He then sold out 
and built a small store and several houses, and was 
one of a company that erected the Chaflfee Block, 
which is the finest one in the village. He was 
burnt out in 1869, suffering a severe loss of pro- 
perty. In that year he removed to his farm which 
he had purchased of the Boston Company, and 
laid out fifteen acres in village lots, called the Ross- 
man Addition. He was elected Justice of the 
Peace and held the office for five years, also serv- 
ing .as Alderman, Village Marshal and Superin- 
tendent of the Water Works, the building of which 
was done under his supervision. 

Mr. Rossman wiis married in 1832 to Miss Ange- 
line Dickinson of New York and to them two chil- 
dren have been born: George AV., who married 
Eliz.'ibeth Newcomb of Ganges, this State, the 
daughter of John and Jane (Harrison) Newcomb, 
natives of England. She liad one child, Kate E., 
who resides with her grandparents, her father hav- 
ing died in .Tanu.iry, 1889, and her mother in Sep- 
tember of the same year. The other child, Mary 
A., married Capt. Frederick Hart who was the Sec- 
retary of the ^Michigan State Insurance Companj^ 
at the time of his de.ath in 1877. He was Captain of 
the Adrian Guards, and a member of the Knights j 
Templar. The mother of these children died in 
1848. 

Our subject was married a second time to Mrs. 
P:iecta Dickinson, the widow of George W. Dickin- 
son, by whom she had one daughter, Cynthia, who 
is now Mrs. Henry C. Smith; Mrs. Rossman's par- 
ents were Chester and Cynthia (Gr.anger) Hooker, 
natives of Cayuga County, N. Y. Sirs. Rossman 
has three grandchildren : Dr. Charles H. Smith who 
married Edith Hyde and has one son Lawrence H., 
residing .at Chatt.anooga, Tenn.; Annie E. (Mrs. G, 



H.Buchanan), who is the mother of two children, 
A. Louisa and Laura E.; Glenn D., who is Cashier 
of the Adams Express Company at Toledo, Ohio. 
Mv. Rossman has lieen a sturdy Democrat ever 
since he was old enough to vote, his first ballot 
being cast for Andrew Jackson and the List for 
Grover Cleveland. He is a liberal and public- 
spirited man and h.as contributed largely to the 
erection of churches, schoolliouses, etc. He has a 
beautiful home which was built at a cost of 15,000 
and in which with his f.amily he is spending the 
evening of life in comfort and happiness. 



^^^l 



m< 



'H 



1^ 




|Z_^ ON. FRANCIS C;OODMAN. This promi- 
nent and respected resident of .S.alem Town- 
ship, Allegan County, is living retired 
from the active duties of life on his beau- 
tiful farm of one hundred and twenty acres, on 
section 18. His estate bears all the modern im- 
provements, and by a proper rotation of crops, 
has been brought to a high degree of cultivation. 
He has erected the various buildings on his place 
which best subserve the purpose of a first-class ag- 
riculturist, aud is ranked among the well-to-do 
citizens of Allegan County. 

The gentleman whose name heads this sketch 
is the son of William and Mary E. (Albright) 
Goodman, natives of Germany, where our subject 
was born, March 3, 1827. Three years later, his 
parents emigrated to America, and located in 
Franklin County, Pa., near the village of AV.aj'nes- 
boro. There the father rented a farm for two 
.years, after which he purchased fifty acres of land 
at the foot of the mountains, which he made his 
home the succeeding six years. He then came 
West to Richland County, Ohio, and, after a resi- 
dence there of two years, removed to MariOD 
County, same State, where he erected a log house, 
and improved his land. Eight years later, he sold 
his property and removed to Crestline, Ohio, 
where he remained a twelvemonth, and in 1853, 
came to Allegan County, where he entered a half- 
section of land from the Government. He made 
that tract his home the remainder of his life, and 
died August 18, 1882, at the age of eighty-three 



PORTRAIT AMD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



557 



years. His ffood wife followed liiin, a few years 
later, to llie better land, jjussiiig away in 1886, 
aged eighty-four years. 

The grandfatlior of Francis Ooodniaii was a na- 
tive of Alsai'i'-Lorraine, and served under Napol- 
eon during iiis Russian ciuniiaign. Never nturn- 
ing, it is probaltle, tlial lie perished in the snows 
on their retreat from Moscow. His widow 
moved over the line into Ilesse-Darmstadt, where 
she reared her only child — our subject's father. 

Jlr. ( toodman, of tins sketch, was onl^' given 
limited e(lucational advantages. He aided in the 
erecti(ni of the first stoi'c-building in Crestline, 
Ohio. March 5, 1852, he was happily married to 1 
Cliristine. daughter of Balthaser Slagel. Mrs. 
(loodman was a native of the I'atherlaml, and at 
the time of her marriage to our subject was resid- 
ing in Marion County, Ohio. Their union has 
been blest b^- the birth of eleven children: Mary 
Ann, William H., Elizabeth, David I., Loretta, | 
Caroline S., Katy, IMaggie, Francis A., Savilla, { 
Joseph W. Mary Ann married I-ewis Mooney, 
and makes her home in Salem, Allegan County; 
William H. married Alice Hartnian, and resides at 
Hnrniii's CV)rncrs, where iie is engaged in conduct- 
ing a general store; Elizabeth, Mrs. Lyman Baker, 
is also a resident of Salem; David, who is unmar- 
ried, is assisting in the general store at Burnip's 
Corners; Loretta, Mrs. Naliam .Snook, lives in 
Grand Rapids; Caroline S. married Lutlier John- 
son, and they make their home in Salem Township; 
Katy became Mrs. Nol)le Moored, and lives at 
Grand Rapids; Maggie, who is unmarried, is a 
dressmaker in Grand Rapids; Francis A. is also 
single, and with Savilla, resides with his parents; 
and Joseph W., who married Lucy Fleser, and is a 
farmer. 

In politics, the Hon. i'lancis Goodman is an inllu- 
ential member of the Republican party. He has 
Iwen honored l>v his fellow-townsmen, by i)eing 
elected to various ofFices of trust and responsibil- 
ity, within their gift, serving as Supervisor of 
Kak'm Towiisliip for ten terms. He was also Com- 
missioner and Justice of the Peace, serving in the 
latter ofliee two terms. He was nominated 
on tlie Republican ticket, to rejiresent the Sec- | 
ond District in the Slate lA-gislature, and w.-is 



elected over liis o|)poneiit, 'I'heodorc Castor, a Un- 
ion candidate, by a majority- of three hundred and 
sixty-nine. While in that body, he served on the 
committee of the Horticultural and Agricultural 
College. He w.as re-elected to the same otiice in 
the fall of 1882, over Henry E. Blaekman, a I'n- 
ioii ("andidate, and <luiing that term was Chair- 
man of the Committee on Horticulture and State 
Institutions. Since that time he has not been 
active in politics. 

During the late war, our subject enlisted in 
Company D, Ninth Michigan Infantr\-, his regi- 
ment being sent to join the Army of the Cumber- 
land. He served bravely in the defense of his 
couiitr\- until the close of the war, receiving his 
honorable discharge, June 20, 18()."). In 1853, 
our subject purchased the land on which he re- 
sides, and, starting out in life with nothing but 
strong hands and a determination to win a com- 
petency, he h.is made a success of his undertaking, 
as he is one of the prominent and well-to-do resi- 
dents of the county. Socially, the Hon. ^Ir. 
Goodman is a member of Salem Lodge, No. 169. I. 
O. 0. F., in which order he is Past Noble Grand. 
He is one of the oldest settlers in Salem Township, 
and is greatly' honored and respected in his com- 
munity. 



4^ 



-^ 






"ii^S^ ATHAN B. WEST. There are some men in 
h community who naturally come to the 
lit in spite of the lack of early advan- 
tages, or the many discour.agements which may 
meet them in their upward career. The^' have 
energy, perseverance and self-assertion enough to 
make for themselves the place which they feel that 
they arc born to till. These are wliat we call self- 
made men, and a most worthy illustration of this 
class m-w be fouml in the gentleman whose name 
heads this sketch. 

.Mr. West, who is now living a retired life at Al- 
legan, is a native of AL'issachusetts, lieing bfirn in 
Lee, Berkshire County, May 2:3, 181C. His parents, 
Timothy N. and Thankful (Bassett) West, were na- 
tives of the same State, where his father followed 
farminsj. The latter came We.'-t in lM;i(i. settling 



558 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in AUegau County and purchasing a farm in 
Pine Plains on which he lived a few 3'ears, then 
made his home with his son Nathan B.,in Allegan, 
for the remainder of his life. The paternal grand- 
father of our subject was Ebenezer AVest, who 
married Mehitable Nj'e, both being natives of 
Tolland, Conn. Grandfather West was a farmer 
by occupation, but at one time operated a blast 
furnace in the town of Leuox, Berkshire County. 
Later in life he moved to the township of Locke, 
N. Y., where he lived a retired life until his death. 
He was a soldier during the Revolutionary War, 
and was at the battle of White Plains, although 
he took no active part in it. He was an earnest 
Christian and a member of the Congregational 
Church. He reared a large family of children. 
The maternal grandfather was Nathan Bassett, a 
native of Massachusetts, who, during the War of 
'76, was the owner of a coasting vessel, which 
carried goods from one place to another. He was 
by trade a blacksmith, but also carried on farm- 
ing. He resided in Lee, Berkshire Count}', where 
his death took place. He had a family of eight 
children, who were well trained in habits of in- 
dustry and integrity. He was a thorough Christ- 
ian and a devoted member of the Congregational 
Church. 

Nathan B. West was one of a family of four 
children, two of whom are living. His sister 
Roxanna, Mrs. Edwin A. Murray, resides in Den- 
nison, Texas, where her son, B. C. Murray, is the 
publisher of the Sunday Gazetteer. The early edu- 
cation of our subject was obtained in the district 
schools of his native State and New York, and he 
lived upon a farm until he was sixteen years old. 
He then learned the house-carpenter's trade, at 
which he was to serve an apprenticeship of four 
j'ears. He, however, purchased his last 3-ear's 
time from his employer, who was his brother, 
Albert, pa3'ing him one hundred dollars for the 
same. He removed from the East to Allegan, in 
August, 1836. The manner in which he reached 
his new home was illustrative of the sturdy char- 
acter of the boy. He had built a row-boat for use 
on the river, and after settling with his brother, 
packed his wordly goods in the boat and floated 
down the river, stopping at Saugatuck, where he 



waited for a schooner, and when one came along, 
took p.assage in it for Chicago. Here he worked 
two winters, and for one summer in Wisconsin, at 
his trade. He then returned to Allegan, and in the 
fall of 184:1, with his brother, engaged in the manu- 
facture of sash, blinds, doors, etc, under the firm 
name of A. & N. B. West. This wiis the first estab- 
lishment of the kind in Allegan County, and they 
did a prosperous business until his brother's death 
in 1852. Two years later the place was burned 
and Mr. AYest lost all the property that he had 
accumulated. In the same year, 1854, Chancy J. 
Bassett, a cousin of our subject, came West and 
entered into partnership with him, which con- 
tinued until the War of the Rebellion broke out. 
Soon afterward C. J. Bassett enlisted in the J^ighth 
Michigan Infantry. After reaching New Orleans, 
he was appointed Colonel of a colored regiment, 
and wiiile going up the Red River was shot, djing 
from his wounds in a few dajs afterwards. 

Mr. West continued in his manufacturing busi- 
ness until 1864, when he was again burned out. 
He rebuilt and successfully carried it on until 1869, 
when for the third time he was so unfortunate as 
to have his place entirely destroj^ed by fire. In 
spite of all these discouragements, he was not dis- 
heartened, but went steadily to work to retrieve 
his fortunes. He again rebuilt his place and con- 
tinued in the business until he was seventy years 
old, when he retired from active life, but still had 
an oversight ov^er the affairs of the companj' until 
1890, when he finally sold out his interests in it. 

The marriage of our subject took place October 
30lh, 1845, to Miss Melissa Guiley, a daughter of 
Nicholas and Betsey' (Scripture) Gurley, natives of 
New Hampshire. Mrs. West was born at Sand}' 
Creek, Oswego County, N. Y. Slie is a most esti- 
mable woman and with her husband has been a 
member of the Congregational Church for many 
years. Mr. West has always held a prominent po- 
sition in the affairs of this county and has helped 
along in eveiy enterprise tending to its advance- 
ment and development. He was on the School 
Board for ten years and was one of the stock- 
holders of the First National Bank at Allegan, and 
also holds stock in the Kalamazoo, Allegan and 
Grand Rapids Railroad. He w.as one of the char- 



pjrtrait and biographical record. 



559 



tcr membere of the Congregational Church, of 
whicli he has ever been a liberal supporlor, ami 
lias donated larirdy to other cluirchcs in this c-oiinty. 
lie has a beautiful luinie on River Street in AUegau, 
which was built in 1844. on ground, which, when 
lie became owner of it, was covered with trees and 
stumps. In' politics, Mr. West is a Republican) 
casting his first vote when in the old Whig party for 
William II. Harrison, and taking great pleasure in 
giving his ballot at the Last election for IJenjamin 
Harrison. 



L^^IIOMAS T. TUClvEY, a farmer and stock- 
(if^^ raiser on section 2, Paw Paw Township, 
*V^^ Van Buren County-, is the owner of forty 
acres of well-improved laud, where he carries on 
general farming aad stock-raising. This gentle- 
man was born in ]\Ionroe County, X. Y., December 
7, 1840, to Thomas andLucinda (Rulison) Tuckey, 
both natives of New York. The sketch of John 
Tuckey, who is an elder brother of our subject, 
will appear in this book. Our subject was .about 
eighteen months old when his parents removed to 
Erie County, Pa., where the father died when he 
W.1S about eight j-ears old. The mother with the 
family moved back to Monroe Count}-, N. Y., 
where our subject lived until he w.is sixteen years 
old. The family then removed to Van Buren 
County, this State, and settled on a piece of land in 
Antwerp Township, where they remained for four 
years, and then went to Tex.as Township, Kal.a- 
mazoo County. Our subject there resided until 
he was about thirty years old, his mother keeping 
house for him. About 18G2 he sold out and bought 
his present farm. There was. at that time about 
one hundred acres cleared, and he has cleared 
about twenty- more, having in all one hundred and 
forty acres. The beautiful home is located about 
one mile out of Paw Paw, and Mr. Tuckey has ac- 
cumulated all that he has b}' his own push, i)luck 
and perseverance. 

He of whom we write was first married, Decem- 
ber 28, 1881, to Miss Libbie Kdger, and the good 
wife and helpmate passed awaj- in 1885. He was 



again married, January 26, 1888, to Mrs. Annie S. 
Copeland, nee Stainton, a daughter of B3'ran and 
Elizabeth (Ward) Stainton, Mrs. Tuckey w.as l)orn 
in Wa^ne County, N. Y., Augut 10, 1838, and was 
reared in Geneva, Ontario County, N. Y., receiv- 
ing her education in Ovid Seminary, Seneca 
County. During her senior year she was married, 
April 2, 1857, to Charles D. Copeland, and by this 
marriage she became the niotherof two sons, Fred S., 
born in Geneva, Ontario County ,N. Y., April 9,1859, 
who died in California, June 10, 1886. The second 
son. Irving, was born in Lima, Livingston County, 
N. Y. He graduated in 1891 from the Paw Paw 
High School. Mr. Copeland died in Rochester N. 
Y., August 4, 1886. He was a florist at Rochester 
for about twelve ^-ears, and was very highly edu- 
cated. He was a son of John Copeland, a Metho- 
dist minister and Presiding Elder for a number of 
years. 

Our subject is a Republican in his [)olitical views 
and cast his first Presidental vote for Abraham 
Lincoln in 1864. He is a member of the Presb}'- 
terian Church, as is also his good wife. He is a 
Trustee in his church, and a member of the Grange. 
In 1882, the beloved mother of our subject was 
stricken with paralysis, from which she partially 
recovered, but in trying to walk, fell and broke 
her hip, and was ever after helpless. She had 
always made her made her home with our sub- 
ject, but after the accident made her home part of 
the time with with her daughter, Mrs. J^ottie Brit- 
ton, of Kalamazoo, where she died in Januaiy, 
1889. She was nearly seventy-seven years of age. 



^m>^^<^^ 



/^^ YRUS C. BABBITT. This representative 
||[ farmer of Dorr Township, Allegan County, 

^^^ comes from good old New Jersey stock, as 
his father, Aaron Babbitt, was a native of that 
State and in an early da^' removed to Truml)ull 
County, Ohio, where he spent the remainder of 
his life. He followed the trade of a cooper. 

The father of our subject was married to Betsey 
Piatt, a native of Ohio. She passed from this life 
in Ohio, when her son, our subject, was but eleven 
j'ears old, in 1837. Cyrus C. Babbitt was born 



560 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



August 3, 1826, in Trumbull County, Ohio, now 
Mahoning County. After the death of his parents, 
be went to reside with a Mr. E. B. Babcock, in 
Portage County, Ohio. When nineteen years old, 
he went to learn the trade of a wagon -maker. 
He served three years' apprenticeship and then 
worked at it three years. He received a limited 
education in the district schools. He never atten- 
ded college, but being of studious habits and 
a close observer, he attained a practical knowl- 
edge that has served him to good purpose. 

The young man was married in Portage C'ounty, 
Ohio, on the 10th of October, 1849, to Maria N. 
Miller. Three children have resulted from this 
union and two of them still live: Helen C. and 
Charles H. Amelia died in infancy. This couple 
started the next spring after their marriage to 
this State and located In Dorr Township, this 
county. In the election of that same spring, there 
were only ten votes polled in this and Hopkins town- 
ship combined. Grand Rapids was the nearest mar- 
keting place and it was a distance of sixteen miles. 
He would take a hand sled and start on foot, bring- 
ing h.ack his provisions, such as flour and jiork, and 
would travel about sixteen miles a day. There 
were no roads then, and traveling was done by 
Indian trails through the woods. Tiiere was not 
a stick cut on the place of three acres which he 
rented. He was compelled to go to Grand 
Rapids and secure something to do to keep 
the family. He was very persistent in his efforts 
and worked hard at clearing his place, and to 
make a few spare dollars he took road jobs. 
Indians were plentiful and used to come to his 
cabin to trade vension for pork and other things, 
but were always veiy friendly. Mr. Babbitt made 
pine shingles and hauled them to Grand Rapids 
for which he received very small pay. He has 
seen this county grow from a wilderness to its 
present flourishing condition. His present fine 
estate consists of one hundred and forty acres of 
fertile land, eighty acres of which he has cleared 
himself. It is situated on section 11. 

Mr. Babbitt enlisted in the late war in August, 
1864, in the First Michigan Engineers and Mechan- 
ics. He went with Gen. Sherman to the sea and "was 
at Washington, D. C, in the Grand Review. lie was 



honorably discharged in June. 186.5, when he re- 
turned home and commenced the life of a civilian. 
He is a Republican in politics and has held the 
offices of Township Clerk and Supervisor. Him- 
self and wife are consistent members of the First 
Congregational Church of Dorr Township, with 
which they have been valued members for the 
past thirty j'ears. 




~o2- 



rCAN STEVENSON. This respected cit- 
izen of Ganges Township, Allegan Count}^ 
a good farm of eighty acres, located on 
section 27. His place bears all the buildings which 
are necessary for the prosecution of his calling, 
and by proper tillage his land produces abundantly 
of both cereals and fruits. Mr. Stevenson was 
born August 18, 1818, in Allegan County, Pa., 
and is the son of William and P^lizabeth Steven- 
son. 

The elder Mr. Stevenson was also born in Penn- 
sylvania, where he was reared upon a farm. 
He followed farming as a life pursuit, with the 
exception of a few years spent in the distilling 
business. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Stew- 
ard, also a native of the Kej'stone State, and to 
them were granted a famil}^ of seven children, all 
of whom are deceased but our subject and a sister, 
Margaret. 

When our subject was quite young, his parents 
removed to Richland Count}-, Ohio, where the 
father purchased a large tract of land. He was in 
very straightened circumstances and was com- 
pelled to bind out his five daughters. At bis 
death be had accumulated a handsome property 
and gave bis eldest son, who was then fifteen years 
of age, one hundred, acres of land, our subject 
eighty acres, and each of his daughters twelve acres. 
The paternal grandfather of our subject slso bore 
the name of William Stevenson and was a native 
of Ireland. 

The hardships through which the parental fam- 
ily passed on locating in the new State of Ohio 
can hardly be realized. Our subject related that 
for fifteen years they bad little more to eat than 
potatoes and corn bread, the meal for which was 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX'ORL* 



5 (51 



made by grating the corn on perforated tin. Tea 
was made, of spice wood and sassafras. Wild game 
was very pleutifiil and of course they had an 
abundance of choice meats. One day when our 
subject and three of his sisters were playing some 
distance from the house, they wei'c treed by a num- 
ber of wild hogs and were compelled to remain in 
that uncomfortable position for several hours be- 
fore help could be given them. 

Mi.ss Klizabeth, daughter of Martin and IMar- 
garet (McMurtrie) Lance, became Mrs. Stevenson 
in 184!) and to them have been born nine children: 
John, William, Franklin, David, Stewart, Law- 
rence, James M., Henry and Eva. Lawrence, who 
isa druggist in Ohio, is married to a Miss Graves. 
Duncan Stevenson came to Allegan County with 
his family in 1H84 and located on his present 
homestead. In politics, he is a Democrat. 



_^) 



^+^[ 



I )| '^'"''^ ''^ secti' 
\!^ County, wa 



1{\'ILL ASllLLY,one of the prosperous farm- 
tion 36, Allegan Township, Allegan 
was born in Williamson Township, 
Wayne County, N.Y., on the 6th of April, I8;5o. He 
is a son of Joseph and Mary (Allen) Ashley, natives 
of New York. The father was a farmer and came 
to Michigan in 1841, settling on the northeast cor- 
ner of section 36, on eighty acres of land. He 
built a board shanty and cleared off the knd. 
Later he purchased land in Trowbridge on section 
2, where he died in 1880. He and his worthy help- 
mate were the parents of thirteen children: John, 
Julia A., Mrs. John Cook, Henry, Nicholas, Orvill; 
Almira, who married William AVest; Harriet, the 
wife of Hiram Bailey; Lucinda, the wife of Al- 
bert Kellogg; Matilda; Fannie, now Mrs. Otis 
Cackler; Joscpli Wesley and Charles, who died 
when quite young. 

The grandfather of our subject, Nicholas Ashley, 
remembered many thrilling incidents of the Revo- 
lutionary War, when he w.'is but a boy, and was shot 
at while crossing a ferry, as he was carrying sujjplies 
to a fort. The Tory who did the shootuig was af- 
terward captiircd. Iiul was wounded so that he 
died. 

Our subject w:i.s ten years old when he came to 



Michigan with his parents, they coming from New 
York with a two-horse team. The family then con- 
si>ted of seven children. They stopped six weeks 
in Ohio to rest, and there purchased a cow, which 
they also brought with them. Mr. Ashley was ed- 
ucated in Trowbridge Township and reared a farm- 
er's bo3\ He lived at home until twenty-one, and 
then worked out b^- the month, and some years 
later purchased forty acres of land where Thad- 
deus Cook now lives. He chopped down the trees 
and built the liuildings on the place. Here he 
lived eight years, when he traded for his present 
pl.ace, which he has cleared, and put up good sub- 
stantial buildings. He does a general farming 
business and raises considerable line stock, such as 
horses, cows, sheep, and Poland-China hogs. Mr. 
Ashley is a great deer-hunter and has every yeav, 
with the exception of the past four or five years, 
gone north and killed a number of deer. 

Mr. Ashley was united in marriage to Miss 
Cathren Eldred, of Otsego, Allegan Count3% The 
ceremony took place at the house, Oka Town, 
January 1, 1863. Mrs. Ashley is a daughter of 
Albert f^ldred. Our subject and his estimable 
wife have a famil}- of live children: Horace L., 
who married Jessie Hughs, is the father of one 
child — Rena P., and resides in Watson Town- 
ship, Mich.; Abbie E. married Albert Hoffmaster, 
of Hopkins Township, Allegan Couut3-; Nancy A.; 
Rose E., and Albert J., who are at home. Our sub- 
ject is a stanch Democrat and one of the promi- 
nent men of the township. 

V ^•^=•^^=v / 



J|08EPH W. ELY is deserving of more than 
passing notice in this Biographical Recorti, 
as he is one of that grand army of men that 
saved this Union from disruption during 
the trying times of the Southern rebellion, the 
opening years of his manhood beinggiven in loyal 
.service to his country on the battlefields of the 
South, where his bravery and eHieiency won him 
the position of a non-commissioned otHcer in his 
regiment. He is now a i)rominent citizen of Al- 
legan County, residing in the village of Allegan, 



562 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



having been identified in various ways with the 
interests of this part of the State since the war, 
and is now devoting himself to farming on his 
well-improved farm on section 24, Allegan Town- 
ship. 

Mr. Ely was born in Oswego County, N. Y., in 
1840, and is a son of David and Hannah (Terry) 
Ely, natives of England. They came to America 
in 1838, and spent the first few years of their life 
in this country in New York State, but in 1845 
they came hither and cast in their lot with the 
pioneers of Allegan Township, and are still living 
here, greatly respected for their sterling merits. 
When the family came here, Mr. Ely bought a 
small place just outside of the village of Allegan, 
and established himself at his calling as a me- 
chanic. He is a Democrat, and is firm in his al- 
legiance to his party. 

Our subject is the oldest of eleven children. He 
was reared under wholesome home influences, and 
was given good educational advantages in the Al- 
legan High School. He was living quietly at 
home when the war broke out, and he continued 
under the parental roof, watching with youthful 
ardor the progress of affairs at the front until such 
a time as he was enabled to join the brave boys in 
blue and lend a hand in the fighting. It was in 
1862 that he enlisted in Company B, Nineteenlh 
Michigan Infantry, and he then saw the war to 
its bitter end. He took part in twenty-two differ- 
ent battles and skirmishes, and his gallant conduct 
won for him the commendation of his superior 
officers and raised him to the rank of Corporal. 
This promotion was richly deserved, as he never 
shirked a duty, was always prompt in obeying or- 
ders, was cool and courageous when face to face 
with the enemy, and was found by his superior 
officers to be thoroughly reliable. He did not go 
unscathed during those times that tried men's 
souls and showed of what stuff they were made, 
but suffered his full share of the hardships of a 
soldier's life. He was wounded June 15, 1864, 
while bravely fighting near Golgotha Church, and 
lost one finger by a ball. He was taken prisoner 
near Thompson Station, and for one month en- 
dured all the horrors of prison life at Libb^^ His 
army experience was brought to a close after the 



war by his being mustered out at Washington, and 
receiving his discharge papers at Detroit. 

When he returned from the South to his old 
home in Michigan, he turned his attention to the 
brewery business at Allegan, and was engaged in 
that occupation for ten years. He next took up 
carpentering and bridge-building in the same 
place and devoted his attention to that business 
the ensuing four years. At the expiration of that 
time, he turned his attention to farming on the 
land that is still his home. The farm embraces 
forty-one and a half acres, lying on section 24, 
Allegan Township. Mr. Ely has everything about 
it in a fine condition, and has worked hard to 
improve it in various directions. It is provided 
with comfortable buildings, its soil has been thor- 
oughly cultivated, and it is a veiy desirable piece 
of property in all respects. 

Our subject does not live on his farm now, but 
has his residence in the village of Allegan. He 
stands high in the estimation of his fellow-citizens, 
and is i)rominent in social circles as a Grand Army 
man, and as one of the leading Odd Fellows of 
this section. He has be(Mi Grand Representative of 
the latter order to the Sovereign Grand Lodge, 
and was in 1881 Grand Patriarch of the State of 
Michigan. In his political affiliations he is a 
steadfast Democrat. He has held the office of Con- 
stable, and at all times we find him doing his duty 
as a loyal and law-abiding citizen. 

Mr. Ely was first married, in 1867, to Nettie Hall, 
of Allegan, and they lived happily together until 
the death of the wife in 1877. She left two chil- 
dren: Fred, of Otsego, who married Belle Black- 
man, and May, wife of Judson Ross. The maiden 
name of Mr. Ely's present wife was Cornelia Pul- 
len. This union is blessed by one child, Georgia, 
who is now twelve years old. She is a native of 
Allegan, a daughter of William and Nancy (Field) 
Pullen, who weie born and reared in New York, 
and, in 1836, became pioneers of Allegan Count}', 
settling on section 24, Allegan Township. The 
land upon which they located was covered with 
timber, but in time Mr. Pullen had it cleared and 
improved into a fine farm. The latter part of his 
life he lived retired in the village of Allegan. 
He and his wife had a family of ten children. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



563 



seven now living, n;iniel_y: INfrs. Sarali E. Van 
Keui-en, William W., IMis. I'hebf A. Priest, Mis. 
Cornelia El.y, Jlrs. Klleii Lonsbury, Mrs. Anastasia 
S. Warner, and .lolin W. Mrs. Ely received a lil)- 
eral education in the scliools of Allegan, wliereby 
she was qualified to teacli, and she has been en- 
gaged in the profession in various schools tlirough- 
out the county. She belongs to the Women's 
Aid Society, and is active in every good work in 
the conimunitv. 



^: 



+4"^*^ 
i.j..^.}^i^ 



«j, ^;ILL1AM E. KOWE, M. 1). Une of the 
\pJl/ ^^^^ prominent physicians of Allegan is 

^7^ the gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch, and who is a native of Lawrence, ^'an 
Buren County, this State, born May 18, 1857. He 
is a son of Dr. Sylvanus and Helen P. (Carpenter) 
Howe, natives of Steuben and Essex Counties, N. Y. 

The father of our subject was marriedin Le Claire, 
Scott County, Iowa, where he studied medicine, 
afterwards entering the Eclectic Medical College, 
at Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated 
in 1847. He t)racticed in Iowa for six years, then 
removed to Van Buren Couutj', this State, and 
settled at Lawrence, where he h.as been in constant 
practice ever since. Our subject's i)atcrnal grand- 
parents were William and Mary (Pike) Kowc, who 
were natives of New York, where the father was an 
extensive farmer. He removed to Iowa about 
1830, becoming a pioneer of Scott Count}', 
and living there unlil his death. He was a 
member of the liaptist Churcli, and had a large 
family'. The UTiternal grandparents, Elisha and 
Abigail (Parsons) Carpenter, were also natives of 
New York and farmers, who came to Le Claire, 
Scott County, Iowa, and there si)ent the remainder 
of their lives. They mere members of the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church, and also reared a large 
family. Mr. Carpenter was a soldier in the War of 
1X12. 

The [larents of our subject reared afamily of four 
children namely: (ieorge W., Cora E. (.Mrs. Ban- 
ter), William E., and Ellie .\. (.Mrs. Agiell). Our 
subject obtained his early education in the High 
School, at Lawrence, ^'an Buren County, and when 



eleven years old accepted a (wsition in a drugstore 
as clerk, afterwards attending school for awliile, and 
then returning to his position in the drug store, 
in which he remained for seven years altogether. 
During a part of tiiis lime he was Deputy Post- 
master, having the whole charge of the office. After 
leaving the drug business, he studied medicine for 
one year with his father, and then became a stu- 
dent in the medical department of the University 
of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, from which he w.as 
graduated in ,7une, 1879. He returned to Lawrence 
and began the practice of his profession, remaining 
there for eight years and coining to Allegan in 
1887. During his residence in Lawrence, he was 
Clerk in the Corporation Board, and Trustee of 
the school. Since coming to this place, he w.as ap- 
pointed Cit}- Health OHicer for one year. 

Dr. Rowe was mariied, .luly 19, 1887, to Miss 
Emma, a daughter of Anson and .Julie Rowe. 
Mrs. Rowe is i)roprietor of the leading millinery 
house of Allegan. They have a beautiful home 
and are highly esteemed. Dr. Rowe is a Republi- 
can, and socially belongs to the Knights of the 
Maccabees, of which he is Commander and Deputy 
Great Commander. He and his wife are members 
of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is a 
Trustee. 



^ - >i 



I ' I 'I 




EUGENE D. NASH, the present efficient 
Justice of the Peace of Bravo, Clyde Town- 
ship, Allegan County, is discharging tlie 
duties of his ottice with great al)ility and con- 
scientiously. He was born in West Bloom Held, 
Ontario County, N. Y., November 6, 1841, and is 
a son of Augustus W. and Susan Nash. Our sub- 
ject's father was born in Massachusetts and his 
early life was spent both on the farm and in the 
village. He received a good academic education 
in his native Stale and also served an ap[ renlice- 
shi[) at the carpenter's trade and while working 
at this trade he licgan ihe study of law. After tak- 
ing a course of lectures, he began his professicmal 
life at AVest Blooinfield, N. Y., where he had pre- 
viously moved. At that time he held many of 
the lesponsible local ollices. In 1854 he brought 



564 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his family to Van Buren County, this State and at 
once commenced to practice his profession. While 
in that county, he was chosen .Judge of Probate 
Court, which position he held twelve j-ears. He 
spent the evening of his life on his farm, leading a 
quiet and retired life. 

When the father of our subject was twenty-five 
years old, he was married to Susan L. Demmon 
Mrs. Nash was a granddaughter of the noted Lewis 
Morris, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence. Our subject is one of nine chil- 
dren born to this couple, five of whom are living 
and bear the names of Albert, Charles, Eugene, 
Edward and Clayton M. The father of this family 
was a great worker in the temperance cause and 
was a member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. 

The boyhood days of our subject were spent in 
the cit3' of Paw Paw, A^an Buren County, and he 
there received a good common -school education, 
graduating from the High School at that place. 
He at one time thought he would like the trade of 
a printer for his work in life but he soon dropped 
the idea of this. He was married when twenty 
jears old to Amelia Buck, a daughter of Orin Buck. 
To himself and wife have been born four children, 
Charles V.; William A.; Ella, a teacher in Wyo- 
ming; Belle (deceased), who married MiloConklin, 
of Chicago. 

After the marriage of our subject, he purchased 
a farm and remained on it until 1863, when he en- 
listed in Company C, Thirteenth Michigan In- 
fantry, and was under Sherman's command. He 
was in active service most all the time while in the 
war and fought at places with Sherman on his 
march to the sea, among tliem being Atlanta and 
Savannah. He was slightly wounded once by the 
explosion of a shell. He participated in the Grand 
Review at Washington and there received his hon- 
orable discharge in June, 1865. 

Upon his return from the war, Mr. Nash came 
to Allegan County, where he engaged in tlie 
lumber business two years. He then obtained a 
position as Freight Agent on the Chicago & West 
^Michigan Railroad at Bravo. While here he 
picked up telegraph}' and was operator at that place 
seventeen years. Mr. Nash was appointed Post- 



master at Bravo during Gen. Grant's Administra- 
tion, and was the efficient incumbent of that office 
fifteen years. He is a stalwart Republican politic- 
ally and cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. 
He was elected .Justice of the Peace in 1878. 
Socially, he is a member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, No. 371, of Fennville; of the Free and 
Accepted Masons and of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows. 



AMES JOHNSON. Perhaps there are no 
more enterprising residents of Allegan 
County than those, who, like our subject, 

J^ one of the first-class farmers in Clyde Town- 
ship, are natives of a foreign country. Mr. John- 
son was born in 1857, in Denmark, and at tiie 
present time is industriously engaged in cultivat- 
ing his tract of eighty acres on section 19. 

Nelson and Mary Johnson, the parents of our 
subject, were married in 1856, the mother's maiden 
name being ISIary Araran. Mr. Nelson Johnson 
was born in Denmark, in 1827, and spent his earlj' 
life on a farm in his native country. After attain- 
ing his majority and beginning life for himself, he 
jiurchased a brick-3ard and has been engaged in 
the manufacture of brick since that time. He has 
always resided in Denmark. 

Of the family of eight children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Nelson Johnson, seven are yet living, of whom 
our subject is the oldest. They bore the respective 
names of Hannah, Erasmus, Durthe, Andrew, Mary 
and Christian. James Johnson was given a good 
education in his native land, and at the age of 
fourteen engaged to work on a farm. After 
reaching his majority, he set sail for the New 
World, coming at once to Kalamazoo, where he 
was employed by the Hon. Judge Severns, for two 
years. He later came to Clyde Township, Allegan 
County, and worked on shares for the above-named 
gentleman for two more years. 

In 1881 Mr. Johnson purchased forty acres of 
his present home farm, which he brought to a high 
degree of cultivation and then added another forty 
acres. He has all the necessary buildings on his 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



5C5 



place, and is so situated that his land nets him 
large returns. For several years after purchasing 
his farm, our subject acted .as general manager of 
the estate of tlie Hon. .Judge Severns, but at the 
jjresent time gives his entire attention to tiie cul- 
tivation of his own property. 

In 1882, Miss .Tentina, daughter of Andrew and 
Lorena Johnson, became the wife of our subject, 
and h.as become the mother of tliree children, 
viz.: Nelson, Mary and Andrew. In his political 
belief Mr. Johnson is a strong Democrat. Our sub- 
ject raises both grain and vegetables on iiis farm, 
having for tiie last two years been a large shipper 
of the latter-named product to St. Louis, Mo. 

JA!Sn':s E. LONSIUTRY. This progressive 
farmer has for manj' j'cai'S been a resident 
of Allegan County, where he follows agri- 
_^_^ cultural pursuits on section !(!, Watson 
Townsiiip. The farm which he here owns and 
operates comprises eigiity .acres of highly cultiva- 
ted land and is emljellished with a substantial set 
of buildings adapted to the varied needs of lural 
life. Besides this pl.ace, lie formerly owned another 
eighty-acre tract, which he gave to his son. His 
integrity of character has brought him the confi- 
dence of his fellow-citizens, whom he has served in 
many oflicial cap.acities, having been Highway 
Commissioner for six 3'ears, Justice of the Peace 
four j'ears. Township Treasurer one year, and also 
holding the school oHices. 

Some time prior to the Revolutionaiy War, there 
lived in Connecticut one Nathaniel Lonsbury, a 
native of that State, who had seven sons, all of 
whom served valiantly during the War of the Re- 
volution and one fell in battle. The other sons 
pa.ssed through mauyof the most deadly coinbat^s of 
the war,but escaped uninjuied.anddiedatagood old 
age. J.acob w.as a son of Nathaniel. Among his chil- 
dren was Nehemiah, wlio w.-us born in Connecticut, 
in 1784, and grew to manhood in his native place 
learning the trade of a cooper. In 1817 he re- 
moved toCiieene County, X. V.. where he made his 
home near CatskiU, and in 1823 went to Wayne I 
County, the same State. Some years prior to his 



removal from Connecticut, he married Miss Clarissa 
Lonsbury, and during their residence in Arcadia 
Townshij), Wa3-ne County, N. Y., a son was born 
to them, Miiy 6, 1824, whom they named James K. 

After following the trade of a cooper in tlie Em- 
pire State until 1836, Mr. Lonsbury, .Sr., migrated 
West to Michigan, purchasing a tract of land in 
Lenawee County and devoting the remaining 
years of his life to its improvement. On that 
homestead he p.assed aw.ay in 1 8.j4. A brave sol- 
dier like his father, he also served in his countr^^'s 
defense. During the second war with Great 
Britain lie enlisted, in February, 1813, under Capt. 
Charles Smith, and served until peace was declared 
receiving injuries in the battle of Stony Creek. 
His wife survived him several j'ears and attained 
to the good old age of (eighty -seven j'cars. 

The family to which our suliject belonged con- 
sisted of eight children, all of whom grew to ma- 
ture years. Eliza, who w.as born in Connecticut, 
in 1808, became the wife of Shcphard Spaulding 
and died when thirty-six j'ears old; John II., who 
was born in Connecticut in 1811, lived to be three- 
score and five; Nancy M., whose birth occurred in 
Connecticut in 1813, became the wife of Edwin 
Foster, but afterward married Asa Morse (deceased) 
and makes her home at present in C.asco, this 
State; Nehemiah, who was born in Greene Count^^ 
N. Y., in 1818, died when seventy; Clarissa A., who 
was born in CatskiU, N. Y., in 1821, first married 
Benjamin Ousted, but is now the wife of Morse 
Butterfield, and resides in Lenawee County; our 
subject w.as the next in order of liirth; (ieorge W., 
who was born in AVa^'ne Count}^ N. Y.,now makes 
his home in Allegan; Joseph E., a native of Wayne. 
County, died in Michigan when nineteen years 
old. 

James E. was twelve years old when he accom- 
panied his parents to Michigan, and liis schooling, 
which was commenced in New Y'ork, was com- 
pleted in a log building in Cambridge Township. 
Lenawee County. In his early man lu>od he bought 
a farm in Lenawee County, which he sold to his 
father in 18,52, and, coming to Watson Township, 
purchased the farm where he now resides, on section 
16, and afterward bought another eighty-acre tract 
on section 21. lie w.is married, July 4, 18.53, to 



566 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Miss Mariette Miner, daughter of William F. aiul 
Eliza S. Miner, natives of Connecticut. 

Mrs. Lonsbury was ))orn in Blonroe County, N. 
Y., October 30, 1829, and accompanied her father 
to this county in 1836. At present she and her 
brother Cliarles are the oldest surviving settlers of 
Watson Township. Mr. and Mrs. Lonsbury are the 
parents of one son, Alfred J., who was born in 
Watson Township, November 20, 1856, and with 
his wife, formerly Miss Fanny White, and their 
two children, Mariette A. and Arthur A., resides 
on the old homestead. Politically, our subject is a 
Republican, and in his social connections is identi- 
fied with the I. O. O. F.,the Grange and the Royal 
League. 



r^ 



I^OBERT ROUSE, the present .Justice of the 
^ Peace of Pearl, Cl^'de Township, AUeg.an 
*, County, is also the owner of a fine mercan- 
tile store. He was l)orn in Kings County, 
New Brunswick, November 24, 1842, He is a son 
of the Rev. E. A. Rouse, also a native of New 
Brunswick, where he was liorn in 1809. The father 
was reared on a farm, and always followed farm- 
ing. Although his advantages for acquiring an 
education were very limited, by hard study and- 
close reading he prepared himself for the Univer- 
sit3', and became a local Baptist preacher, follow- 
ing the ministry for over thirty years. He was 
purely a self-made man. 

In 1850 the parents of our subject moved to 
Brant County, Canada, remaining there for nine 
years, when they came to Barry County, Mich., 
and ten years later came to this county, wiiere the 
father passed away in 1881. The good wife and 
mother is 3'et surviving, and is now seventy-six 
years of age. She bore the maiden name of Jane 
Wilcox, and is a daughter of Robert and Jane 
(Monroe) Wilcox. Mrs. Rouse bore her husband 
nine children, four of wliom still survive: John 
L., Edward W., Robert, and Eliza A., the wife of 
W. H. Andrews. Although the father of our sub- 
ject was past the allotted age for entering the 
army, yet he enlisted, but was not accepted by the 
examiner. The grandparents of our subject were 



John and Mary (Biger) Rouse, natives of New 
Brunswick, and John being a mechanic b\' trade. He 
died in 1846, in his native country, where he al- 
wa3's resided. 

At the age of seventeen, our subject began teach - 
ing school in Barry County, Mich. He himself re- 
ceived but little schooling, but was a great reader 
and a close observer. He followed the profession 
of a pedagogue until 1887. During this time he 
was engaged in farming during the summer months, 
and between the years of 1887 and 1889, put his 
wliole attention to farming. He then entered into 
his present business as a general merchant at Clyde 
Center. He is also the possessor of three hundred 
and twenty acres of finely improved land. 

Mr. Rouse was chosen Supervisor of Clj'de Town- 
ship in 1 88 1 and held that position until 1 89 1 . He is 
at present theefticient .Justice of the Peace, which 
ofliee he has held for the past ten years with great 
satisfaction to his constituents. He has also served 
on nearly all the school offices. Politically, lie is a 
standi Republican and has voted for every Repub- 
lican President since 1864. He of whom we write 
enlisted in the late war, September 30, 1 864, in 
Company K, Fifteenth Michigan Infantry, and was 
under Gen. Sherman's command. He participated 
in some of the most famous battles of the war, 
although the majority of the time was on detach 
diit}'. He was honorably' discharged Ma}' 30. 1865, 
at AVashington. He is now connected with the 
Abb Fenn Post, No. 336, G. A. R., at Fennville Cen- 
ter, and the Fennville Lodge, No. 338, I. O. O. F., 
claims him as one of its leading members. 



OSES HICKS, a farmer, residing on section 
26, Trowbridge Township, is numbered 
among the early settlers of Allegan 
County. A native of the Green Mountain 
State, he was born in Franklin County, in August 
1847, and is a son of Martin and Sarah (AVeeks) 
Hicks, both natives of Vermont, the former born 
in 1816, and the latter in 1818. They were mar- 
ried in 1838. Two jears previous Martin Hicks 
came to Michigan, and worked for Mr. Ely, then 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



5C7 



the most prominent citizen of Allegan. After a 
year, lie returned home and worked for his father 
until hismarriajje, when heengaijcd in farming for 
himself, and continued his operations in the East 
until 18,').'), when he brought his family- to Michigan, 
locating on the farm which is now the home of our 
subject. It then comprised eighty acres, eighteen 
of which were cleared, and a log cabin constituted 
tlie improvements. 

In the East, iMr. Hicks had e ngagcd in the lumber 
business, hut it proved a failure, and he afterward 
successfully manufactured bricks for a few j-ears. 
In Michigan he liegan farm life in earnest, and at 
the time of his death had one hundred and twenty 
acres of land under a high state of cultivation. 
He was nxiinbered among the inlluential citizens of 
this community. Himself and wife were consist- 
ent members of the Methodist Church, and took 
an active part in its work. He was instrumental 
in establishing the church, and before that time 
went regularly to Otsego to attend divine service. 
He served as Trustee and Class-leader for many 
years, took an active part in Sunday-school work, 
and served as local preacher. He was a powerful 
exhorter and through his earnest entreaties led 
man}' to accept the Gospel. The cause of temper- 
ance also found in him a stanch advocate, and the 
upright life which he lived certainly made the 
world better. His wife was called to her final rest 
in 1881, and Mr. Hicks passed away in 1886. 
They were the parents of eleven children, six of 
whom are yet living. One son enlisted in the 
Fifth Michigan Cavalry, and served two years 
under Gen. Phil Siieridan. lie was killed in 
a skirmish, at Smithville, Va. 

In.Tanuary, 1868, Martin Hicks and his wife 
went East on a visit. On the night of February 
20, two of their children were sleeping down stairs 
and four alK)ve, when one of the children woke 
and discovered that the house was full of smoke, i 
They were nearlj- suffocated, but our subject man- ; 
aged to arouse and get them out of dooi-s. It was , 
a bitter cold night and there they stood in bare ' 
feet while their home sank in ashes. Moses went 
back into the house to get out two watches, but 
was iK'wildered by the smoke and had he not Ijeen 
guided bv the voice of his brother, who called to 



him, would probably- not have made his way out 
again. He had just reached the open air when the 
walls fell, having saved from the household effects 
only a feathia- bed. He then took the little ones 
to the next neighbors, where they were csired for 
until the return of the parents, who came back to 
find their home in ruins, but kind friends and 
neighbors extended to them a helping hand and 
their loss was soon retrieved. 

Under the parental roof, Closes Hick remained 
until his marriage in 1861), when Ellen, daughter 
of "William and Mary Sebring, became his wife. 
Her people came from New York to ^Michigan in 
1856, locating in Otsego Township, but both arc 
now deceased. Mrs. Hicks was born February 13, 
1841, and died July 5, 1888, leaving one son, 
George Howard, who now attends school in Otsego. 
Mr. Hicks was again married in June, 1890, his 
second marriage being with Emina Allison, who 
was born in Detroit, Mich., February 11, 1861, and 
is a daughter of William Allison, now a resident 
of Pittsfield, iVIich. She is an intelligent and cul- 
tured lady and has an excellent musical education. 
One child has been born of this marriage: Azella 
May, born October 3, 1891. 

The year succeeding his first marriage, our sub- 
ject spent on his father's farm, and then purchased 
eight}" acres of wild land on section 36, Trowbridge 
Township. His first home was a little board cabin, 
which was his residence for six yeai-s. During that 
time he cleared fortj- acres of land, set out an 
orchard, and made manj' other improvements. He 
then sold, and cleared ^600 upon the place. By 
purchase, he then became owner of his present 
farm of one hundred and twenty acres, of which 
one hundred acres is under a high state of cultiva- 
tion and well improved. He is a successful and 
industrious farmer, who by his own efforts has ac- 
quired a handsome property that yields him a good 
income. 

In temperance work, Mr. Hicks has always taken 
a great interest, and has done much for the ad- 
vancement of the cause. His views on that subject 
being embodied in the Prohibition party, to it he 
now gives his support. Formerly he voted with 
the Republican part}'. Himself, wife and son are 
members of the Methodist Church, and also belong 



568 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



to the Epworth League. He has served as Class- 
leader for eighteen years, has also been Steward 
and has long been Sunday-school Superintendent. 
His wife serves as organist and is also a teacher in 
the school, and is a member of the Ladies' Aid 
Society and Secretary of the Home Missionary 
Society. We find in Mr. and Mrs. Hicks people of 
sterling worth and integrity who rank high in 
social circles where intelligence and uprightness of 
character are received as passports into good soci- 
ety. 

sp^ QUIRE HENRY SCOTT is a retired farmer 
^^^ who was for twenty years or more Justice 
||d/lj) of the Peace of Trowbridge Township, 
Allegan County, where he is located on sec- 
tion 25. His father was Richard Scott, a native of 
Canada, and a farmer. His mother was Mere}' 
(Healey) Scott, a native of Rhode Island. They 
were married in Canada, and lived there until they 
came to Michigan in 1855, when they settled on an 
vinimproved farm in Cooper Township, Kalamazoo 
County. They remained thereabout six years, and 
then came to Trowbridge Township, this county, 
and located on section 27. He died in 1880, at 
the age of eighty-six j'ears, and the good wife and 
mother died one 3'ear later, at the age of eighty- 
seven. They had born to them eight children, 
five surviving. The mother was a member of the 
Methodist P^piscopal Church. 

Our subject was born May 17, 1818, in Canada, 
where he grew to manhood with poor chances for 
an education. He has always, been a farmer and 
is also quite handy with tools. He remained at 
home until he was twenty-seven years old, when 
he established a home of his own on a farm in 
Canada. All the children assisted in improving 
the old homestead. The date of his wedding was 
April 14, 1845, and he took as his helpmate and 
life comjjanion Milona Pierce, a native of Canada, 
who was born February 23, 1821. They lived 
on their farm about five years, clearing it and im- 
proving it, when Mr. Scott sold out and purchased 
another unimproved one. In 1853, he again sold 
and came to Michigan, settling on his present farm. 
There were no loads either south, north or west of 



him and all was a vast wilderness, with but few 
neighbors, none of whom are now living. He 
was in very poor circumstances when he came here 
and a log house was his residence, with but few 
furnishings. He cleared and cultivated his place 
a little ata time until he now has eighty-five acres, 
all his own work. His fine apple orchard consists 
of two hundred and fifty trees. The present com- 
modious residence in which he and his family re- 
side was erected in 1860 by himself. He also has 
put up three barns, 30x40 feet, 30x44 feet, and 
26x36 feet, respectively, besides all the other neces- 
sary farm buildings. His estate covers an area of 
one hundred and forty acres, he having improved 
one hundred and nine of it, and it is now carried 
on by his son AVilder. Mrs. Scott died in 1870, 
when past forty-eiglit years of age. She bore her 
husband seven children, all but one now living: 
Nancy, the wife of Theodore Randall, of Otsego 
Township; they have two children. Martin is 
married to Laura Leavitt, of Portland, Ore., and 
is the father of one child. Mercy married C'harles 
Harper, of this township. Emeline is the wife of 
Charles Dunton; they are residents of this township 
witli their three children. AVilder married Lottie 
Leversee, and resides on the old homestead; they 
have two children. Calvin F. is single and lives 
at liome. Milo W. is the deceased son who left a 
wife and two children. 

Mr. Scott was again married in 1875, this time to 
Ellen O'Donnell, a widow. She died December 15, 
1882, at the age of fifty-one j-ears. The third mar- 
riage of our subject took place in 1883, to Elizabeth 
Leversee. She was born March 2, 1818. Mr. 
Scott is a Free-will Baptist in belief, and he has 
given his children the best education that could 
be obtained. He hasalwaj-s taken a lively interest 
in schools and was one of the School Board for 
years. His son Wilder is Moderator for the dis- 
trict in which they live. Mr. Scott is a prominent 
member of the Masonic order at Otsego, and in 
politics casts his vote with the Democratic party, 
as do his sons. He served his fellow-citizens as 
Justice of the Peace for twenty years, and was 
Highway Commissioner for eight. He has also 
been a delegate to county conventions, and promi- 
nent in politics. 





( ^^U]S^,XX'^cxAyvjddc 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



671 



IIAHI.KS L. I?AKRI-:T'r. The pmtinit on 

y-, the o])pusite page represents a leading ofli- 
clal of Allegan County, who occupies the 
position of County Clerk, discliarging its various 
duties with much ability. His father, Alarvin Bar- 
rett, was a native of New York State, and was one 
of the oldest pioneers in Kalamazoo County, IMich., 
to whicli he came in 1832. He carried on a farm 
in Richland Township during the remainder of his 
life, dying in 1.S.SI. IIis wife, whose maiden name 
was Helen -M. Dtilson, was also a native of New 
York and still lives at Ricliland, aged .sixty-one 
years. 

Horn in tlie State of New York, Marvin Barrett 
was reared upon a farm and resided, until he was 
twenty-seven years old, with liis [jarents, Hildah and 
Elizabeth (Cummings) Barrett, who were natives 
of New York, and farmei-s liy occupation. They 
came to ^lichigan in 1832 and settled in Kalama- 
zoo County, where the^- died. Hildah l>arrett was 
one of the organizers of the Presbyterian Church 
at Hichland and loaned the money to erect the 
church building, at that time being one of the 
wealthy men of the county. He and his wife were 
devoted Presbyterians and reared a famil>' of eight 
children. The father of our subject was formerly 
an Abolitionist and later a Republican, and occu- 
pied many prominent offices in his township. He 
and his wife were memljers of the Presbyterian 
Church at Richland in which he lield man}- respon- 
sible offices. 

The parental family consisted of nine children, 
six of whom are now living, as follows: Our sub- 
ject, Mrs. Emma Little, James, P^-ank W., William 
E. and George M. The maternal grandfather of 
our subject, .lohn H. Dolson, was a native of New 
York C'it3-,of which he was one of the early settlers. 
He was a Revolutionary soldier, serving through- 
out the war. He was married three times and be- 
came the father of twenty-seven children, seven , 
sons and two daughters by each wife. He was a 
farmer through life and came to Michigan in an 
early day, settling where Battle Creek now stands 
and where he is buried. 

In Kalamazoo County, this State, Charles L. 
Barrett was born August 2, 1818. He received his I 
education at the seminary at Richland and the ^ 
26 



Northwestern I'niversity at Evanston, HI. After 
leaving school he taught for several winters, also 
following farming at Richland. He came to Alle- 
gan County in IMTtSand eng.aged in the mercantile 
business at Mill (jrovc, which he followed for some 
four years. Afterward he purcha.sed a farm in Pine 
Plains Township, where he has since lived and 
which is located three miles from the village of 
Allegan. He has held the office of Township 
Clerk for four years and has been ])irector in the 
schools for some time, always taking a deep inter- 
est in educational matters. Jlr. Barrett was elected 
to his present position as County C'lerk in the fall 
of 1886 and is now serving his third term, which 
proves his popularity with the people. 

The marriage of Mr. Barrett, October 1.5, 1872, 
united him with Miss Emma Crosb}-, of Richland, 
a daughter of Randall and Elizabeth (Miles) 
Crosby, natives of New York, who came West at 
an early da}' and settled on a farm in Richland 
Township. The father died on the old homestead; 
the mother passed away in Allegan. To our sub- 
ject and his wife were born seven children, as fol- 
lows: Randall M., Carl H., Florence B., Hattie C, 
i\Iargery N., Florine ^f., and an infant unnamed. 
In politics, Mr. Barrett atliliates with the Republi- 
can party and socially is a member of the Knights 
of Pythias and the United AVorkmen. 



^ZRA A. PALMER, M. D. The profession 
isf] which represents the beneficent healing art 
L^ h.is many noble members, whose lives are 
filled with acts of goodness and whose most stren- 
uous efforts are to attain that skill which is neces- 
sary in saving life and restoring health. Such a 
life work raises a man above the sordid motives 
which .ictuate many jieople and gives to life a 
meaning which more mercenary callings cannot 
grant. We are therefore always gratified to be 
able to introduce to our readers the phj-sicians who 
have won for themselves a high place in the jiro- 
fession in Van Buren County. 

Dr. Palmer, of Hartford, is one of the prominent 
physicians in the county and has a lucrative prac- 
tice. He was born in Orleans County, N. Y., in 



572 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1850, and was brought by his parents to Paw Paw, 
this State, when three years old. He is the son of 
Henry R. and Margaret (Plantz) Palmer. The 
father was born in 1815 in New York and was the 
son of Samuel Palmer. Our subject was the only 
son of his parents, but had three sisters, namely: 
Lucretia, who is the wife of Harvey Clarke; Nancy 
A. and Lovella. 

Dr. Palmer grew to mature years in Van Buren 
County and began the stud}' of medicine while 
teaching school, which profession he followed five 
years. He entered the medical department of the 
Michigan University in 1874 and, when graduating 
from that institution, at once began the practice of 
his profession in Hartford. In 1886 Dr. Palmer 
took a post-graduate course in the Chicago Med- 
ical College and bears a wide reputation in this 
section as a skillful and progressive physican. 
Socially, he is a Mason and in political matters 
votes with the Republican part}'. 



-m^ 






j^\ RS. ELIZABETH JOYCE, widow of H. D. 
Joyce, is a woman of marked capability 
and excellent business qualifications, and 
she is managing her well-ordered farm on 
section 25, Charleston Township, with the best of 
success. She is a native of Rush Township, Mon- 
roe County, N. Y., her birth occurring February 9, 
1828. Her father was Joseph Fishell, a son of 
Henry Fishell, both of whom were natives of Penn- 
sylvania, and were of German descent. Mrs. Joj'ce's 
father was born near Pittsburg, but when he was 
young his parents removed to Monroe County, N. 
Y., and there he grew to man's estate. He adopted 
the calling of a farmer, and in 1846 took up his 
residence in Genesee County, N. Y., where he en- 
gaged at his occupation the remainder of his life, 
becoming one of the largest farmers of his com- 
munity, and one of its foremost citizens. He died 
at the age of seventy-two years. He was a Dem- 
ocrat until 1840 when he voted for the grand- 
father of our present President, and on , the for- 
mation of the Republican party he gave it his 
allegiance. The maiden name of the mother of 
our subject was Amelia Leiter. She was born in 



Maryland, and lived in that State until she was 
twenty years old. She then went to Monroe 
County, N. Y., where she was married. After the 
death of her husband, she came to Michigan, and 
spent her last days with her daughter, of whom we 
write, dying at the age of ninetj'-one years. She 
was the mother of nine children, four daughters 
and five sons, one of whom died at the age of 
eleven years, and these five are 3'ct living: Henry, 
a resident of New York; Elizabeth; Eveline, wife 
of Dr. E. Cobb, of Perry; Susan, wife of Martin 
Amidon, of New York; and Joseph, a resident of 
Ionia County. 

Mrs. Joyce is the fourth child and second daugh- 
ter of the family. She was well trained in her 
home and became an excellent housewife. She 
was eighteen years old when her parents removed 
to Genesee County, N. Y., and there her marriage 
with Mr. H. D. Joyce took place February 11, 
1858. 

Mr. Joyce was born in Herkimer County, N. Y., 
February 14, 1826. He was a son of John J. 
Joj'ce, a miller who plied his trade in Herkimer 
County until his removal to Genesee County in 
1840, his death subsequently occurring in that 
county. He married Mary Smith, a native of 
New York. Mr. Jo3'ce was the oldest of their 
five children. After marriage, he and his wife came 
to Michigan to build up a home in Kalamazoo 
County, casting in their fortunes with the pioneers 
of Charleston Township, where they at first set- 
tled on section 26. They lived there about seven- 
teen years, and then took up their residence on the 
farm on section 25, adjoining on the east, where 
Mrs. Joyce still makes her home. 

September 14, 1887, Mr. Joyce was killed by his 
team running away, and all that is mortal of him 
now lies in the cemetery in Charleston Township. 
Dj'ing thus in the midst of a busy career, which 
had been alike honorable to himself and to his 
adopted township, he was greatly missed in this 
part of the county where he had lived so long and 
had labored to such a good purpose in developing 
its resources, and his memor}' is warmly cherished 
by the entire community by whom he was so well 
known and so highly regarded for those sterling 
qualities that marked him in all his relations with 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAi'HlCAL RECORD. 



573 



others, lie was always njroatly inferosled in what- 
ever ooiiceriK'd tlic township and county, and took 
pleasure in their advancement, contributing liber- 
ally to all feasible plans for internal improve- 
nientj< or for t)ther purposes. Politically', he was 
a good Democrat, and stood firmly by his party. 

After her husband's death, IMrs. Joyce bought 
the interest of the other heirs in the estate, and 
has ever since had charge of the farm, giving it 
her personal supervision, looking carefully after 
every detail, and there is no better managed farm 
in the vicinity than hers. She is an indefatigable 
worker, requiring no assistance in the management 
of her household affairs, which receive due atten- 
tion, notwithstanding her multiplicity of cares. 
She h.as always done her own housework, never 
having had a girl work for her but for three weeks 
while her husband lived. She hires a man to attend 
to the farm the year round, and during the busy 
seasons has extra men working for her. She is a 
general farmer and stock-raiser, having her farm 
well supplied with standard stock, and deriving a 
comfortable income from her business. 



^OllN B. SIIEHED. The gentleman whom 
we here represent is one who enjoys the 
confidence of the business community, where 
his word is considered as good as his bond. 
He may be classed among the thrifty and intelligent 
citizens of Waverly Township, Van Huren County, 
and both he and his excellent wife are highly es- 
teemed members of society, lie is a native of 
Venango, Crawford County, Pa., and was born 
February 28, 18;?2. His father was .Jacob Shered, 
a son of Andrew Shered, whose father came from 
Germany and settled in Pennsylvania during the 
CoUinial days. 

The grandfather of our subject was born in 
Whitley County, Pa., in 1772, and was a currier in 
his early days, but afterward became a farmer. His 
death occurred in 18;')."), at the age of eighty-two 
years, in Crawford County, Pa., whither he had 
removed. He wa.s a member of the Democratic 
party, and a firm Ijelievcr in the tenets of the Re- 



formed Church. The maiden name of the grand- 
mother of our subject was Elizabeth Mower. She 
bore her husband a famil3' of eighteen children, 
and died also in her eighty -second j'ear. 

.Jacob Shered's birth also occurred in Whitley 
County, Pa., his natal day. being August 22, 1800. 
He w.as two years of age when his parents removed 
to Crawford County, where his decease occurred 
in August, 1891. He was a member of the Lutheran 
Chui'ch and a man greatly respected in his com- 
munity. The mother of our subject was Mrs. Mary 
(Braden) Shered. The following are the names of 
the parental family of thirteen children: AVilliam, 
Lucy, Josiah, Mar}- A., Hiram, Simon, .John B., 
Andrew, George T., Elizabeth, .Jacob, Susan R. 
and Hannah A. Mrs. .Jacob Shered died in 1889, 
in Pennsylvania, in her eight^y-sixth yC'i'"- She 
was of Irish origin. 

The gentleman whose name we have placed at 
the head of this sketch was given limited school 
advantages, but made the most of his opportuni- 
ties, and to-day ranks among the intelligent agri- 
culturists of Waverly- Township. He was reared 
on a farm and when twenty 3'ears of age began life 
for himself by working out at #11 per month. He 
continued in that line of work for two 3'cars,when 
he W.1S married, and was variously employed for 
the succeeding few years, the greater [lart of his 
time, however, being devoted to his trade of a ma- 
son. In 1861, he felt that he could better his con- 
dition in the oil regions, and thus began drilling 
wells, at which he engaged for a twelvemonth. 
He then abandoned his occupation and began 
teaming, making ij!7,000 in eighteen months. He 
was so unfortunate, however, as to lose half of his 
bard earnings by speculating in an oil well. 

In April, 186.5, Mr. Shered came to Michigan, his 
possessions at that time including #2,000 in monej' 
and forty acres of land in Paw Paw Township, this 
county, on section 16. In August, 1867, he re- 
moved to that farm, which he made his home until 
1876, having added twent\'-two .acres thereto. He 
then traded that tract for ninety .icres on section 
16, in Waverly Township, the same county, 
where he now resides. Together with his son, he 
added fifty acres to his ninety, and his son besides 
that owns fort}- acres in his own right. 



574 



POSTEAIT AND BIOGRAPPUCAL RECORD. 



Mr. Shered has been Drain Commissioner and 
takes an active interest in the welfare of liis town- 
ship. The Democratic pait^- numbers him among 
its influential members, witli which body he always 
casts his vote. 

February 21, 1856, our subiect was married to 
Rebecca Larkin, who was liorn in Erie, Pa., and is 
the daughter of Joim and Mary Ann (Corigan) 
Larkin, natives of Sussex, England. The jjarents 
were married in Montreal, Canada, where tlie father 
followed the trade of a lirick-mason. lie died in 
Meadville, Pa. Mr. Larkin was twice married, 
becoming the father of four boys and three girls 
by his first marriage. His second wife was Mrs. 
Marj' A. (Hemler), McFarlin, who bore him two 
sons and two daughters. In religious matters, he 
was a Unitarian. 

To our subject and his estimable wife have been 
born one child, a son, Jlilton J., who married Miss 
Isadora, daugiiter of Theodore and Mary A. (Skin- 
ner) Snell. They have one child, named Glen E. 
Mr. and Mrs. Shered were formerly Baptists in re- 
ligion, but are now identified with the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 



ENRY J. KELLOGG is a prominent farmer 
in Porter Township, Van Buren County, 
the tract which he operates being located 
on section 33. lie is a son of Joseph and 
Sarah (Voris) Kellogg, natives respectively of 
Massachusetts and New Jersey. After their mar- 
riage, the parents of our subject became residents 
of Otsego County, N. Y., where the father was a 
mechanic. He was born January 12, 1778, and 
the mother November 28, 1786. 

The paternal grandfather of our suliject, Silas 
Kellogg, served in the War of 1812, and died in 
his eighty-sixth year. James Voris, his maternal 
grandfather, served in the War of 1812, and died 
at Fenton, N. J., when sixty years of age. Mr. 
and Mrs. Joseph Kellogg are deceased, the mother 
dying March 30, 18.58, and the father passing 
away September 30, 1863. The^' became the par- 
ents of thirteen children, only three of whom are 
living. Our subject and his brother, William J., 




served in the Civil War in the same regiment. 
William J. was Captain of Company H, One Hun- 
dred and Fifty-second New York Infantry-, and 
during the three years he was in the army saw 
much hard fighting. 

Henry J. Kellogg was born September 15, 1827, 
in New Lisbon Township, Otsego County, N. Y., 
and received a common and high school education. 
He acted in the capacity of pedagogue for ninety- 
nine terms, beginning to teach when only fifteen 
years of age, in New York State. He was married, 
October 3, 1854, to Emma M., daughter of Peter 
and Rachel (.Johnson) Bower, Vidio resided in 
Tompkins County', N. Y. On the paternal side of 
the house, Mrs. Kellogg is of Dutch ancestry. Mr. 
Bower died Februar3f 13, 1865, and his wife passed 
away April 30, 1882, when in her seventy-ninth 
year. 

Mrs. Emma M. Kellogg was born September 12, 
1826, in Genoa, Cayuga Couutj', N. Y. August 
26, 1862, our subject enlisted in Company H, One 
Hundred and Fifty-second New York Infantry, 
and was Hospital Steward of his regiment, serving 
until April 3, 1864. His duties were principally 
in Lincoln and Emory Hospitals at Washington, 
D. C. After his return from the armj', Mr. Kellogg 
was sick for nearly two years. When able to work 
again, he began teaching, which occupation he fol- 
lowed until he came to Michigan, Ai)ril 12, 1867, 
and settled on one hundred acres which is his 
present home. When it came into his possession 
it was in a perfectly wild state. He immediately 
set about clearing and improving his tract, erecting 
thereon a comfortable residence and all the neces- 
sary outbuildings. His large barn has a good 
basement under it and is 30x50 feet in dimensions. 
He also has two fine orchards on liis place and 
raises various kinds of fruits. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg of this sketcli have had 
born to them two children: Ella Kl., who is the 
wife of George Fuller, has two children: Cl3'de G. 
and Earl K., and resides in Porter Township. Cora 
A. resides at home with her parents. Mr. Kellogg 
has given his children excellent educations, the 
eldest having been a teacher for some time. Our 
subject and his wife are active workers in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, in which denomina- 



,.5^ 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



577 



tion Air. Kello<j<j lias been a Class-leader and Super- 
intendent of the Suiida3--scliool for a number of 
years. While in New York State he was Superin- 
tendent of a Sunilay-seliool wiiieli numbered over 
two hundred pupils; he has also acted in that ca- 
pacity at Marcellus. 

lie of whom we write has been on the School 
Uoard of his district for a number of terms and 
is a (irand Army man, belonging to the post at 
Marcellus, of which he was Conunandcr for two 
years. He is now serving his seventh 3'ear as 
Chaplain of the same. In politics, he is a stanch 
Republican, and is a friend of temperance. He 
Ikhs been Justice of the Peace and in 1871-72-73, 
served ;is County Superintendent of Schools in 
\'an Uuren County. He has been Notary Public 
nearly all his life, and is a very prominent man in 
this lotalit}-. 



! * ■ >t I ' ^ ^ » ! ■ ] 



■ I I I ' 



^AIL II. SCIIUH, a resident of Wayland, is 
well known as a good citizen who has the 
best interests of his community at heart, and 
whose influence is always cast on the side 
of right. Therefore his biography and jjortrait 
are valuable additions to this volume. His par- 
ents, David and Elizabeth (Schenabarger) Schuh, 
were natives of Germany and Maryland, respect- 
ively. They settled in Richland County, Ohio, 
where our subject was born A])ril 20, 1826, being 
the third in a family of five children. He was 
given the advantages of a common-school educa- 
tion, but, by observation and careful reading, has 
become a well-informed man. His father was a 
minister of the Luthei>an Church, but he decided 
U) learn a trade, and, at the age of fifteen yeare, 
learned the harness business at .Medina County. 
Ohio, serving two and one-half years, and then 
securing employment at jolj work liy himself about 
three years. 

Having determined to enter in business for him- 
self, Mr. Schuh located at Spencer, Medina County, j 
Ohio, where he remained for four years. Thence 
he removed to Akron, where he resided four years, 
and then returned to Medina, where he remained J 
for six vears. November .30, 180(5. he came to I 



Wayland, where he has since been engaged in the 
harness and saddler}- business. He now makes a 
specialty of manufacturing a patent neck-yoke. 
As a business man, his uprightness and judicious 
management are universally recognized. 

Mr. Schuh was married Mayl, 1850, to Margaret 
E. Blanot, of -Medina, Ohio, and they are the par- 
ents of three children: Maurice, deceased; William 
H., and one that died in infancy. William H. 
Schuh is a partner with his father, having been 
connected with him since his majority, and is now 
operating a fruit farm. He married Nenali Lillie, 
of Kalamazoo, and they have two children, George 
and Norris. Mr. Schuh belongs to the Prohibi- 
tion party, has held the office of Alderman for a 
number of terms, and has also been a member of 
the School Board. He and his wife are members 
of the Congregational Church, and are active in 
all good works. They are among the substantial 
residents of Wajiaud, and are highly esteemed by 
a large circle of friends. 




ENRY S. ROCKWELL. The plea.sant farm 
I )|| located on section 3;5, Portage Township, 



Kalamazoo County, is the home of oursub- 
'^1 ject. He has placed his estate under excel- 
lent cultivation, and by a proper rotation of crops, 
reaps a fine income. He is honest and upright in 
all his dealings with his fellowmen, and is held in 
high esteem Ii}- his neighbors an<l accpiaintances. 

He of whom we write is the son of the late Na- 
thaniel and Maria (A'an Hoesen) Rockwell. The 
father was born in .Schoharie Ct)unt_v, N. Y., and the 
mother in New York. Thej- made the journey to 
this State in the fall of 18')2, coming hither from 
AVyoming County and locating in Tortagc Town- 
ship. They made this place their home until the 
death of Mr. Rockwell, which occurred in .lanu- 
ary, 1865. The mother still survives and makes 
her home with a daughter in Hinsdale. III. 

Of the parental family of four sons and four 
daughters, Henry S. was the liflh child, his birth 
occurring in Wyoming County, N. Y., June 8, 
1837. He accompanied his parents on their re- 



578 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 




y 



moval to this State, and grew to manhood on the 
fanii in Portage Township. August 4, 1864, he 
was married in Kalamazoo to Miss Florence Brown, 
who was born in Schoolcraft Township, this count}', 
and by whom ho has become the father of two chil- 
dren, Lena M. and Floyd N. 

]\Ir. Koclvwell has been Township Treasurer for a 
period of two years, and, in politics, is an active 
and earnest Democrat. He has always been en- 
gaged in agricultural ))ursuit.s. and owns at the 
present time one hundred and lift^'-nine acres of 
improved jiroperty. 



YLVANUS X. PIKE. The varied exper- 
iences of a half century have given to this 
gentleman a broad knowledge of human 
nature on the one hand, and a goodly 
amount of this world's possessions as well. He re- 
sides in the village of Martin, where he and his 
family have estal)lished an attractive home and en- 
joy an acquaintance among the best people of the 
community. The business which chief!}' engages 
his attention is the buying and selling of cattle, 
and his ventures in that direction have been finan- 
cially remunerative. He rents his splendid farm, 
which consistsof one hundred and twenty acreson 
section 23, Watson Township. 

The Green Mountain State was the early home 
of S ylvanus a nd Alniira (Streeter) Pike, parents 
of our subject, andboth were born in Whitingham, 
Windham Count}^, Vt., the father June 23, 1811, 
and the mother in 1807. They passed their earl}' 
married life in Vermont, but removed thence to 
New York and later came to Jlichigan, where the 
mother di(^d May 23, 1869. The father still sur- 
vives at an advanced age and makes his home in 
section 23, AVatson Township. They were the par- 
ents of five children, only two of whom are now 
living: the subject of this notice, and James L., 
who resides in Trowbridge Township. 

At the age of seven, our subject accompanied his 
parents from his native home in Whitingham, Vt., 
where he was born April 18, 1842, to the State of 
New York. After remaining in St. Lawrence 
County one year, he accompanied his father to 



Jefferson County, the same State, and there so- 
journed four years. Later he went back to Ver- 
mont and after spending one winter there, returned 
to the Empire State and from there i)roceeded 
westward to Lenawee Count}', this State, where he 
located on a farm. He engaged in agricultural 
pursuits in that county for five years and then 
came to Allegan County in 1860, locating where- 
he now resides and at once commencing the work 
of improvement. 

On April 18, 1869, Mr. Pike was married in 
Otsego, this State, to Martha L. (Wilson) Kent, the 
widow of James Kent. Mr>. Pike was born in 
Ontario County, Canada, August 6, 1840, and her 
union with Mr. Pike has brought to them foiir chil- 
dren. ,as follows: Alniira S., Sylvanvs S., Sarah A. 
.and Linton A., all of whom are now at home with 
their parents. By her first marriage, Mrs. Pike be- 
came the mother of two children: Alice J., the wife 
of Lewis Holmes, of Kalamazoo; and JlarvE., who 
is Mrs. John Russell, and resides in Martin. The 
farm of one hundred and twenty acres which Mr. 
Pike owns is well improved and contains a good 
set of buildings. 

In former years Mr. Pike was a firm Repuliliean 
but he is now a Prohibitionist in principle and 
casts his ballot for the candidate whom he believes 
best qualified for the office. He has served with 
efficiency as Pathmaster, and was School Director 
sis years. He is a member of the Grange of Wat- 
son Township, and has for years been an active 
worker in the Church of God, where he is now 
Deacon and has been Secretary for ten years. His 
influence as an upright citizen has been extensive, 
and his long life of integrity has won for him the 
universal esteem of his fellow-townsmen. 

j-,^<sILES S. RATHBIIN, who has engaged in 
the grocery business in Decatur since 1878, 
was born on the 26th of ^larch. 1821, in 
Cayuga County, Is. Y., and is one of eleven chil- 
dren whose parents were Joshua and Diadama 
Ratlibun. His father was a native of the Green 
Moinitain State and by occupation w.as a farmer. 
Removing to New York, he located in C:iyuga 




PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



579 



County, where he followed agricultural pursuits. 
His de.ith occurred in Allegany County, N. Y.,in 
1826, and ills wife followed him to the grave witii- 
in a month. Of their children all grew to mature 
years and the average age of the five j'et living is 
over seventy- five. 

Niles Kathbun was left an orphan when a lad 
of five summers. He was then taken care of by 
his brother Kdward, witii whom he remained until 
he had attained his majority, when he began work 
as a farm hand and was thus employed for two 
years. At tlie expiration of that period, he com- 
menced buying and selling horses, cattle and 
sheep and soon afterward purchased a farm in 
C.iyuga County, which lie oi)erated in connection 
with his stock business. At the age of thirty-one, 
he left the county of his nativity and going to 
Allegany County liegan carrying on a hotel. Heal- 
so operated a livery stable and while there residing 
w.as elected Justice of the Peace, which position he 
held for eight years. In 1867, lie determined to 
try his fortune in the West and located in Oak 
Claim City, Wis., where he engaged in loaning 
money. He liad resided there only a year when 
he w.as elected .Justice of the Peace, serving as 
such for eight years. He also carried on the gro- 
cery and lumber business until a decade had passed 
when he came to Decatur. His fitness for the of- 
fice of .lustice seems evident, for during the first 
year of his residence here he was elected and served 
for four years. 

In 1802, in Allegany County, N. Y., :Mr. Rath- 
bun and Miss Lucy Cheesbro, a native of that 
county, were married. Unto them were Itorn two 
children but the elder died at the age of nine 
years. Their son, Kdwin N., who was bom in 
18.j0,isone of Decatur's rising young business men. 
He is now engaged in the real-estate business, is 
Notary Public, counselor at law and correspon- 
dent for several of tbe city newspapers. 

In his political alliliations, Mr. Kathbun is a 
Hepublican and his wife is a member of the Pres- 
byterian Church. He embarked in the grocer}' 
business in Decatur in 1K78, and has continued it 
uninterruptedly since. He is a successful busi- 
ness man and one who is highly respected for his 
integrity and just dealing.s. He carries an excellent 



and complete line of goods, and the liberal patron- 
age which is now accorded him is well merited as 
the result of his industrious and enterprising ef- 
forts. The people rejtose in him the utmost 
confidence and their trust has never been mis- 
placed. 



/^^ EPIIAS S.KENT. The citizens of Michigan 
f|( _^ who have come from New York have al- 
^^7 most invariably brought with tliein such 
traits and habits of life as have rendered them of 
value in their new home. Their industry and 
frugality and their rugged pei-severance have 
helped them to attain such a degree of success as" 
enchances the prosperity of their neighbors. .Such 
a one we find in the man before us. 

Cephas 8. Kent was born in Oswego County, N. 
Y., March 31, 1839, and was the son of Ahira and 
Tiyphosa (Tuckerman) Kent, natives of Vermont 
and New York, respectively. The paternal an- 
cestors of our subject were English and this grand- 
father was a soldier in the War of 1812. The 
Kent family also figured prominently in the 
Revolutionaiy struggle. Our subject was fifteen 
years of age when his parents came to this State, he 
with an older brother coming overland by the 
way of Canada and with the family located in 
Charleston Township, Kalamazoo County. Their 
mother died September 18, 1891; the father still 
makes his home on the old farm and is pa-st four- 
score years of age. 

He of whom we write was reared to man's estate 
on his father's farm and afterattaiuing his majority 
engaged for four j^ears in the merchandising busi- 
ness in Augusta. He was given a good education, 
supplementing his i)rimary studies at the common 
schools by a course at the Albion College. May 
19, 1864, be was married to Miss Harriet C. Wood- 
ward, a native of Cliautnu(|ua County, N. Y., her 
natal day being September 24, 1840. Mrs. Kent 
was the daughter of .lohn and Sarah (Eddy) 
Woodward, who were natives of the Empire .State. 
Her parents were of English descent and Grand- 
father AVoodwafd w.as a patriot in the Revolution- 
ary War. In 1853, Miss Harriet accompanied her 



580 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAIHICAL RECORD. 



parents on their removal to Michigan, where they 
located in Richland Township, Kalamazoo Countj'. 
Tiiey passed their last days in Augusta village. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Kent have been born tlie fol- 
lowing four children: Albert; Mary, who is a 
teacher in the public seliool; Glenn, who is also 
a teacher, and Richard. Mr. Kent owns one hun- 
dred and ten acres of cultivated land, upon which 
he has made all the improvements which stamp it 
as a first-class estate. Mrs. Kent is identified with 
the Ladies' Library Association of Augusta and al- 
so with the Ladies' Aid Society. In politics, our 
subject is a Republican. 



—5- 



m>-^^<m 




ETH VROMAN isahighly respected citizen 
of Kalamazoo Countj-, where he has ac- 
quired a comfortable property by his farm- 
ing operations, although he has had much 
to contend with since he settled in Brady Town- 
ship, and began to build a home and improve a 
farm on section 21. He was born in the town of 
Aurora, Erie County, X. Y., June 19, 1841. Lewis 
Vronian, his father, was also a native of New York, 
and was born Octoljer 10, 1807. His parents came 
from Germany, and died wlien he was only eight 
years old. He was a cooper in earlj' life, and alsf) 
engaged in shoemaking and in farming after mar- 
riage. He came to Michigan in 1858, journeying 
by Lake Erie to Detroit, and from there Ijy wagon 
to this county. He settled in Brad}' Township, 
but a j'ear and a half later he went to Kansas in a 
covered wagon, and was five months on the way 
there and back, as he did not make a verj- long 
stay in that then troublous Territory. Returning 
to Brady Township, he located on a farm here, and 
a year later bought forty acres of the farm now 
belonging to our subject. He died on his homestead , 
April 16, 1875, and thus rounded out a useful and 
honorable life of sixty -seven j'ears, six months and 
six days. His faithful wife did not long survive 
him, but died September 14, 1876. Her name 
was Sarah Tripp, and she was born in ^'ermont, 
August 3, 1810. Both she and her husliand were 
conscientious, consistent Christians, .and members 
of the Congregational Church. They reared six 



out of their seven children, namely: George, Lu- 
cius H., Seth, Augusta M., Jane E., and Charles H. 
The ancestors ou the mother's side of the house were 
genuine New England Yankees. Grandfather 
Tripp was a farmer. He lived to be nearly a hun- 
dred years old. His wife died December 18, 1856, 
aged seventy-nine j-ears and two days. They had 
seven children. 

The early life of our subject was much as that 
of other farmers' boys. He attended the district 
school, which was taught under the I'ate-bill sj's- 
tem, and on his father's farm gained a good in- 
sight into farming. He came to this county with 
his parents in his eighteenth 3'ear, and also accom- 
panied them in their journey to and from Kansas. 
The country in this region was then but sparsely 
settled, with here and there a cabin in the woods. 
Deer were plentiful, and our subject occasion- 
ally secured some venison with his trusty rifie, 
when he found time to hunt. At the age of twenty- 
one he began life for himself, having worked out 
by the month for several seasons before he attained 
his majority. He bought forty acres of land and 
still continued an inmate of the j^arental home 
while lie farmed it. April 6, 1865, he cast aside 
his work to enlist, and became a member of Com- 
pany K, Twelfth Michigan Infantry. He was 
mustered in at Kalamazoo, and sent to the regi- 
ment at Devall's Bluff, Ark., where he and his 
comrades engaged in some skirmishes with the reb- 
els. Army life did not agree with him and he was 
taken sick. He was placed in the hospital at that 
point and remained there about three weeks. His 
military career was brought to a close by his hon- 
orable discharge, at Little Rock, July, 1865. Ho 
contracted a chronic disease while at the front, 
whicli entitles him to a pensic)n of fourteen dollars 
a month. 

Mr. Yroman returned to Brady Township when 
he left the army, and settled here permanently. 
He has a good farm of one hundred and fortj' 
acres, the most of which is under a high state of 
cultivation, and buildings of a commodious, sub- 
stantial order adorn the place. He erected his 
residence in 1886, and has a roomy, pleasant dwel- 
ling, supplied with every comfort and convenience, 
.and he has several barns and other outhouses. 




>t 



m^hw^' 








PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



583 



lfj_^ ARRISOX lUTCIIINS. This woitliy old 
lljl^ pioneer, wiiose portrait is shown on tlie 
il^^ opjiosite page, is at present residing on 
(!^) section 1, (ianjjcs Town.'^hi]), Allegan 
County. lie was born in Rutland County, \'t., in 
X 181A, and is a son of David and Sally Ilutchins. 
The father was horn on a farm in the Green .'Moun- 
tain State and r^'ceived a very limited education, 
as when quite ^-oung he was engaged in lumbering 
on the St. Lawrence River. 

Our subject's mother was .Sally, daughter of 
Samuel Hurnel, anativeof Connecticut, who spent 
most of his life in \'ermnnt. Jlr. Hurnel was a 
farmer, and during the Uevolutionarv War served 



He engages in general farming, and raises Perch- ! 
eron hoi>es, cattle of good grades, and both line j 
and coarse wooled sheep, and has some of the for- 
mer variety that he i)rocurcd in Pennsylvania, ! 
that are registered. Mr. A'romau stands with the 
Republicans in politics, yet, notwithstanding that 
fiict, he has held the offices of Treasurer and Iligii- 
way Commissioner several terms, although the 
township is largely democratic. He is popular 
among his fellow-citizens, who recognize his fit- 
ness for public life, and have sensililj- elected him 
to responsible positions, regardless of party ties, 
as they know him to be a man of sound, round- 
about sense, of clear discernment and good business 
habits. He is a member of the Odd Fellows' Lodge, 
No. 194, at Yicksburg. It is ISIr. ^'l■olnan's i>ridc 
that all tiiat he has he has made himself, never hav- 
ing as much as a cent given to him, nor receiving 
outside aid in any shape. He has met with several 
reverses. Atone time he lost ^1,000 on his wheat 
by storing it and another man's selling it, which 
left him penniless. 

Our subject was married, . January 2;j, 18G5, to 
Miss Ella IJlair. w ho was born in this township, in 
1846; she died witliout issue in 1879. Mr. Vro- 
man was a second time married, February IS, 1880, 
Miss Mary J. (!uyer becoming his wife. She was 
born in Pennsylvania, February 18, 18().'i. Three 
children are tiie fruit of this union, named Pearl, 
Ermaand Minnie. 



his country from the beginning to the close of hos- 
tilities. He was very prominent in i)olitical affairs 
in his community' and served several terms in the 
Vermont Legislature, finally declining further 
ollice on account of his advanced vears. 

Harrison Ilutchins was one of a family of eleven 
children, born to his parents, only four of whom are 
living. Two died in infancy, and the remaining 
nine bore the names of So|)hia, Adeline, Alvin, 
Louisa, Samuel, David, Harrison, Cynthia, and 
Sarah. David Ilutchins, on removing to New- 
York, first located in St. Lawience County, where 
he was eng.aged in running a sawmill. His next 
removal was to .Jefferson County, where he followed 
the occupation of a farmer. Fourteen years later 
he came to Allegan County with his family, where 
he lived until his death. He w.as a prominent 
member of the Jlasonic fraternity, and stood by 
his order during the strong excitement of the 
Morgan episode. 

Although his school days were few, our suljjecl 
was diligent in prosecuting his studies at home, 
and thus acquired a good fund of information. 
On attaining his eleventh year, he went to work 
in a factory, and three years later migrated to 
Canada, where he was employed in a brickyard. 
He came to Michigan when twenty yeare of age 
and, in 1838, located in (ianges Township, .Vllegan 
County, where he was the first settler. His pio- 
neer life is well described in the following poem, 
written I)y his wife and read at an Old Settlers' 
meeting in Allegan a few years ago. It is only a 
small portion of the poem, .and the sturdy j-outli 
referred to is her liusl)and: 

"No rushing cars in noisy haste 

At Fcnnvillc depot called. 
No logs from out the pinery 

To Fennville e'er were hauled. 

"The Indian built his wigwam then 

IJeside the lake .so fair. 
And feasted on the shining ba.ss, 

The muskrat and the bear. 

"The houses then in .Mlegan 

Were numbered by the score — 
I'pon it.-i i)ublic scjuare, my friends. 

The pine trees numbered more. 



584 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



"The rippling waves of Hutcliins' Lake 

The unbroken green encased, 
And where you now view verdant fields 

There lay a wooded waste. 

"McCormick, the first pioneer, 

Tlie emerald surface broke, 
And from his clayey chimney 

First arose the white man's smoke. 

"And next there came a sturdy youth 

His future home to make. 
And cut a path and built a house 

Beside the shining lake. 

"His step, so firm and buoyant then. 

Is not as lithe to-day; 
His forehead bald, his raven locks 

Old Time lias turned to gray. 

"As time rolled on new neighbors came, 

A handful, three or four, 
And while they much of hardship saw, 

They'd courage to endure. 

"O'er rooty road from Allegan 

The oxen drew their food, 
And pumpkin dumplings in those days 

Were 'reckoned pretty good.'" 

On coming to Ganges Township, Mr. Ilutchins 
purchased the one hundred and thirty acres of 
land which is his present home. Here he built a 
log caljin which contained but one room, and com- 
menced the work of improvement. To day his es- 
tate is made more valuable by the election thereon 
of all the buildings which best subserve the purposes 
of an agriculturist. The pride which he feels when 
viewing his broad acres is justifiable wlien we learn 
that his present standing in the farming commun- 
ity has been brought about solely by his own efforts, 
seconded by the wise judgment and economy of 
his good wife. 

Mr. Hutchins has been a member of the Baptist 
Church for the past thirty years, in which body 
he has filled the oUlce of Deacon. He built the 
first Baptist Church in Ganges Township, and 
has always been a warm supporter of that faitli. 
In politics, he is a Republican. 

Miss Laura C. daughter of Milo L. Hudson, be- 
came the wife of our subject, June 8, 1847. Mr. 
Hudson was born October 1.5, 1791, in Goshen, 
Conn., and was the son of David Hudson, born Feb- 
ruary 17, 1761. The latter named gentleman is a 



descendant of the discoverer of the Hudson River, 
as is proved by the following: Ilendrick Hudson, 
who discovered the Hudson River in 1609, named || 
his youngest son David, who in turn named his 
youngest son David. Thus the name of David was 
carried down for seven generations. The grand- ij 
father of Mrs. Ilutchins was the sixth of that line, 
being born in Blanford, Conn., February 17, 1761. 

The paternal grandmother of Mrs. Hutchins was 
Anna M. Norton, and after her marriage with David 
Hudson they resided in Goshen, Conn. In 1799, 
the}' moved to iSummit County, Ohio, with their 
six children, one child having died prior to their 
removal. It was there, in a one-roomed log house 
in the midst of an unbroken forest, that the eighth 
child was born, October 22, 1800, who was the first 
white child born in Summit County, Ohio. In 
1805, another son, David, was added to the house- 
hold. Our subject's wife was afterward born in 
the same house, on the same farm, which was 
afterward sold to the noted .John Brown. The 
house has since been carried awaj' in pieces by tour- 
ists, who visited that historic place. 

Mrs. Hutchins' parents died when she was very 
young, and she was then taken into the home of 
her grandparents. Her grandfather was one of the 
patriots in the Revolutionery War and her great- 
aunt was the second wife of Ethan Allen. Her 
grandfather, Constant Rogers, was a lineal descend- 
ant of .lohn Rogers, the martyr of Smithfield. Mi-s. 
Hutchins taught the first school in the Union Dis- 
trict. The happy married life of our subject and 
his wife is shown forth in the following lines, 
which were written, and read at the fortieth anni- 
versary of their marriage, b}' their daughter, Mrs. 
Emily H. Ilafford, June 8, 1887: 

"'Twas fifty years ago or more, 

A _vouth with earnest, honest air, 
Departed from the Empire State 

And sought the Western forests fair 

"Some brave resolves were in his thoughts, 

And braver still his hardy heart, 
From out the great wild wilderness 

He'd carve himself a humble part. 

"His bank account was principle. 

His stock in trade a sturdy arm — 
With outfit strapped upon his back 

He sought in Michigan a farm. 



PORTRAJT A^•D BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



585 



"From far Detroit to Allearan, 

Along tlie woary, windinj,' way, 
Tlirouij'h many forest'* green lie trod 

Where beasts were free and birds were gaj'. 

"His father traveled by his side, 

All other friends were left behind — 

Like ^Eneas, of aneient lore. 

The youth possessed a filial mind. 

■'Tlie muse would fain pursue him elose 
Tlirough all the seenes of daily life, 

Describe how brave with jjoverty 
He waged a hardly hopeful strife. 

"How oft at night, 'nealh liranehingtree, 

He laid his wear^- form to rest 
AVliere lonely hoot and dismal sereech 

Proclaimed him an unwelcome guest. 

"Marked trees were oft his only guide 

While traveling through the lonely wood. 

And tlcsh of bear and venison 
Made pioneer a wholesome food. 

"He said he would not catch a bird 

Without a cage to put her in. 
If, then, the bird must sure he caught 

To build the nest he must begin. 

"To toil no stranger lad w.as he. 

He gloried in his muscle strong — 
What wonder that he owned a farm 

With house and barn and team ere long? 

"The bro.adening acres dressed in green 
Proclaimed the spring from year to year, 

And garners stored with yellow corn 
Awaited winter's lonely cheer. 

"A loving sister followed soon 

And sat beside his cabin hearth; 
She baked his bread, prepared his meal. 

And kindly proved a sister's worth. 

"About the home with feeble tread 
His mother's step ere long was heard; 

The cage was done, the nest was built. 
Had he forgot to cateli the bird.' 

"A maiden taught the village school. 
Tile youth had seen her gentle worth. 

And soon the bird was in tlie cage; 
He took her to his heart and hearth. 

"'Twas forty years ago to-day, 

The man beside the maiden stood, 

And their two lives united were 
For weal or woe, for ill or good. 



"The years c<ame on, the years went by. 
With much of trial, much of care. 

God gave to them prosperity. 

The orchards bloomed, the fields were fair, 

"And infants sweet from time to time 
Found shelter in that glad home nest. 

And each one found a welcome place, 
Till eight the liappv parents blessed. 

"The muse could tell of washing d.ays. 
Of logging fires and harvest limes. 

Could picture maiile-sugar camps, 
Or tell of childish pranks and crimes, 

"But time goes by on restle-ss wings: 
The children grew to thoughtful years. 

And each in turn forgot their toys. 

Their childish pleasures, joys and fears. 

"Two forms are missing from our band — 
Two faces still remembered well. 

Our darling Mary early slept. 
And our beloved Samuel. 

"And some have left the dear home nest; 

Like roving liirds on restless wing. 
Soon far away the fledglings (lit, 

And for themselves they build and sing. 

"But we have all come home to-d.a^' 
To wish our jiarents happy cheer, 

And we do foudly hope .and pray- 
That they may reach the 'golden year.' " 



_^ 



VILLIAM H. IH'tiSLKY, a very inominent 
farmer and stock-raiser on section :). Paw 
Paw Township, ^'an Burcn County, is the 
owner of eighty acres of land in a splendid con- 
dition. He was born November 21, 1844, in Devon- 
shire, England, and came to this place when ten 
j-ears of age. Here he w.as reared on a farm and 
received a common-school education, making the 
best of his opportunities. He began to do forhim- 
self when al)Out twenty -one yeai-s old. He cleared 
land for liis father a year or two and then worked 
by the month for him a year or more, making con- 
siderable money. 

Mr. Piigsley was married December 25, 186!), to 
Miss Sarah A. Harris, of I'aw Paw Township and a 
daughter of Schuyler and Hannah (.Sherman) 



586 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Harris. Mrs. Pus^slcy was born in Jackson County, 
Mich., May 31, 1850, anil received a fair education 
in the district schools. In 1871, our subject re- 
moved to Mishawaka, Ind., and worked in the Mil- 
burn Wagon Factory, in the woodwork department. 
He stayed there two years, returning to Paw Paw 
where he rented a farm for four years. In 1877, he 
purchased his present home, the greater part of 
which was in heavy timber and no buildings on it. 
He set to work with a will and now has nearly all 
of it cleared and splendid buildings upon his place. 
Three children have been born to our subject 
and his estimable wife: Verne, born in Mishawaka, 
Ind., on June 21, 1874, was educated in the 
country schools and attended one term of three 
months in the Paw Paw schools. She was able to 
get a certificate to teach at the age of sixteen years, 
and in teaching is more than ordinarily success- 
ful.. May, the second child, had her birth Septem- 
ber 9, 1876; Clarence Ray was born in Paw Paw 
Township, February 12, 1883. Mr. Pugsley is a 
Democrat in politics and is a member of the Free- 
will Baptist Church, to which his wife also belongs. 



"S) 



^+^ 



[=- 






/ Rut 



I ^ARREN F. FRENCH, the present efficient 
\/iJ// ''^"P«'''^'sor of Almena Township, Van 
^y^ I5uren County, is a capable farmer, having 
his residence on section 23. His parents were 
Ezra and Phrebe (Taylor) French, both natives of 
Rutland, Vt.. where they were married and re- 
sided eight or nine years. The father was a 
farmer, and served in the War of 1812. In 1827, 
they settled in Franklin County, N! Y., on a new 
farm, and the father died at the advanced age of 
ninety-three years and seven montlis, while the 
mother died April 11, 1890, aged ninety-one. 
Thoy lived for sixty-two years on their farm in 
New York, and also spent a happy married life 
together for seventy-two years. He was Justice 
of the Peace for many years, and held other 
township offices. They were both Baptists in 
good standing, and took an active part in church 
matters. They were the parents of ten children, 
six of whom grew to maturity and four are now 
living. All the children received good educa- 



tions, and the youngest son, Hiram T., was a 
student at Middlebury College, and served in the 
Civil War. He is now the Cashier of the People's 
National Bank, at Mai one, N. Y. 

Our subject is the flrst-born of his father's family 
and had his birth, September 8, 1819, in Rutland 
County, Vt. He was reared to farm pursuits, and 
obtained a great deal of experience in clearing 
up heavy timber. He remained at home until 
twenty-one, when he began at his trade of a car- 
penter and joiner. He was married, December 9, 
1841, to Sarah A. Eager, a daughter of Benjamin 
and Sallie (Brigham) p]ager, both natives of Mas- 
sachusetts. They lived in Vermont for many 
years, and finally made their home in Franklin 
County, N. Y., on a wild farm, where the mother 
died in 1832, and the father in 1853, in Allegan 
County, Mich., where he had come in 1836. They 
were the parents of fourteen children, five now 
living. Mrs. French was born June 2, 1819, at St. 
Albans, Vt., and received her education in a log 
schoolhouse. 

After his marriage, our subject lived in Frank- 
lin County, N. Y., until he came to Michigan in 
1846, and settled on this farm. The road which 
passes his place is an old Territorial one, laid out 
by an Indian trail. He erected a frame house, 
16x20 feet, and began clearing, etc. He also 
worked at his trade for forty years, and has put 
up a large number of buildings in the township. 
This couple had nine children born to them, six 
of whom are living: Mary J., the wife of Levi A. 
Brown, of this township; Henry A., who married 
Charlotte Crofoot, resides in Mecosta County; 
Ella married W. C. Edgerly, of Montcalm County; 
Walter F. lives in Wyoming on a stock ranch; 
Phoebe, who is the wife of George Langden, lives 
in Almena Township, and Hiram P., who married 
Carrie C. French, lives in Oregon. He is Pro- 
fessor of Agriculture in a college there, and is a 
graduate of the Michigan Agricultural College, as 
is also his wife. Our subject gave all his children 
good educational advantages. 

Mr. French and his wife have been members of 
the Grange, of which he was Master and Secre- 
tary. He helped to organize the school district 
here, and was Director for over twentj^ years. 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRArillCAL RECORD. 



587 



In polities, lie is a Deniocral, aiul liold the offiee 
of Township Clerk for ten years, and was Treas- 
urer of the same one year. lie is at present the 
incunilnnit of the office of Supervisor, which he 
has held for ten years past, and the duties of 
wliicli lie IS discharging faithfully and conscien- 
tiously, lie has lieen a candidate for county 
offices a number of times. Ilis farm consists of 
twenty-one acres, all under the best iniiirovements, 
and which is carried on by himself. 



. <K^i^y 



ii-^-i^ll 




UGUSTINK 15. CHASE. This geulleman, 
who holds the responsible position of 
Casliier of the West Michigan Savings 
Bank at Bangor, was born near Galena, 
111., and at the age of sixteen was apprenticed to a 
merchant at Savannah, where he remained a little 
more than two years. At the expiration of this 
time, he entered Cornell College, and attended 
scliool there one year, improving his advant.ages 
and fitting himself for mercantile life. He was 
afterwards employed in a general store at Elizabeth, 
and then in one at Hanover, 111., a-s clerk and book- 
keeper, being so engaged in these two towns for 
four yeai-s. In 1870, Mr. Chase went to California 
wiiere lie remained only one year, coming from 
there to this State and locating at South Haven 
where lie opened a book and news store, and also 
served as Deinity Postm.istcr from 1871 to 1877. 
He also held the office of Town Clerk for seven 
years. 

The marriage of Mr. Chase took place at South 
Haven .January 14, 1872, at which time he was 
united to Miss Julia, daughter of the late S. B. 
Moorehouse, one of the pioneer settlers and prom- 
inent merchants of South Haven. Of this union 
two children have been born: Albert B. and Hattie 
M. In October, 1878, JMr. Ch.ase came to Bangor 
and operated a general store for one year, at the 
end of which time he sold out and accepted the 
position which he now holds. 

Mr. Chase inherits much of his sterling integrity 
of character and correct notions of right and wrong 
from the training received from his adopted 
parents, Augustine and Laviiia (Pudly) Chase, the 



former of whom was a native of W'rinont and the 
latlerof England. His gieat-grandfatlicr took an 
active part in the Colonial .\rniy and assisted in 
establishing thel'nioii. Oursiibjecl and his family 
are highly cslecincd niemliers of sociely and consist- 
ent members of the Disciples Church. He is giving 
his children every advantage in the w.ay of ed- 
ucation and his son Alliert is a senior in the Micli- 
igan Agricultural College. Politically. .Mr. Chase 
is a strong Republican and now holds the position 
of Secretary of the Soldier's Kclief Commission of 
Van Buren County, receiving his appointment 
from the Probate .Judge. Sficiallv, Mr. Cliase is a 
memlier of the ]\Iasonic fraternity and belongs to 
the chapter at Bangor. He is Secretary of the 
Chapter and Blue Lodge. He has held the oHice 
of Master of Collinlmry Lodge, A. V. S: \. M., for 
three years. He has been a member of the High 
School Board twelve years. President of the vil- 
lage, and is now a member of the common coun- 
cil of the village. 



T 



m 



W^ UAX 5Ii KEYES. Among the leading mer- 
chants of Lawton m.ij' be cl.assed this gen- 
tleman, who carries a fine stock of goods 
and commands an extensive trade. He is a 
native of this .State, being born in Berrien County, 
August 26, 1842. He is a son of Samuel and Roxy 
(Ta3'lor) JMcKeyes, both natives of Connecticut, 
from which State the father came to Michigan in 
1832 and settled in Berrien County. He there fol- 
lowed the occupation of a farmer and was married 
in Kalamazoo County. Our subject was the only 
child born of this union. His parents had lioth been 
previously married, the father having five children 
by his first marriage and the mother three. Samuel 
McKeves was the first Supervisor of Baiiibridge 
Township on its organization. He died in .\ugust, 
1853, and the mother the following year. 

The subject of this sketch was reared upon a farm 
and educated principally in the district schools of 
Kalamazoo County. For four yeai-s he held the 
position of Civil Engineer with the Chic.igo, Bur- 
lington ik Quincy Kailroad Comitany. In 18().5 he 
built a large flour mill at Lawton which he oper- 



588 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ated some ten years; he then sold out and engaged 
in the drug business in the same place in which he 
was engaged from 1875 until 1887. He then sold 
his drug store, and in 1888 entered into the mer- 
cantile business in Lawton in jjartnership with T. 
R. Smith, which he is still carrying on. He has a 
fine stock of goods valued at 17,000. Mr. McKe^'es 
was married in Kalamazoo, February 2, 1865, to 
Miss Maria E. Cowgill. She is a native of Kala- 
mazoo County, her birth taking place August 4, 
1846. She is the daughter of James and Eliza 
(Smith) Cowgill, early settlers of this State. Of this 
union two children have been born: Frank H., his 
birth taking place in June, 1867, and Grace in 
June, 1875, Mr. McKeyes held the office of Su- 
pervisor of Antwerp Township for five years and 
has served as Village Trustee and Village Presi- 
dent. 



|i7 EONARD S. EVANS makes his home at 
J (^ the present time in Galesburgh. He was 
il^V ' born in Chatham Township, Columbia 
County, N. Y., December 24, 1818. He is the sou 
of Oliver Evans, a native of Dutchess County, 
N. Y., and a farmer by occupation who came 
to Michigan in 1848 and located in Richland 
Township, Kalamazoo County. He was a Demo- 
crat in politics and a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
Sallie Davis. She was born in Columbia County, 
N. Y., and died in her seventy-fourth year. The 
parental family included three children, of whom 
our subject is the youngest and only one now liv- 
ing. In 1824, he accompanied his parents on their 
removal to Yates County, N. Y., where thev re- 
mained until 1831 and then made their home in 
Wayne County. In 1837-38 they made another 
removal, this time making Orleans County their 
abiding place, until 1848 when they came West to 
Michigan. 

Leonard S. Evans remained with his parents un- 
til reaching his majority, having been given a good 
education at Lyman, N. Y. Previous to coming to 
Michigan, he had been married, in 1840, in New 



York to Emil3' Brown, also a native of the Empire 
State. The young couple located upon a farm in 
Orleans Count}' where they made their home until 
1848, the date of their coming to Michigan. Mr. 
Evans purchased one luindred and eleven acres of 
land in Richland Township, Kalamazoo County, 
which was partially improved, and there made his 
home until 1853. At that date he sold his property 
and purchased another farm in Kalamazoo Town- 
ship which is now within the corporate limits of 
Kalamazoo and is the race track of Mr. Brown, an 
extensive stockman. He made that tract his home 
for five years, when he disposed of the estate and 
purchased property m Richland Township, which 
consisted of one hundred acres. He there gave his 
attention to general farming until 1863, when he 
sold and purchased another farm in. Charleston 
Township, which included two hundred acres of 
improved land. Mr. Evans is now living retired 
from active business in Galesburgh. 

The original of this sketch was married twice, 
having six children by his first wife, namely: 
Youngs A. B., residing in Marshall, this State; 
Palmer S., a groceiyman at Battle Creek; Vivian, 
is the wife of Park Burdick, who is engaged in the 
grocery business in Kalamazoo; Oliver L. is a 
grocer in (Jalesbuigh; Charles B. is a photographer 
in Kalamazoo; and Clara M. is the wife of William 
Caywood, of Comstock Township. Mrs. Emily 
Evans died January 10, 1871, and our subject was 
then married to Athaline Hunt, a native of New 
York. 

In politics, Mr. Evans is a Democrat and has been 
Supervisor of Richmond and Charleston Town- 
ships. He lias also been on the School Board in 
Galesburgh and is greatly respected in his com- 
munity. 



^^ 



^••» . «w* 



^1*. 



ON. ORVILLE H. FELLOWS. This gen- 
tleman has shown himself capable of close 
i^ application to the duties which lie before 
,^3) him and his judicious decisions when at- 
tempting to bring about a worthy object are well 
known to those who are acquainted with the his- 
toi-y of the State. He is an old settler in this re- 



PORTRAIT A^'D BlOGRAPIl'CAL RECORD. 



589 



gum and is at present residing on section 30 
Prairie Runde Townsiiij), Kalamazoo County. 

Tiie father of our subject, Abial Fellows, was born 
in I.itclifieid Conntv, Conn., while liis mother, 
whose maiden name was Dorcas Hopkins, was a 
native of Luzerne County, Pa. Tiiey came to 
Michiaai; in Ot'toher, 182',l, where they pre-empted 
one hundred and sixty acres of land and also 
boutrht a like amount in Prairie Ronde Township. 
They continued to make tlieir residence on section 
36 until their death, the father dying in 1833 and 
the mother in 1866. Of the thirteen children 
comprising their liouseliold, our subject was the 
tenth in order of liirth, his natal da^- being July 
24, 1820. 

Our subject accomjianied his i)arents hither when 
a lad of nine years and grew to manhood in this 
township which has since been his home, with the 
exception of one year spent in California, and one 
year in Iowa. For three years he was engaged in the 
mercantile business and in manufacturing plows. 
lie is the iiossessor of two hundiod and forty acres of 
excellent land which his industr}' and good judg- 
ment have placed under the best cultivation. His 
estate bears all the modern improvements in the 
way of m.achiner^- and buildings and is so managed 
as to bring him in a fine income. 

Orville II. Fellows was married. Ma}' 17, 1846, 
to Miss Sarah, daughter of Cornelius and Lucy 
(Clark) Van Camp, natives of New York, where 
they (lassed their last days. Mrs. Fellows was born 
in r>uffalo, X. Y., July 24, 1822, and by her union 
with our subject has become tiio mother of six 
children: Lucy E., who is the wife of Bishop An- 
drews; Alice E., Mrs. Wilbur Ilackett; Orra I., who 
married S. C. Carpenter; Anna L.; Maude L., who 
is the wife of L. Augustus .\spinwall. One daugh- 
ter, Sarah, died in November. ISSl. whi'iilwenty 
yeai-s of age. 

In the fall of 1>S62. the original of this sketch 
was elected to the Michigan Legislature and so 
well and faithfully did he fulfill the duties of that 
lionoraldc position that he wa.s re-elected in 1864 
and again was the incumbent of that ollice in 1866, 
serving three terms. For four 3-ears he served 
Prairie Ronde Townshi]) acceptably as its .Super- 
visor and was elected .luslice of the Peace but re- 



fused to (pialify. He has always taken an .active 
part in political affairs and has been identilied 
with the Republican party since its organization, 
lie has alw.ays been greatly interested in educa- 
tional affaire and served .as a member of the School 
Board for a number of years. Mr. Fellows is a 
Mason socially, being connected with .Schoolcraft 
Chapter and Blue Lodge. There are very few 
more cultured or enterprising resident* of Kalama- 
zoo County than our sul)ject, who is one of the 
popular and prominent men in his community. 

The maternal great-grandfather of Mr. Fellows, 
Dr. Samuel Hopkins, was a Presbyterian clergyman 
of Great Barrington, M.ass. 



*^^1 



wm 



vm 



\^ 



ests are centered in Paw Paw Township, 
^ ^ is one of the progressive and enterprising 
farmers and stockmen of this section, whose prac- 
tical knowledge of agriculture and sound business 
methods have contributed largely to the sulistanlial 
growth and enduring prosperit}' of \:\n Buivn 
County. 

Mv. Phillips was born at Waterford, Upper Can- 
ada, August 12, 1848. He comes of good old New 
England and Revolutionary stock, and is a mem- 
ber of a family that w.as well represented in the 
Union army during the late war. His parents were 
.\aron and Tiyphcna (Chapiii) Phillips, the former 
a native of New Hampshire, and the latter of Can- 
ada, born respectively, December 27. 1801, and 
July 1(), 1812. The maternal grandfather of our 
subject, Gordon Chapin, served throughout the 
War of 1812, and won a good military record. 
Our subject's maternal great-grandfather, Isaac 
Whitney, w.is a brave soblier in the Contint'iital 
army, devoting himself to the patriotic duty of 
liel[)ing to gain his country's freedom until the 
triumphal close of the Revolution, and he was in 
Washington's army during that terrible winter of 
encampment at Valley Forge when the troops suf- 
fered so dreadfull}-. 

Aaron Phillips was a self-made man, and his en- 
tire career was such as to command the respect of 
all who knew him. He received a common-school 



590 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 



education, and learned the trade of a shoemaker in 
his j'onth, working at it as long as he was able. He 
was also a farmer. The early part of his wedded 
life was passed in Canada, but when his son of 
whom we write was about four j'ears old, he re- 
moved with his family to La Grange County, Ind., 
where he bought land, which he cultivated until 
1860, when he sold it, and then sought a new home 
in Decatur Township, this county. He bought fifty 
acres of wild land, a part of which he cleared, and 
he lived thereon comfortably for several years. 
His last days were spent in Arlington Township, 
and he passed awaj', October 3, 1889, at a ripe old 
age. He was a Democrat, and a good citizen, but 
did not care much for politics. 

William Phillips, the subject of this biographical 
review, is the eleventh in order of birth of a fam- 
ily of twelve children, of whom ten are still living, 
and the following is recorded of his brothers and 
sisters: Amasa II., the eldest, is a resident of Vaa- 
dalia, 111., is married and has two children; Charles 
A., a farmer of Arlington Township, is married and 
has three children ; Horace A., a farmer in Noble 
County, Ind., is married and has six children; 
Mary Ann married Joseph Edmonds, a hardware 
merchant at Goshen, Ind., and has one child; Ad- 
eline married Monroe Selby, a farmer of Branch 
County, and has five children; Aaron, a dealer in 
horses at La Grange, Ind., is married and has four 
children; Isaac W. died, leaving a family of four 
children; Cordelia is the wife of Erastus Cash; 
Eliza Jane is the wife of Frank Wood, and the 
mother of two sons; Alexander, a farmer in Arling- 
ton Township, is married and has four children. 
Three of our subject's brothers did honorable ser- 
vice in the late war; Amasa served three years as 
veterinary surgeon; Aaron was also in the army 
three years, saw much hard service, whereby' he 
lost his health, and had to lie in the hospitals a 
good deal. He has never fully recovered from \'.c 
effects of the hardships and privations that he un- 
derwent, and now gets a pension of $12 a month 
from the Government as part payment for what he 
suffered for the old flag; Isaac W. went as a substi- 
tute, but was only gone about three months, and 
never was in a battle. 

Our subject was educated in the public schools 



of Indiana. He was a stirring, wide-awake lad, act- 
ively interested in the various labors of the farm, 
in which he early became very proficient, and as 
he had a natural aptitude for farming, he adopted 
that calling for his life work. Well equipped for 
life's battle, he entered into the arena to fight it 11 
out on his own account at the age of twenty-one. 
Soon after his marriage, he settled on a tract of 
one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 
1), Paw Paw Township, which his bride had inher- 
ited. But little of it was under cultivation, and 
he bent his energies to the severe pioneer task of 
redeeming it from its natural wildncss, and as a 
result of his labors, he now has under his control 
one of the most valuable farms in this vicinity, 
supplied with all the modern improvements that 
go to make up a model farm, including a substan- 
tial set of buildings, and it is completely stocked 
with cattle, horses and sheep of high grades. In 
1888, he met with a loss in the destruction by fire 
of a fine large barn, which was filled to the roof 
with the products of the harvest. He has since 
replaced it with another, which is still more roomy 
and is very conveniently arranged. Mr. Phillips 
deals quite extensively in stock. He handles sheep, 
which he feeds for the market, and he also deals in 
horses, formerly in heavy draft horses, but of re- 
cent years he has turned his attention more par- 
ticularly to fine roadsters. He is meeting with 
marked success in his stock ventures, as he is thor- 
oughly familiar with all the good points of horses 
and sheep, is a good judge of those animals, is 
quick to take advantage of all good opportunities 
to make a fair sale, and is prompt and clear-sighted 
in all matters pertaining to his line of business. He 
maintains a high standing in financial circles, and 
is one of our most substantial men. He is a sound 
Republican, but his personal affairs absorb too 
much of his attention to allow him time to dabble 
in politics. 

Mr. Phillips was married, February 22, 18C0, to 
Miss Elizabeth Markley, of Paw Paw Township, 
who has ably and cheerfully co-operated with him 
in the upbuilding of their attractive home. They 
have three sons, of whom the following is recorded: 
Frank, born October 2, 1872, was well educated at 
the school at Paw Paw, and is now in the under- 



•rrj 





.^J^^^'^^z/T/J'^^^^^-^^?^ 





^*K^^ i. 




Mii B.W. COLBURIM. 



41 



41 



PORTRAIT AND ]J10GKArilICAL RECORD. 



595 



takinir bii.sinct'S; Cliarles M. was born in Paw Paw 
Townsliip. Scpteinhor 16, 1875; Kdwiii .1. waslidiii 
ill I'aw Paw Township, June 8, 1877. Mrs. Phillips 
is a native of Monroe County, N. Y., Iwrn October 
27, 181.S, the only child of .lolin and Eunice (Tup- 
l)er) IMarkley. Her father was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, December Il>. IMOil, and was of Dutch ante- 
cedents, ller mother was l)orn in ^lonroe County, 
N. v.. April ."), I.S12. The niarriane of !icr parents 
took place at ( Innchville, N. Y.,.lanuary 2!», 1839. 
They continued to live on a farm in Monroe Counts- 
some fourteen years, and then sold and removed 
to Ciiurchville, in the same county, where Mr. 
JIarklev worked in a furnace until 18G5, when 
they came to Michigan. Mr. JIarkley bought one 
hundred and twenty acres of land in Paw Paw 
Township, the same on which his son-in-law of 
whom we write is now living. He cleared a small 
pari of it, our subject clearing the most of it, and 
he carried on farming to some extent, although he 
was by trade a carpenter and joiner, of great me- 
chanical iicnius, besides being a natural machinist, 
and his principal work was in his mechanical capa- 
city, lie died March 11, l.sss. and thus rounded 
(uit a long and honorable life, and his township 
mourned the loss of a valuable citizen. His wife 
had departed this life but a few nmnths after his 
death, she dying October 7, 1889. 



-5- 



=^>^^<-! 







niiENJAMIX W. COLRURN. The State of 
Michigan has her various occupations, 
many of which are thriving, but her farm, 
ing interests stand among the head, and 
among those actively interested in this latter 
named |)ursuit, we mention the gentleman whose 
name initiates this .sketch. He owns a splendid 
farm of eighty acres on section 31, Allegan Tnun- 
ship, .MIegan County, and one of forty acres in 
Trowbridge Townshii), which is finely improved 
and adorned with excellent buildings. He is 
carrying on mixed farming and gives a great deal 
of his attention to the raising of line graded stock, 
the Hol>teins being among his favorite breeds of 
cattle. 

The subject of this biographical sketch was born 
27 



in Ilollis, Ilillsboro County, X. II., October 5, 1813. 
He is a son of Robert and Keziah. (Wright) Col- 
burn, natives of New Hampshire, where they were 
reared and married. The father was a farmer by 
occu()alion and spent the List days of his life in 
Massachusetts. He was a participant in tiie War 
of the Revolution and an old-line Whig in politics. 
He was the father of a family- of seven sons and 
daughters, our subject and his sister Sarah A. 
(^Iis. Powers), of Hollis, X. II,, being the only liv- 
ing ones. 

Our subject received his education at Ilollis, 
N. II,, and was reared to the occupation of a farmer 
and cooper. He left New Hampshire when eighteen 
years old and removed to Monroe County, N. Y., 
where he remained four years, engaged in the 
cooper business. He was married, in 1833, to Miss 
Almira Sargeant, the daughter of Ebenezer .Sargeant, 
a native of New Ilam|)shire, The father w.as a 
cabinet-maker early in life and later followed 
farming. Our subject came to Michigan in 1836, 
with his wife, journeying in the old primitive 
way by wagon, and passing through Canada on 
his way to this county, lie located in Allegan 
Village through the summer and the following 
winter, and in the early spring moved to Trow- 
bridge Township on section 7, and cut the first 
tree cut by a white man. He purch.ased eight}' 
acres of land from the Government and erected 
a log house eighteen feet square, cleared off 
the land and lived on the place over forty 
3'ears. At the end of this time he sold his estjite 
and came where he now lives. He has also im- 
proved this pl.acc and elected good and substantial 
buildings thereon. He is engaged in mixed farm- 
ing and has some tine llolstein cattle, and some of 
the finest breeds of swine. 

Mr. Colburn was the lirst Coiist.able of Trow- 
bridge Township and was also Overseer of the 
Ilighways. He taught singing school while in 
Trowbridge Township. Mrs. Colburn p.a.ssed from 
this li(e in 1850. She was the mother of live chil- 
dren, only one of whom is yet surviving: Sarah 
E, (.Mrs, .\iistin), who is the mother of three chil- 
dren: George A,, Benjamin H,. and Ercderick P. 
Oursubject was again married, this time, in 18.')(), to 
Elizabeth R. Wright, of Hollis, N, II,. aud si.x chil- 



596 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



dren came to hless their home, two now living: 
Lucy A. mairied William II. McC'ani, and two 
children have been born to them; Lillie A. and 
Floyd E. Ettie E. is the name of the other daugh- 
ter. The beloved wife and mother was called 
away by death in 1891. 

Our subject isa Prohibitionist in politics, and a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church with 
which he has been connected for more than thirty 
years. He is a very prominent man in the town- 
ship and has always been foremost in church mat- 
ters. He has superintended the Sunday-school, 
been Class-leader and Steward and at present is 
Trustee. He is seventy-eight years old. He was 
chorister for twenty years, and takes an active 
interest in everything that will suppress evil. 

For almost forty years Mr. and Mrs. Colburn 
struggled side by side, sharing their joys and sor- 
rows, and we are pleased to present their portraits 
and life sketches in order that their example and 
influence, as well as their kindly lineaments, may 
be jjerpetuated for coming generations. It may 
truly be said of them that the world is better for 
their having lived in it. 



eHARLES HATHAWAY has one hundred 
and forty-eight acres of land on section 19, 
Lawrence Township, Van Buren Countj', 
where he is engeged as a farmer and stock-raiser. 
He also has a tine apple orchard of three hundred 
and twenty-five trees, and a peach orchard of fif- 
teen hundred trees. Mr. Hathaway was born in 
Argyle Townshi|), Washington County, N. Y., 
October 16, 1825. He is the son of Elisha and 
Susannah (Wilcox) Hathaway, the father a native 
of Connecticut, of Yankee parents, while the 
mother was boin in New York, and is of Irish de- 
scent. 

The elder Mr. Hathaway was a farmer, and re- 
moved to Ashtabula County, Ohio, when our sub- 
ject was eleven j'ears of age. There the father 
purchased a farm; upon which he resided until his 
death, which occurreil in 1879, at the advanced 
age of eightjr-ftve years. Our subject grew to 



manhood in the Buckeye State, and received a 
good common-school education. He began to 
earn his own money when a lad of eleven years, 
and soon after reaching his majority rented a 
farm which was furnished with all the necessary 
machinery. The drouth that season caused the 
hay crop to be very short, so tiiat in order to win- 
ter his dairy cows be ran in debt $150. That un- 
fortunate event was the year succeeding his mar- 
riage with Miss Caroline Cramer, of Ashtabula 
County. 

Mr. and I\Irs. Hathaway have been granted a 
familj' of six children, four of whom are still liv- 
ing. Mr. Hathawaj' did better iu his farming op- 
erations after his first effort, buying a small farm 
which he sold and made a snug little sum. In 
December, 1854, he came to Lawrence Township, 
Van Buren County, and purchased eighty-eight 
acres of land, which was all in timber, and which 
fornjg a part of his present beautiful estate. He 
erected a log house for his famil3' in which thej- 
made their home for three years, when he was en- 
abled to build a frame dwelling, which is still 
standing upon the farm. Mr. Hathaway has em- 
bellished his estate by the erection thereon of a 
commodious and convenient residence, which bears 
all the modern improvements. His farm is further 
improved with all the needful buildings and ma- 
chinery, and ranks among the first-class estates of 
Van Buren County. 

Mrs. Caroline Hathaway died February 18, 1886, 
and of their five children, Caroline married Ed- 
win Geer; they have four children, and reside 
upon a portion of her father's farm. George is a 
farmer in Pennsylvania, is married and has one 
child; Elisha is married, has two children, and 
makes his home in Vermont, where he is employed 
in making carpenters' squares; Lottie died in in- 
fancy; and William C. lives at home. He gave 
his children every possible advantage for an edu- 
cation, and George taught school for a number of 
years, beginning when nineteen. 

January- 27, 1892, our subject was married to 
Mrs. Henrietta Stafford, nee McNutt. Mrs. Hatha- 
way was born in Ashtabula County, Ohif-, Novem- 
ber 5, 1842. She was married September 7, 1860, 
to Jonathan Stafford, of Erie County, Pa., by 



PORTRAIT AND tlOGRAPHlCAL RECORD. 



597 



whom she became tlie mother of one child, John 
C, wlio was I)oru June 11, 18(!G, in Ashtabula 
County, Ohio. Tlic son is married and operates a 
portion of our sui>ject's farm. Mr. Stafford was 
aecidentall}' killed by the cars at Oirard, Pa., March 
14, l«fi8. 

^Ir. IlathaNv.ay in early life was an old-line 
VViiig-. In 1852, he voted for Clay, and in 1856 
for Fremont. He supported the Republican party 
some years, but now votes the indei)endcnt ticket. 
He has never been an offlce-seeker, but has been 
Commissioner of IIi<;invays of his township for 
seven years. Our subject has traveled extensivelj-, 
having visited the States of Jsew York, Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wiscon- 
sin, iSIinnesota and Iowa. He has also been a 
great hunter, especially of pigeons, and has netted 
those birds when they were so thick that they 
could carry off the net. In that business he 
cleared 1450 in five weeks and two days. Mr. 
Hathaw.ay is a member of the Christian Church, 
and also of the Orange. 

After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Hath- 
away carried on the millinery business in which 
lie had been engaged, and at the present time owns 
a millinery store in Lawrence, which is ranked 
among the flourishing business enterprises of the 
l)lace. 






i -j..}..5.4._ 



\i?ACOB LEMON. Among the worthy pio- 
neer residents of Brady Township, Kalama- 
zoo County, we gladly mention the gentle- 
*^/' man, whose brief history wc here give. He 
is a native of Orange County, N. V., born April 8, 
1815. Samuel was the name of his father, who 
wa.s a native of I>ondon, England, and is supposed 
to have been the victim of a conspiracy. When 
seven years old, he was kidnai>i)ed and taken on 
board a man-of-war, and sailed on the waters 
until twenty years old. He then settled in Orange 
County, N. Y., and commenced to learn the trade 
of a stone mason. In 18.31, he started on a jour- 
ney to New York City, but never reached there, 
having been drowned in a squall which upset the 
slot)p. Samuel Lemon was a man of intelligence 
and was well liked by all. In his political views 



he was a Democrat, lie married Almira Rockraan , 

a native of New Jersey, who bore him eleven 
children, all of whom grew to be men and women, 
named as follows: J. Nelson, Samuel, Jane (Mrs. 
Reed), Rachel (Mrs. Piper), Jacob, William, Mary 
(Mrs. Wood), Josejih, George, Cinthia and Mason. 
Four of this family yet survive: Nelson, our sub- 
ject, William and Mason. The good mother died 
in her scventy-liflh year, and was a consistent 
member of the Methodist Church. The maternal 
grandfather of our subject was of Irish descint 
and a farmer by occupation; he died when about 
sixt3'-five years old. 

Our subject was reared on a farm in his native 
county, where he w:is also educated in the district 
schools, conducted on the rate-bill system. InMa}', 
1831, when sixteen years old, our subject moved 
to Chemung County, and two weeks later his 
father was drowned. The date of his coming to 
the Wolverine State was April, 1835. From Pal- 
myra he journeyed to Buffalo on a canal boat; to 
Dunkirk on foot, a distance of forty miles; by 
steerage p.assage to Detroit across the lake and fin- 
ally reached Ann Arbor after another tedious jour- 
ney on foot. His financial possessions were com- 
posed of onlj' one cent, but he was so fortunate as 
to here meet a man living in Jackson County, 
who hired him to work on his farm for §1 1 a month. 
This was .Saturday evening, and our subject walked 
the distance of forty-one miles, arriving at the 
farm Monday night. He had had nothing to eat 
on his journey excepting one cookie. t)n July 1, 
Jacob Lemon left the emploj' of this gentleman 
and walked back to Ann Arbor and worked there 
until fall. With the savings he had laid by, he 
was enabled to purchase forty acres of land near 
Grass Lake, Jackson County, and in December, 
1835, he hired to Piatt, Hughes iV Gillas. a new 
stage firm, to carry mail and passengers from De- 
troit to Chicago and intermediate points. He re- 
mained with this firm until the fall of 1836, when 
he spent the winter willi his mother in Washtenaw 
County. 

The following spring, Mr. Lemon became an 
agent for the stage company of Frink it Walker, 
of Chicago, buying grain, horses, etc., and driving 
to Springfield and Central Illinois. He formed the 



598 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln and Douglas at 
Springfield. In 1840, our subject came to this 
county, and after a stay of three 3'ears, went first 
to St. Louis, Mo., and later to Burlington, Iowa. 
While at the latter place, he was engaged with a 
stage firm for a few months, driving to Rushville, 
Mo. The City of New Orleans attracted his atten- 
tion, and he there drove a public hack until 
May, 1844, at which time be returned to this 
county. In the meantime, he had pre-empted 
eighty acres of his present tract, which belonged to 
the Pottawaltomie Indian Reservation. Here he 
built a log house in the woods and was surrounded 
by Indians, deer, bears and, in fact, all kinds of 
wild animals. Tlie land was a vast wilderness, and 
with ax in hand and a willing heart, he set about 
to clear away the forest and convert tiie place into 
productive and attractive acres. He is the oldest 
living settler in Brady Township and has been in- 
fluential in enliancing the prosperity of the town- 
ship, having been its efficient Supervisor. The 
present fine estate is composed of four hundred 
and thirteen broad acres, the most of which is un- 
der splendid cultivation, and three hundred acres 
of it have been improved by himself. He carries on 
mixed farming with success, raising grain and stock 
of all kinds. He attributes his success to industri- 
ous, persistent and economical habits, and, being 
possessed of a sagacious judgment, he has gained 
his full quota of this world's goods. Mr. Lemon 
has bought and sold a great deal of stock from 
time to time. The fine large, capacious dwelling- 
house was erected in 1860 and forms the main at- 
traction of the estate. It is surrounded by beau- 
tiful evergreen trees and shrubbery of different 
kinds, and on the place is a fine large chestnut tree 
which he set out himself and which is now two feet 
in diameter. All necessary barns and outbuildings 
are to be found here, which from their neatness 
show with what management the place is con- 
ducted. 

The honorable gentleman whose name heads 
this sketch has been twice married. His first wife 
bore the maiden name of Anij' Spicer, and the 
ceremony took place January 1, 1838. Mrs. 
Lemon, was born in Livingston County, N. Y., 
April 28, 1831, and bore her husband four chil- 



dren. Mary (Mrs. AVorthington) and Mercy (Mrs. 
Moore) now survive. The good wife and beloved 
mother died Februarj' 6, 1843. Mr. Lemon was 
again married, October 18, 1847, this time to 
Hannah Spicer, a sister of his first wife. She 
was also born in Livingston County, N. Y., May 
13, 1827. She came to this State with her par- 
ents in 1849. By this union our subject be- 
came the father of twelve children, seven of whom 
grew to years of maturity: Nora (Mrs. Richard- 
son), Sarah (Mrs. Persil, now deceased), Eva (Mrs. 
Tillitson), Charles, Fred, Sanford and Frank. The 
worthy parents of this family are members of the 
Church of God, and have been for many years. 
In politics, Mr. Lemon is a stanch Republican, but 
has too much business to attend much to politics. 
He is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to 
Lodge No. 208, at Vicksburg. He and his estima- 
ble wife are people who command the esteem and 
respect of the entire community in which they 
live. 

v_ ^^^^^^■^ • , ' 

TERNE L. RIPLEY, deceased, was a pio- 
leer of Van Buren County, and one of 
the most highly esteemed residents of 
Bangor Township, with whose agricultural 
growth he had been closely identified for almost a 
quarter of a centuiy. In the meantime he had de- 
veloped a choice farm, located on section 28, from 
the wilderness that he found when he came here, 
and placed it under substantial improvements. 

Our subject was born in Livingston County, 
N. Y., October 31, 1821, in which place he passed 
his youth and received a good education. Deciding 
it was not good for man to live alone, he married, 
in 1845, Miss Mary C. Stedman, who was a 
native of the same county as himself, having been 
born in 1825. In the fall of the same j^ear as their 
marriage, they came to Bangor Township, this 
county, and buying a farm began in true pioneer 
style to clear and improve it, and by strict integrity 
and economy he succeeded in making of it a valu- 
able estate, and on this place resided until the 
breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in the 
defense of his country's honor. He took up arras 






#^: 



>(^^-».rtS.^^ ^ 



K 




•!*:' 






PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



601 



with the Thiirl Michigan Avtillery and served with 
liiem uiilil 18()3, whenhe died at St. Louis, Mo. 
His (lentil w.is y:ieiitly mouniod thioughoiit this 
vicinity- as h_v it the township .nnd eouiily lost an 
honest, reliable and worthy citizen. 

Mr. Hiph'v was the eldest in a family of four 
oliildren horn to his parents, namely: Sterne L.; 
Maria .1.. who married M. S. Hawley.'of Haugor; 
Curtis, now a resident of Terre Haute, Ind.; and 
George F., also a resident of Terre Haute. The 
parents of this family bore the names of P^-ramB. 
and Harriet (lilaUe) Kipley.both of whom belonged 
to the leading families in Livingston County, N.Y. 
After the death of I\Ir. Ripley, his widow married 
Mr. Matthew Oik. of this county and township. 
Mrs. Ulk is a member of a famil}' of nine children: 
Fidelia, Henrietta, Sibyl, Mrs. 01k, Elcanah, Esther 
and three who died in infancy. Our subject and 
his wife became the parents of one daughter, whom 
they named Ilattie E., and who is now the wife of 
Lawrence Drake, of Bangor, and lives on the old 
homestead. 



=-^-^+^1 



ylLLIAM T. FINCH, who for a number of 
years filled wisely, judiciously and con- 
scientiousl}' the ofliceof Sheriff of Allegan 
County, came to Plainwell in 1865, which, late as 
it may seem to a resulent in an older Slate and 
county, sliowed very few of the present improve- 
ments. Mr. Finch was born in Kalamazoo County, 
.lanuary 26, 18;W, and is the son of Samuel and 
Elizabeth (Cornell) Finch, natives of New York. 
The i)arents of our subject came to Kalam.azoo 
County as early as 1833, and at the time of locat- 
ing here were among the very earliest settlers of 
the county. Grandfather F"inch also came at that 
date, and entered from the Government an eighty- 
acre tract of land for each of his nine children. 
He was a native of New York, but passed his last 
days in Kalamazoo County. Samuel Fincli cleared 
and improved the tract of land which fell to his 
share, and made his home thereon until his death, 
wliich occurred in .June, 1871. His wife followed 
liim to the better land in 1884, a firm believer in 
the tenets of the Baptist Church. 



The gentleman whose name introduces these 
paragraphs, and whose portrait is presented on the 
o|)posite page, was the third child and eldest son 
of his parents' family, and received a fair educa- 
tion, such as was given the j'outh of his day. 
When reaching his majority, he started out to 
battle with life on his own account by learning 
the carpenter's trade. He came to Plainwell in 
186;"), and continued to work at his trade, many of 
the best residences of the village being erected 
under his supervision. 

Mr. Finch took for his wife IMiss Eliza Woodard, 
their marriage being celebrated in 1861. Mrs. 
Finch w.as a native of Cooper, Kalamazoo County, 
and died two years after her marriage, .Tuly li). 
Our subject was married a second time, .lanuary 
14, 1869, his bride being Lois Lillie, also a native 
of Cooper, and the daughter of Joel and Hester 
(Downs) Lillie, who were natives of Vermont and 
Ohio, respectively. They were farmers by occupa- 
tion, and have since died. Mr. and Mrs. Finch 
are the parents of two children: Freddie, who is 
deceased, and Cora. 

Soon after his second marriage, INIr. Finch took 
to farming, and continued thus engaged for three 
years, at the end of that time returning to Plain- 
well, where he is residing at the present time. In 
politics, he was a Republican until 1872, when he 
became identified with the Democratic party. He 
is a veiy prominent man in his township, and for 
two years was a member of the village council, and 
while in that position used his influence in pro- 
moting the best welfare of his community. For 
one terra he occupied the responsible office of 
Treasurer of Gun Plain Township, and was 
elected Sheriff of Allegan County in the fall of 
1886 on a fusion ticket. His majority over his 
Rei)ublican opponent at that time was about two 
hundred and fifty votes, which fully illustrates the 
high estimation placed upon him as an cHicient 
public oHicer. He was a candidate for re-election 
in 1888, but was defeated by a few votes. Mr. 
Finch proved himself callable of close application 
to the duties which lay before him as an ofHccr, 
and his wise counsel when attempting to bring 
about any worthy object is well known to those 
who are acquainted with the history of the State. 



602 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



He had always been diligent in the discharge of 
his dut3', and all violators of the law met with 
speedy arrest, and no doubt his watchfulness had 
a tendency to defeat him for re-election. 

He is a prominent member of the Masonic'order, 
and has been for over thirty years, and has repre- 
sented his party as a delegate to county and State 
conventions. The Ancient Order of United Worlv- 
men claim him as one of their influential work- 
ing members, and he is also a Knight of the 
Maccabees. Mrs. Finch is a most excellent lady, 
and is a regular attendant at tlie Presbyterian 
Church, of which denomination she is a member. 

Mr. Finch is still engaged in the carpenter work, 
and has erected many of the pretty residences in 
the village of Plainwell. He may be considered 
one of the prominent citizens of the place, and we 
are thus pleased to be alile to place his sketch in 
our Rkcokd. 









/^\ HARLES GIBSON is an extensive fruit- 
Ill r e'"0"'^i" of South Haven, his pleasant home 
^^^ being located on the lake shore, within three 
miles of that tliriving village. His farm comprises 
seventy-three acres on tlie northwest quarter of 
section 23, his residence here dating from 18.54. 
He is a native of Michigan, being born in Oakland 
County, May 8, 1827. 

The father of our subject, Henry Gibson, was 
bom in Yorkshire, England, where he was reared 
on a farm and united in marriage with Elizabeth 
Green. They came to the United States in 1817, 
and resided in Philadelphia, Pa., some five 3ears. 
They then migrated to Canada, whence they came 
to Michigan and settled in Troy Township, Oak- 
land County. They there improved a good farm 
and resided on it until their removal to Farming- 
ton Township, Oakland, where they cleared and 
cultivated a second tract of laud. The father 
died in 1837, being about seventy 3'ears of age. 
The mother then removed to Hudson, Lenawee 
County, where she died about 1848. 

The parental family of eight children were, 
besides our subject: Thomas, who was born 
in England, March 13, 1808, died in Troy, Oak- 



land Couuty, this State; John, who was born in 
England, April 2, 1809, resides in Livingston 
County, this State; Henry F., born in England, July 
2, 1812, died in the above-named county; George, 
also born in England, January 26, 1814, resides 
with our subject; William, born in England, Aj)ril 
27, 1816, died in OakLand County, this State; Han- 
nah, who was born in Philadeljihia, Pa., died in in- 
fancy; Elizabeth,who was born in Philadelphia, Pa., 
January 27, 1820, died in Oakland County, this 
Slate. 

Charles Gibson of this sketch, who was the only 
member of the family born in Michigan, passed his 
boyhood days on the farm and in the district 
school. lie was but ten 3'ears old when his father 
died, when he was obliged to assist in the work on 
the home farm. About 1847 he removed with his 
mother to Hudson, Lenawee County, and in 1854 
came to Van Buren Count3'. Here with his brother 
George he purchased a tract of three hundred and 
twenty acres of timber land, and, boarding with 
some neighbors they commenced clearing their 
acreage. 

Miss Sarah Leisenring became Mrs. Charles Gib- 
son, in May, 1855. She was born April 23, 1834, 
in Seneca County, N. Y., and was the daugh- 
ter of David and Stirnh (Christopher) Leisenring, 
who were natives respectively of Penns3lvania and 
New Jerse3'. Her parents were married in New 
York State, and in October, 1849, came to Michigan, 
and settled on a farm near Hudson where their de- 
cease occurred. Their family included eight sons 
and three daughters. 

After his marriage our subject located on his 
land and commenced the work of clearing and im 
proving it. On the outbreak of the Civil War he 
enlisted as a private but was rejected by the medi- 
cal exanuners. In 1864, he was drafted and en- 
tered the service in Company H, Thirteenth Mich- 
igan Infantry, and participated in all the battles 
with his comi)anv until discharged, July 16, 1865. 
Returning home he resumed work on his fai in and 
during the past fifteen years has given considerable 
attention to fruit-growing, his peach orchard in- 
cluding thirty-five acres. His farm embraces one 
hundred and thirt3-three acres and boasts of first- 
class improvements. In politics, Mr. Gibson is a 



1X)RTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



603 



true-blue Republican and is a member in good 
staiifling of the Grand Arraj- of the Republic. Mr. 
anil Mrs. Gibson have a daughter — Kliza E., who 
wa.s born November 3, 1852. She is the wife of 
David Leisen ring and has two children: Ora E., 
born March 7, 1883, and Charles D., boin .Vugust 
21, 1888. 



i ^ - «< < «< i ^< ■«« 



UDSON J. MOSE.S, who is numbered among 
the thrifty farmers of Van Buren County, 
owns and operates a tine farm of eighty 
acres in Arlington Township. Splendid 
improvements have been made upon the place, 
and good buildings have lieen erected for the stor- 
age of grain and the shelter of stock. The family 
residence is a c:omniodious dwelling, neatly fin- 
ished without and tastily furnished witliin, while 
the surroundings indicate the careful supervision 
of the proprietor. The farm was purchased by 
Mr. Moses in April. 18(it!, and has liy liini been 
brought to its jjiesent development. He had, how- 
ever, been a resident of the country for ten years 
prior to the inirch.ase of the place, and is well 
known as one of tlie early settlers of the town- 
ship. 

Mr. Mose> was only fifteen years old when he 
removed from the county of his birtli — Genesee 
County, N. Y. — to this State, his birth having 
occurred in 1841. He was a stalwart youtii of 
twenty years, when in the fall of 1861 he enlisted 
in Company C, Third Jlichigan Cavalry, and 
served eleven months with distinguished valor. 
At tiie end of that time he was disabled on account 
of measles, and was confined to his room for four- 
teen months; eveu after he was able to engage in 
active labors, it was many years before be entirely 
recovered from the effects of his illness. 

In 18(;2, Mr. Moses was married to Miss Sophia 
Prater, the daughter of William and Sophia 
Prater, and unto them have been born six chil- 
dren, wliose names are. Minnie, Andrew, Maud, 
May, Arthur and Allen. Minnie is the wife of 
Wesley Nicholas, of .\rlington Township, and the 
other children still remain under the parental roof, 
where they are receiving careful training in all 



that will make them honorable and upright men 
and women. In his political belief, Mr. Moses is 
liberal and votes for those candidates whom he 
considers best fitted for the otlice in (piestion. He 
belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and is identi- 
fied with the G. A. R. Post at Lawrence. 

The family of which Mr. Moses is a member 
comprised eight children who were born toSethand 
Sophia (Pease) Moses, named as follows: George, 
Hiram, jNIartha, Seth, Judson J., Andrew, !Mary 
and L3"dia. Andrew enlisted in 1861 (at the same 
time that our subject became a member of the United 
Slates Army), and died in May, 1862, at Hamburg 
Landing, Tenn. The father of our subject, who 
was born in 1804, was one of six children, viz.: 
Augustus, Laura D., Seth, EInathan, Alonzo and 
Eliza, who were born of the marriage of Rufus 
and Lydia (Rarasdale) Moses. 

From Rufus Moses we trace the family ancestry 
back through EInathan to Benoni Moses, wlio w.os 
a Revolutionary soldier and a carpenter by trade, 
being a man of considerable |)romineuce in his 
communitj'. His father, John, lived in Simsbury, 
Conn., and w.is married in 1705. Before him was 
another .lohn !Moses, who came from England to 
New England, and located at Plymouth between 
the years 1630 and 1640. The great grandfather 
of our subject, EInathan, removed at an early day 
from the parish of Simsbur3- to Rutland, Yt., where 
it is probable he spent the remaining years of his 
life. 



(& MLLIAM H. SPAYDE is a leading mer- 
\/y// '^■'^'*"t *"'' druggist of Bloomingdale, Van 
^^^ Buren County, where he has acquired a 
reputation as an enterprising, thorough-going busi- 
ness man, and, in consequence, is succeeding ad- 
mirably in his present occupation. He is a native 
of Ohio, being born in Scott Township, Sandusky 
County, December 6, 1856. He is the son of 
(Jeorge and Catherine (Peck) Spayde, who were 
born in Pennsylvania and New York, respectively. 
The grandfather of our subject was William 
Spayde, who was of Dutcli origin. George Sp.ayde 
was a blacksmith and manufacturer of lumber, and 



604 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



being desirous to more rapidly increase bis for- 
tune, he went to California, where he died. The 
mother was born in Alban3% New York. ,Sbe was 
an active member of the United Brethren Church. 
Tlio parental family- consisted of two children: 
Mary, who became Mrs. Tice, and is now deceased, 
and who left a son and daughter, and William IT. 

The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm, 
and his education was received in the public 
schools of his native place and at P'ostoria and 
Westerville, Ohio. At the age of fifteen he began 
teaching, continuing this occupation for five 
years. When twenty years old, he began the study 
of medicine and chemistry at Gibsonburg, first 
engaging in the drug business at Helena, Ohio. 
In 1882 he came to K.alamazoo, where he estab- 
lished a drug store under the firm name of Spayde 
i' Co()kson. In August, 1884, he came to Bloom- 
ingdale, where he was engaged in the drug and 
grocery business until May, 1889, when he formed 
a partnership with William II. Harrison, and now 
operates a general store in connection with the drug 
store. This is one of the largest, best conducted 
stores in the county, having an extensive trade, 
and carrying about -$12,000 in stock. 

Mr. Spayde was married, December 20, 1877, to 
Miss MoUie Marvin, daughter of J. W. and Martha 
Marvin, of Sandusky County, Ohio. Tiiey are 
the parents of one child, Emerson D. Mr. Spayde 
is an active Republican, and uses his influence for 
the best interest of his town and county. He is a 
representative business man, and has been the 
architect of his own fortune. He is a leading 
and honored member of the Masonic fraternity and 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



^#' 



'jj^IXLEY .IITDSON. Kalamazoo County fur- 
J) nishes a fitting arena for the exercise of 
I r energy and industry, which bring their re- 
l \ ward in prosperity and often in wealtii. 
Among the popular citizens of Coinstock Township 
is Mr. Judson, who resides on section 12, and is 
spending the twilight of his useful life undisturbed 
by the perplexing cares of poverty and toil. He is 
retired from the active work of tilling the soil 



which, engaged his close attention through many 
3"ears and the estate which he accumulated is now 
conducted b)' his son. 

Born in Oneida County*, N. Y.,.Ianuary 2:3, 1811, 
Mr. Judson is the son of Ephraim and Polly (Cur- 
tis) Judson, natives of Connecticut. His parents 
were married in their native State, and thence re- 
moved to New York, where the father died a few 
years afterward. Orphaned at the earl^' .age of 
six, our subject was thrown upon his own resources 
in childhood and has been self-supporting almost 
from his earliest recollections. Not only did he 
support himself, but he also aided in maintaining 
his younger brothers. 

At the age of twenty years, Mr. Judson removed 
to Seneca Falls, N. Y., where he worked a short 
time and thence went to Auburn, the same State. 
In 18.33 he came West to Michigan and located in 
Monroe County, returning, however, in a short 
time to Auburn, where he was niari-icd. His sec- 
ond journey to Michigan was made in the fall of 
1834, at which time he located in Charlestown 
Township, Kalamazoo County, and took up eight}' 
acres of land, paying for the property from his 
earnings. A log house, 20x23, was one of the 
first improvements placed upon the farm, and 
other buildings were erected and the soil cultivated 
for a number of years. 

About 1846, Mr. Judson sold his farm and 
moved to Climax, where he remained one year, 
and afterward settled upon his present homestead. 
February '26, 1883, he was deeply bereaved l\v the 
death of his devoted lielpm.ate, whose maiden name 
was Polly Ann Johnson. They were the parents 
of six children, namely: Mary F,., who keeps house 
for her father and has always been tenderly de- 
voted to his welfare; William E., whose home is 
in Petoskey, this State; Charles L., who resides in 
Coinstock Township; Lucretia L., the wife of S. E. 
Blanchard, of Hillsdale, this State; Edgar L., who 
has never married but resides with his father; and 
George R., deceased. 

The farm of seventy acres which Mr. Judson 
owns is operated by his son who is enterprising 
and ambitious. He is a Republican and voted for 
Gen. Jackson the second time he was elected Pres- 
ident. In various positions to which he has been 



s?:;- 



S-f^l'Ste. 





ai.-nyi'^ix^^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fid? 



called by his fellow-citizens, he has ably discharged 
the varied duties of the offices and won the con- 
fidence of others, irrespective of party. Since 1 833, 
lie lias been a mcnil)er of the Methodist Episcopal 
C'iinrch, and has served as Trustee and Steward for 
many years and contributed ijencrously forcliiirch 
and charitable purposes. 

USSEL 15. FENNEU. This prominent 
farmer is one of tiie old settlers of Allegan 
County, as he came here in 1811. He is at 
present making his home on eighty acres of 
land located on sections 4 and 5,(!un Plain Town- 
ship. In addition to the cultivation of his tract of 
land, lie has followed threshing for the past eleven 
years, and raises on his place all kinds of stock. 

Mr. Kenner was born in Pompey, Onondaga 
Coiinly, N. \.. Keliruary 1!(, IHI I. and is the son of 
.lames L. Kenner. a native of Long Island. The 
father served in the War of 1812, and was a 
fanner and niilhvriglit by occupation. He was vcr^^ 
))roinineiit in his community, having held many of 
the local ollices. lie died when seventy-four years 
old. ( )ur subject's mother bore the maiden name of 
Het.-<ey Perry, a native of Jlassachusetts. and a 
cousin of Commodore Perry. She died several 
years before her husband, passing away at the age 
of sixty-eight years. In her church relations she 
was a Haptist. 

Riissd P.. Kenner is the fifth child of the six sons 
and three daughters born to his |)arents. He re- 
ceived a coniMion-school education and remained 
under the i)ai('iital luof assisting his father on the 
farm until reaching his majority. He then de- 
cided to leain the carpenter's trade and with that 
in iiiiiul apprenticed liiinsi'lC li> U.ini the business. 
He soon abandoned the idea, however, as he was 
called upon to manage his father's farm, which he 
did in a most prolitablc and satisfactory manner. 
Mr. Kenner was married, in 1837. to Miss Hannah 
V. Si'hcnck, a native of the same county anil State 
as our subject. She was the daughter of Hulcf 
and Klsie (Haird) Schenck, natives of New .Icrsey 
and the parents of a large family of eleven cliil- 
•Ireii. only three of whom are living at the present 



time. The father of Mrs. Fenner was a mason 
and farmer and a man very much respected in his 
community. She, herself, was a member in good 
.standing of the Congregational Church, and died 
when seven t\ -two 3-ears of age; her husband passed 
away at the age of seventy-six years. 

After his marriage, our subject c<m tinned to cul- 
tivate the soil until the fall of 184 1, when he de- 
cided to come West to Michigan, liringing his 
family hither, they made the journey via the lakes 
to Detroit, thence by rail to Marshall and by team 
to Martin Township, Allegan County, where he 
located on land, which his father had previously 
purchased. Before a suitable home could be pro- 
vided for the family, he was compelled to haul 
the lumber and other material from the nearest 
town. They arrived in the township, October 10, 
and December 5 took up their abode in their new 
home. The dwelling was 2l)x34 in dimensions and 
although not fitted up with all the conveniences 
with which their later home was provided, they 
were very happy, (iamc was plentiful and thus 
their table was always supplied with choice meats. 
Indians made frequent visits to their home and 
often spent the night on the floor in front of the 
fire. 

Three years after coming here, our subject, with 
his brother Darius, erected a sawmill in Martin 
Township, which was run by the water power 
from a creek. This was the first mill in the 
township and thej' operated it very successfully 
for a number of years. In 1855 our subject traded 
his farm in JIartin Township for his present estate 
in Gun Plain, which bore but few improvements 
when it came into his possession. Hy a proper ro- 
tation of crops, the land has been brought to a high 
degree of cultivation, while he has erected tlie va- 
rious buildings which best subserve the i)nrpo.sesof 
a first-class agriculturist. The family of Mr. and 
Mrs. Kenner includes five children: Byron R., 
Eliza E., William P., Rnlef James and Kranklin M. 
Byron married Miss Caroline X.ash, and they have 
tliive children, Byron, .lennic and Nina; Eliza E. 
i> the wife of Heniy Scott, of Plainwell, and they 
have a family of seven children; William P. mar- 
ried ^lissTliornberg and they have six children ; 
James took to wife Miss Marv Ca-^c and they have 



608 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



one child; Franklin M. married Hannah I. 
Honeysett and has four cliildren. 

In his pohtical affiliation, our subject is a firm 
Democrat, casting his first vote for Andrew Jaclison 
for President. Mr. Fenner has shown himself ca- 
jjable of close ap|>lieation to the duties which lay 
before him, and his judicious decisions and wise 
course during the twelve years lie was Justice of 
the Peace are well known to those who are 
acquainted with the history of the Township. He 
has also been Highway and Drain Commissioner, 
and, as a representative citizen, we are glad to 
present his portrait and biographical sketch to our 
readei's. 



J^iEOROE P. REDPATH is a good farmer of 
much practical experience, who is doing his 

5^ part in carrying forward the agricultural 
interests of Comstock Township, where his farming 
interests lie, and also of Kalamazoo County, of 
which he has been a well-known resident for more 
than thirty years. He is of Scottish birth and an- 
tecedents, born in the shire of Roxburg, October 
30, 1835. His father, Robert Redpath, was also a 
native of Scotland, and he died in the Old Country. 
His wife, whose maiden name was Christina Purves, 
came to America and died in Richland Township, 
Kalamazoo County. She was the mother of eight 
children, three daughters and five sons, all of 
whom grew to maturity, and seven are still living. 

Our subject was the third child born to his par- 
ents. His home was on his native heath until 
1858, and in its invigorating air he grew strong 
and active and was well fitted to cope with the 
vicissitudes of life, when he came to fight its bat- 
tles on his own account. He learned the trade of 
a carpenter and worked at it in the old country 
until the year mentioned, when he emigrated to 
America. He came directly to Michigan after 
landing on these shores, and located in Richland 
Township, where he lived for several years. 
After his marriage, in 1871, he came to his present 
farm on section 5, Comstock Township, which un- 
der his wise management has become one of the 
most desirable ))ieces of property in this locality. 



It is well supplied with good buildings and fine 
machinery, and its one hundred and forty acres 
are very productive under his system of cultiva- 
tion. He has a fine herd of cattle of good grades, 
besides other well-bred stock. The neat and well- 
built residence in which he lives was erected by 
him at a cost of -?2,000. Besides attending to the 
improvement of his farm for fourteen years, Mr. 
Redpath did a good business in operating a thresh- 
ing machine in different parts of the county. He 
possesses in a full measure many of the best traits 
of his race and has proved an invaluable citizen 
since he took up his residence in Comstock Town- 
ship, being always ready to help on any |)ublic 
improvements. In politics, he is a Republican of 
no uncertain tone. Religiously, he is a member of 
the Presbyterian Church, as is his wife also, and 
both are active in helping forward any good work 
in which it may be engaged. 

In March, 1871, our subject took unto himself a 
wife in the person of Miss Eliza Chapman, a daugh- 
ter of .Tames and Mary (Wilson) Chapman, nati\-es 
of England, and pioneers of this county, and his 
success in after-life is partly attributable lo her 
cheerful and capable co-operation. Mrs. Redpath 
is a native of this county, a daughter of one of 
its picmeer families, and she was born j\Iarch 9, 
1846, in Richland Township. Her marriage with 
our subject has brought them four children, two 
sons and two daughters: Robert, who died at the 
age of three years; James, who is a student in the 
business college at Kalamazoo; Mary and Christ- 
ina, at home with their parents. 



^>-$)^<i 



^^x,ATIIAN SLAWSON, Justice of the Peace, 
I jjj resides on section 10, Ross Township, Kal- 
/ii^ amazoo County. His farm, although not 
so large as some estates in the community, is never- 
theless made to yield the ver3^ largest results possi- 
ble, through a careful fertilization of the soil and 
proiier rotation of the crops; its eighty acres are 
divided into fields of convenient size, while the 
latest imiirovements in farm machinery have been 
introduced. 

Mr. Slawson was born in Yates County, N. Y., 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX'ORD. 



609 



April 28, 1832. He comes of Scotch-Irish descent 
and his paternal ancestors located in Rhode Island 
in Ifi.'JO, ten years after the first settlement had 
been made in tiiat State. Both his paternal and 
maternal grandfather were soldiers in tiie Revolu- 
tionary War, and his father, Rufus, served in the 
War of 1812. A brother, Ira M., who is now de- 
ceased, was a valiant soldier in the defense of the 
Union during the Civil War, so that it will be seen 
that our subject belongs to a patriotic family. 

Tlie ])arents of our subject, Rufus and Clarissa 
(Jum|)) Siawson, were natives of Orange County, 
Is. v., and were people of great worth of character. 
Nathan was reared in his native county, where, 
working in connection with liis father, he becane 
familiar with fanning pursuits. After completing 
the coui-seof stud}- in the common schools of Yates 
County, he attended Rushville, X. Y., Academy 
for a siiort lime, and suljsequenlly engaged as a 
l)rimary teacher during the winter season. 

November 22, 1855, Jlr. Siawson was married to 
.lane Cairns, who was born in Seneca Cuunty, 
N. Y., and came of Scotch extraction. Tliree chil- 
dren wcie lioiii of the union, all of wiiom are de- 
ceased, and tiic wife and mother passed awav Octo- 
ber 2(1, 188(;. A few years after liis marriage, Mr. 
Siawson removed to Barry County, lliis State, and 
located near Hickory Corners in 18(;(;, engaging 
there in farming pursuits for a number of yeare. 
In 1877, he came to Kalamazoo County and settled 
on his present farm, where he has since resided, witli 
the exception of two j'cars when lie was engaged 
in publishing a weekly paper at .\ugusta. 

Tlie union of Mr. Siawson to iiis present esti- 
mable wife took place April 2, 1889. Mrs. Siawson 
was born in Country Antrim. Ireland, May .T, 1845, 
and is tlie daugliter of William and Margaret 
Crawford, natives of tiie Nortli of licland. When 
about seventeen years old, she emigrated to Amer- 
ica and was married in New York to Peter Red- 
mond, becoming the mother of two children: 
.lames and Peter. After bis death, she became the 
wife of .lolin (Jeer, of Ross 'rownship, Kalamazoo 
County, one son being born of the union, William 
deceased. 

In his religious belief, Mr. Siawson is a memlier 
of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Politically, he 



is a Republican and is now serving as Justice of the 
Pe.ace in Ross Township, to which office he was 
elected five years ago. He is also a Notary Public. 
Besides his farm he is the owner of village property 
in Augusta, and has his .affairs on a sound financial 
basis, the result of constant energy and iini-cmit- 
ting labor on his part. 



d'5*'5*'}"*3*(i 



=l*++** 







J^l NSON L. RANNEY. A high place in the 
(@£Jll estimation of the citizens of Kalainazf)o 
County is lield by this gentleman, who 
owns a farm of one hundred and fifty-one 
acres, pleasantly located on section .^0, Comstock 
Township. Born in Augusta Township, Oneida 
County, N. Y., June 21, 1811, he is the son of 
Ebenezer and Almeda (P.arlholomew) Ranney, 
natives of JIassachusetts. His father, who was a 
carpenter by trade, followed the occupation of a 
fanner in his early life and was a preacher in the 
Bajjtist denomination. 

In his young manhood, tiic father of our sub- 
ject removed to Oneida County, N. Y., where he 
located on a farm. His last d.ays were quietly 
passed in Madison County, where he died at tlie 
age of eighty-three years. He was a i)rominent 
man in that section of the State and held a num- 
ber of responsible offices, serving for man}' years 
.as Su[)ervisor of Augusta Towiiship. His political 
atliliations were with the Whig party and both in 
public atTairs and in the work of tiio Baptist Church, 
his opinion carried great influence. His wife died 
when four-score \ears of age. 

Of a f.amil}' of eight chiblrcn. only onesurvives 
besides the subject of tliis notice: O. Russell, of 
Oneida Township, Madison County, N. Y. After 
completing his education in the Madison I'niver- 
sity of Madis(m County, N. Y., our subject taught 
school for one term near Wilkes Bane, Pa., and 
then entered the mercantile business at Stockbridge, 
N. Y. He carried on a general store for eleven 
years in that place and at the same time operated a 
mill and farm. 

Selling his pi-o))erty in 18(13. our subject came to 
Comstock Township, and |)urcliased his present 
homestead, tlun only partially improved. The one 



610 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



hundred and fift^'-one acres are now well-improved 
and embellished with good liuildings. In this task, 
which has been arduous, Mr. Ranney has received 
the cheerful co-operation of his wife, to whom he 
was married in Madison County, N. Y., September 
27, 1838. Her maiden name was Eleanor T. Mur- 
ray and she was born in New York. Seven children 
were born of the union: Adelle, wife of Eberle 
Underwood, of Galesburgh; Orlo, a physician in 
Kalamazoo; Maurice M., who has charge of the old 
homestead; Ida M. is with her parents; Bernard 
D. lives in Kan.sas, and Estella M. is at home. 

Maurice M., who manages the farm, makes a 
specialty of celery and is now devising a celcry- 
diggei-, which promises to be ver}- helpful. Our 
subject is a Republican, and has served as High- 
way Commissioner, Supervisor, and in other local 
offices. In the Baptist Church at Kalamazoo, of 
which he is a faithful member, he has been Deacon 
for a year and is prominent in religious and benev- 
olent enterprises. 



♦='5'^='» 



y 



=.j.^=* 



"A 



^SCAR F. CAMPBELL, a competent, well- 
to-do farmer, is now engaged at his voca- 
tion in that part of Kalamazoo County 
embraced in the rich farming region of Comstock 
Township, his farm and home ver}^ pleasant]}' situ- 
ated on sections 2 and .3. Victor Township, Ontario 
Cqunty, N. Y., is the native place of our subject, 
and November 28, 1822, the date of his liirth. 
His father was Capt. Charles Campbell, who was 
born in Connecticut and reared in Vermont. He 
was an officer in the War of 1812, bearing an act- 
ive part in the piincipal battles, notably those of 
Sackett's Harbor and Plattsburg. He was a promi- 
nent man in his commnnity, and lived to the ven- 
erable age of eighty-five years. His father, Nathan 
Campbell, was born in Argyloshire, Scotland, and 
came to this country with his parents, who settled 
in Connecticut in Colonial days. He was a volun- 
teer at the battle of Bunker Hill, and did good 
service during the Revolution as a cour.ageous and 
efficient soldier. He was a man of fine physique, 
weighing two hundred and fift^'-six pounds, and 



standing six feet eight inches in height, and so 
strong was he that he could take a man in each 
hand and hold him out, and could perform other 
wonderful feats of strength. He died when fift}'- 
eight years of age. 

The mother of our subject was Esther McComber 
before her marriage. She was born in Massachu- 
setts, but was reared among the green hills of ^'er- 
mont. She lived to be eighty-seven j'ears old, 
lacking two days. Her father, .Jonathan INIcComber, 
is supposed to have been a native of Massachusetts. 
He was a regularly enlisted soldier in the conti- 
nental army during the Revolution, and fought 
well in the various battles in which he took part, 
until he was finally taken prisoner at the battle of 
New York and put on board of a British prison 
vessel. He was so reduced and weakened by the 
sufferings that he underwent during his imprison- 
ment that his friends thought that he had starved 
to death. But they managed to restore him to 
consciousness, and he lived to be seventy-seven 
years old. He was a pensioner of the Govern- 
ment. His father was a native of Scotland, who 
came to this country in Colonial days and was one 
of the settlers of Massachusetts. 

The parents of our subject were married in Ver- 
mont, and made their home in Rutland County, on 
the shores of Lake Cliamplain, until they removed 
to Ontario County, N. Y., where they remained 
about nine years. Tliey then went to Canada and 
spent six years there before tlie^- returned to New 
York. Their remaining 3ears were jiassed in 
Evans Township, Erie County. They were the 
parents of six daughters and seven sons, and 
eleven of their numerous progeny grew to man- 
hood and womanhood, ten of them being alive 
when the youngest attained the age of fifty years. 
These four of the number still live: Martha, wife 
of Orin Dunning, of New York; Harvey, a farmer 
in Ingham County; Cordelia, wife of George 
IMurray, of New York; and our subject. 

Oscar F. Campbell is the ninth child and fifth 
son of the family. He remained with his parents 
until he was twenty-one, and during all that time 
he never slept out of the parental home, even for 
one night. He received his schooling in the Evans 
District School, and he utilized his education by 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



611 



tcachin<r three terms. lie and his brothers after- 
\v:ir(I fanned togi'tlier in llieir native Stale. lie 
first came to Michigan in 1815, and lumhcred for 
one winter in Si.K ^Iills, i)elow CJrand Ra|>ids on 
the tlrand Kiver. lie then returned to the old 
farm in New York, and was with liis fatlier until 
the follow! nil September. In tliat month, he went 
to Ohio witii ills ohlest brotlier, and built a saw- 
mill, lie afterwaid sold his interest in the mill to 
his lirother and went back to New York. He was 
married in Lorain County, Ohio, July 11, 1847, to 
Miss Electa Iliggins, and, returning to New York, 
he worked his father's farm the ensuing two years. 
(u)ing liack at the exi)iration of that time to Lo- 
rain Countj', Ohio, he dwelt there two years. In 
the sjiring of 1851 his wife died, leaving two lit- 
tle children : Ellen, two years old, now deceased; 
and Electa, four weeks old, who is now married to 
Davis Maze, of Oceana County, Mich. Again he 
took up his residence with his j)arcnts, and man- 
aged the old homestead until the spring of 1857. 
In the meantime, he had been West and had bought 
a farm in .Muscatine County, Iowa, comitrising a 
quarter of a section near the village of West Lib- 
erty. He traded that for one hundred and six 
acres in Erie County, N. Y., and the ensuing two 
years were spent on that place. 

In Ai)ril, 1859, Mr. Cami)bell came tmce more to 
^lichigan, journeying b\' water to Detroit, and 
from tliere coming directly to Kalamazoo County 
with a team, he having resolved to make his home 
here permanently. He at fii-st located in Cooper 
Township, where he bought fort3' acres of improved 
lan<l. On that jilace two of his children were 
horn: Jaspoi .lohn, A[)ril 27, 18(50, now living 
on tiie farm on section 3, Comstock Township; and 
Maria S., wife of Oliver D. Carson, of Richland 
Township. Mr. Cam|)bell sold his Cooper T(^wn- 
ship farm at the end of three years, and bought 
the place where his son resides on section 3, Corn- 
stock Township. It comprises one hundred and 
forty-four acres vf well-improved land, and is one 
of the most desirable farms in the locality. The 
place on which our subject and his wife reside 
comprises twenty-two acres of choice land and is 
the property of Mi"s. Campbell. They are people 
who are looked up to liy the entire community on 



account of their many pleasant qualities, their 
friendliness and consideration in their intercourse 
with all who come in cimtact with them, and for 
their trustworthiness in all matteis. Mr. Camp- 
bell is a man of stable, strong character, firm in his 
convictions and outspoken in his views when he 
has need to express them. In politics, he is a sturdj' 
Democrat. He was Master of the (i range for man^- 
j'ears, and in all things has sought to promote the 
advancement of his township and count}'. He is 
of a robust constitution, coming of fine old stock 
and a long-lived race, is temperate in his habits, 
and during the thirty-three 3-e.ars that he has been 
a resident of Jlichigan he can boast that he has 
never seen a sick day. 

Mr. Campbell's second marriage, which occurred 
January' 31, 1859, was with Harriet, the youngest 
daughter of John and Salome (Sawyer) Barrell. 
She was born in the town of Evans, Erie County, 
N. Y., July 22, 1840, and lived there until her 
marriage with our subject. On her father's side 
she is descended from the Pilgrims of the "May- 
flower," the family being among the colonists of 
Plymouth, Mass., who came over in that vessel. 
Her mother's people were from Scotland, her ma- 
ternal grandmother, JIary Dimick, having been 
born in that country. Her mother was a very 
powerful woman, of strong physique and forcible 
character. 



i^^-^P=- 



y'^ILLLVM M. BARNE.S. This name will be 
recognized by many of our readers as that 
of a gentleman who is taking a prominent 
part in developing the agricultural resources of 
A'an Buren Count}'. He owns and operates a farm 
comiu'ising seventy acres in Arlington Township, 
and his efforts to improve the pl.ace have resulted 
very satisfactorily, for it is now numbered among 
the best improved farms of the townshij). Al- 
though not containing as many acres as some oth- 
ei-s, yet every spot of ground is made to produce 
the very best results, and the entire estate has 
been redeemed from the primitive wilderness. 

Mr. Barnes traces his ancestry to one of two 
brothers, who, soon after the close of the Revolu- 



612 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tiouai'}' War, emigrated from England and settled 
in the State of Connecticut. One of these brothers 
was Abel Barnes, the father of Uriel T., and the 
grandfather of William M.,the subject of this bio- 
graphical sketch. Kot long after his settlement in 
Connecticut, Abel Barnes removed frem that State 
to Schoharie Count}', N. Y., and a few years later 
to the town of Eloyd, Oneida C'ounty, in the same 
State. He married Miss Mindwell Roberts, and 
they became the parents of eleven sons and three 
daughters, most, if not all, of whom were born 
after their removal to New York. 

The fourth son of Abel and Mindwell Barns was 
named Uriel T., aud was born in Schoharie Count}-, 
N. Y., October 14, 1794. While still a mere child, 
he removed with his parents to Floyd, where, Au- 
gust 30, 1821, he married Huldali A., daughter of 
Zenas and Mary (Merrill) Gibbs, of Broome County, 
N. Y. The 3"0ung couple settled in Floyd, where 
their daughter Adelia was born. Their eldest son, 
Trumas S., was born in Westmoreland, N. Y., and 
soon afterward Mr. Barnes removed to a small 
farm which he had bought in Oswego County. 
There were three children born to him and his wife; 
William M., the subject of this sketch, who was 
born April 26, 1828; Mary S. and Harlow G. 

About that time, the father sold his farm with 
the ultimate design of leaving the sterile land and 
severe climate of Northern New York to establish 
a better home in the West. However, instead of 
coming West at once, he began to work in a saw- 
mill in Durhamville, and thus engaged during the 
winter of 1831-32. In the spring of the latter 
year, he was so severel}' injured by the machinery 
of the mill that he remained a helpless invalid for 
months. During the following December, being 
unable to perform any manual labor, he commenced 
a grocery business at Whitesboro, N. Y., but soon 
found he could not prosper in that unless he would 
sell ardent spirits. That he would not do. His 
principles would not admit of him supporting his 
family by carrying desolation into the families of 
otheis, so he sold his business and left Whitesboro. 
During his stay at that place, his daughter Sarah 
was born, January 2, 1833. 

Having somewhat regained his health, Mr. Barnes 
staid for a time in Geneva, where he chopped 



wood for $26 per month and house rent. April 
10, 1834, he set out with his family for Michigan, 
by way of the Erie Canal and Lake Erie. Upon 
reaching Detroit, they engaged a man to convey 
them aud their few household goods to Jackson 
Countj^, where they arrived about May 1. The 
first settlement was made in Albion, where he en- 
gaged to work for Tenney Peabody, but his family 
being taken sick, his $50 was soon exhausted. 
However, he resolutely clung to his determination 
to secure a home, and took up some Government 
land. His neighbors aided him in building a cabin 
which was warm and comfortable, though there was 
not a pane of glass in it, nor was there a nail or 
sawed plank or board used in its construction. Into 
that dwelling the family moved in January, 1835. 

During the entire summer of 1835, Mr. Barnes 
was sick with the ague, and to add to his troubles 
a speculator purchased his land and demanded 
immediate possession. Being unwilling to proceed 
to extreme measures, he paid Mr. Barnes $50 to 
vacate. This money he invested in fifty acres of 
land, and with the help of his neighbors erected a 
pole cabin upon it. In that cabin the family were 
comparatively comfortable. 

In the fall of 1837, Mr. Barnes sold his land near 
Albion for $800 in "wild-cat" money, and in Jan- 
uary, 1838, removed to Lawrence, Van Buren 
Count}'. His family settled in a log house on what 
is now the Baker and Richards farm. Not long 
afterward, he purchased from Eaton Branch, for 
$200, the eighty acres on which his son A. U. now 
lives. On that land he put up a frame house and 
went energetically to work to convert the wild 
land into a productive farm. He cleared almost 
the entire eighty acres with his own hands, besides 
doing a large amount of work for others. In the 
year following his settlement, he was chosen Com- 
missioner of Highways, and was elected Justice of 
the Peace in 1840, being a member of the Board at 
the election held at his house in tlie fall of the 
year that Gen. Harrison was elected President of 
the United States. 

In June, 1853, Mr. Barnes had a sudden and 
violent illness, which baffled the skill of the phy- 
sicians who were called to attend him. He sank 
rapidly and died on Sunday, July 3. At his fun- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPPUCAL RECORD. 



U13 



eral, July 4, the Rev. E. S. Dunham preached from 
the text "Precious in the siglit of the Lord is tlie 
death of his saints." ]\Irs. Barnes survived her 
husband thirteen _years and died September 30, 
1866. She was respected and beloved by all who 
knew her, bearing with patience all the trials of 
pioneer life, and her children rise up and call her 
blessed. Jlr. Barnes was converted in 1820 and 
became a member of the Baptist Church. 

Our subject grew to mature years in Jlichigan 
and was married, in 1857, to Miss F.annie Gates. 
Of that union eight children were born, namel^y: 
Ada, wife of Fraidt Fuller; Albert married Miss 
Mattie Rome; Carrie married Eugene liaughman; 
Charles, Frank, Clifl'urd, Lena and Ivan. In the 
same ^^ear in wliich his marriage occurred, Mr. 
Barnes purciiased his farm and liere he has since 
resided. Mrs. Barnes is a daughter of Daniel and 
Pamelia (Brown) Gates, natives of Vermont and j 
New York, respectivelj-, who came to Michigan in 
1855. Politically, Mr. Barnes IS a Republican. Dur- 
ing the late war, he was drafted into the army and 
went out in Company I), Fourteenth jMichigan In- 
fantry, lie was in the Western Corps and was 
present al the time of .Joiinston's surrender. An 
upright, conscientious man, he is highly esteemed 
and enjoys the confidence of his large circle of 
acquaintances. 






^^^ORMAN 11. ADAMS. An excellent exam- 
I'l /// P'f^ of the results of industry and enterprise 
jt^^j is to be found in the life of tliis gtnitleman, 
who is a well-known resident of Breedsville. Dur- 
ing the period of thirty years tiiat have elapsed 
since he came to this village, he has risen from a 
condition of poverty to comfortable circumstances, 
and while increasing his personal possessions has 
by no means neglected the welfare of the commu- 
nity, but contributed to the advancement of its 
interests and the development of its resources. He 
controls extensive business interests in the vil- 
lage, and is also the owner of a well-improved 
farm, comprising sevent}' acres in Columbia Town- 
ship, \'an Buren County. 

The father of our subject, Asa C, wiis a native 



of New York, where he followed the profession of 
a teacher, and was al.so Deputy .SherilT. lie re- 
moved from the Emi)ire State to Massachusetts, 
settling near Northampton, llampdon County, and 
operating a small farm. His (lc;itli occurred tlieie 
at a good old age. His wife, whose maiden name 
was Mary Thorp, was born in Connecticut, and be- 
came the mother of four children: Angeline, Nor- 
man II., David and George. The two last-named 
died in childhood. Norm.an II. was born August 
22, 1826, in RensselaerviUe, Albany County, N.Y., 
and accompanied his parents when they removed 
to Massachu.setts. The common-school education 
which he gleaned from the text-hooks used in the 
district schools was afterward supplemented by a 
coui-se of study in the High School. 

At the age of fifteen, the school days of our sub- 
ject were brought to a close, and he commenced to 
earn his own living by working first on a farm, and 
later in a tannery for a Mr. Conklin for a be lit three 
years. After he removed to Massachusetts, he was 
employed in a tannery in West Springfield, and 
from that place removed to Brattlehoro, \'t., where 
he remained four years. In the spring of 1855, he 
came West to Michigan, and worked at his trade in 
Niles. The early part of the year 1861 marked 
his arrival in Breedsville, where he purchased a 
one-half interest in the tanneiy establislied by 
Messrs. Knowles it Barrows. He first conducted 
his business in partnershii) with another gentle- 
man, but after four years spent in that way, a 
change was made and he formed anotiier partner- 
ship. Since 1876 he has licen in business alone, 
and has dealt in hides, as well as supervised his 
farm. 

The political attiliations of Mr. Adams have 
brought him in syiii|)athy with the principles of 
the Kepulilican party, and prior to its organization 
he was a Whig. He served as Supervisor two 
jxars, Justice of the Peace ten years. Notary Pub- 
lic for three years, and is now Township Clerk. So- 
cially, he is a memljer of the Masonic order. He 
was married, May 30, 1817, to Miss Emily Wood- 
ford, who was born in Rcnsselaervlllc, N. Y., No- 
vemlier 20, l!-i27. Mrs. Adams is the daughter of 
William II. and Sarah (Crocker) Wr)odford, natives 
of New York. The fatiier, who was a shoemaker 



-, 



614 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



by trade, removed to Portland, Me., at an early 
day, and from there to Readfield, Me., and tbenee 
to Massachusetts. In January, 1855, he came to 
Niles, Mich., where he died April 6, 1883. His 
wife passed away August 14, 1878. They were 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
the parents of eight children. 

Six children have been born to our subject and 
his amiable wife, four of whom are still living, 
namely: AVilbert E., Frank A., diaries A. and 
Arthur T. For some 3'cars Mr. and Mrs. Adams 
were identified with the Congregational Church, 
but now for a period of thirty years they have been 
active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
They are honored and respected wherever known, 
and have a host of warm personal friends. 



^S^LIPHALET S. BRLSTOL. The agricul- 
l^ tural element that has been so largely in- 
J*^ — ^ ' slrumental in the upbuilding of Kala- 
mazoo County is well represented by this gentle- 
man, who is the proprietor of two valuable farms 
in this jiart of Michigan, both of which are well- 
equipped and stocked with fine breeds of cattle, 
horses, etc. One is located in Ross Township, and 
the other, the one upon which he makes his home, 
is pleasantly situated on section 3, Charleston 
Township. 

Mr. Bristol was born December 12, 1821, on the 
farm that Ids grandfather, E. Bristol, had hewed 
out from the primeval forests of the township of 
Cannore, Columbia County, N. Y., that old home- 
stead also being the birthplace of his father, E. 
Bristol, where he was reared and died, his age 
at the time of his death being eighty-eight years. 
He was a prominent farmer in his township, and 
was a liberal giver to all good causes. He was a 
peaceful, law-abiding citizen, who never sued any- 
one or was never sued himself, he being univers- 
ally liked by the entire community where he 
spent a life of nearly a century. In politics, he 
was a sturdy Democrat. The paternal grand- 
father of our subject was a native of Connecti- 
cut, where he was reared and married. He re- 
moved to New York in an early day, and took up 



the farm on which his son and grandson, of whom 
we write, were born. lie was of English descent. 

The mother of our subject, Lucy Cripeu, was 
born in Columbia County, N. Y. >She died when 
only forty years of age. She was the mother of 
seven children, three sons and four daughters, all 
of whom grew to manhood and womanhood; all 
married and reared families, and five of them are 
living, namely: Albert, a resident of Livingston 
County, N. Y.; Benjamin, a resident of INIadisou 
County, N. Y.; Eliphalet S.; Luc}', widow of 
James Lock wood, and a resident of Calif oruki; 
and Lydia, wife of E. Stoubenbaugh, of New York. 
The father was married a second time, Laura 
Crocker becoming his wife, and from that union 
sprang two sons: Horace, who resides on the old 
family homestead in Columbia County, N. Y.; and 
Abel, now deceased. 

Our subject is the youngest child of his father's 
first marriage, and remained at home with him until 
he attained his majority. After his marriage, in the 
winter of 1845, he and his wife began life together 
on a farm of one hundred acres that belonged to 
him, and was located in his native county. He 
carried on a good business as a general farmer on 
that place until 1867, when he came to Michigan 
and located where he now resides in Charleston 
Township. He has here one hundred and fift}' 
acres of choice land, mostly under cultivation, 
and provided witli a good class of buildings. Mr. 
Bristol has one hundied acres of laud in Ross 
Township, which is a fine stock farm and is amply 
supplied with all the modern improvements that 
are usually found on such a farm. 

Januaiy 14, 1845, is the date of the marriage of 
our subject and Miss Ann M. Janes, the young- 
est of the ten children of Nathaniel and Aclisah 
(Barnes) Janes. Her father was a native of Con- 
necticut, who went to New York when he was 
seven j'cars old, and in time became a prominent 
farmer of Columbia County. The mother was 
born and reared in the Empire State. Mis. Bristol 
was born in Columbia County, N. Y., November 
29, 1811), and there grew to womanhood. Her 
brothers and sisters were all teachers, her brother 
Elislia lieing a prominent educator in those parts, 
and she, being the youngest, was obliged to stay at 






b 




r\ 



^4 ;^^^^ 




I 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



617 



liDinc to assist her mother, wliieh was good dis- 
cipline for lier, as she aei]iiired a notable skill in 
household affairs. Her marriage with our suiijcct 
liiis l)cen blessed by the birth of one son, Walter, 
who was born in Columbia County, N. Y. He is 
a resident of the city of Kalamazoo, where he is 
en!»aged in the grain business. He married rNIiss 
Viola Webster, and they have three children: 
Morris, Mar.\- and Bertha. Young Hrislol is a 
member of the Congregational Church, at IvHlama- 
zoo, and is a valued worker in the Sunday-school. 
Mr. Hristol has a well-i)oiscd mtellect, is keen 
of vision, and is lirm and resolute when he is siu'e 
he is in the right, his many friends and ae(|uain- 
lanees always linding him truthful and upright. 
His political views are in harmony with the doc- 
trines of the Repui)lican party. Religiously, he is 
a Congregationalist, very inlhiential in cliuieh 
matters, and a Deacon of his church. lie and his 
wife are ardent workers in the .Sunday- school, she 
having taught for several years, and he acting as 
SuperiiUeiiilcnl for eighteen years. 



J 



''^ KNIJV W. I'.ISIIOI". The farmers anil 
I ,i fruit-raisers of Caseo Township, .VUegan 
Ly*;^ County, have among their number man\- 
(i£)) whose intelligence, activity and cnlerpriM' 
are a credit alike to themselves and the county 
in wiiieh they make their home. These help to 
give to Allegan County a standing for intelli- 
gence, productiveness and business ability, ipialities 
which enrich every farmer within its i)ounds. 

The gentleman whose portrait appears on tiie 
opposite page was born in Rirnungham, Kngland. 
in 1«10, and is the son of Thom.as and Klizabeth 
(liabington) Hishop. The father w.as born in 
Hirniingham, in 1H(I3, and, when a boy, \vas ap- 
(ircnliced to a baker, to learn that trade. His ed- 
ucation was limiU-d to the common schools, but, 
making tiie best of his advantages, he became 
thoroughly ver>ed on all topic> of general inter- 
est. Thomas 15ish<»|i followed the baker's trade 
in Kngl:inil for over twenty years, and, in 1H|:{. 
sol >ail for the Initcd Slates, Incaling al once in 
28 



St. Clair County, this Stiite. There he bought an 
improved farm, and commenced tilling the soil. 
In about live years he disposed of that tract, and, 
going to Di'lroit, opened a boarding house, .-uid 
later, a grocery store. A few years thus occupied 
ended his city life, and he again turned his atten- 
tion to farming i)ursuits, this time, however, near 
Katlle Creek, where he had bought eighty acres. 
He continued to live upon that property for some 
lime, and then removed to Saginaw, where he re- 
sided a few years. He then lived with his s(»n 
Henry for nearly three years, after which he re- 
mained until his death, in 1887, with his daiigii- 
ter Alice, in Sanilac County . 

Henry W. Hishop had nine l)rolhcis and si>l(M's, 
viz: Jlartha, William, Klizabeth, .lane; the last 
three ii:imed are deceased; Thonuas; Sarah, de- 
ceased; Benjamin, Mary and .Mice. When three 
years of age, our subject accomi)anied his parents 
on their emigration to America. His mother dy- 
ing the year following, he remained at home until 
eight years of .age, and then went to live with an 
elder sister, with whom he made his home until lif- 
teen years of age. At that age he started out in 
the world for himself, hiring out to work by the 
month as a farm hand. During his younger days, 
he attended the common schools, and, after reach- 
ing manhood, took a special course at Y[)silanti, 
and prepared himself tote.ach, which occupation he 
followed, however, only a shoi'l time. 

On coming to the Wolverine St.ate, our subject 
first located in Sanilac County, where he made a 
purchase of forty acres of land. He improved his 
|)itiperty, and. after making various remov.als. in 
187(1 came to Allegan County, and made perma- 
nent settlement on his present farm. In 18(!2, he 
enlisted in the War of the Rebellion, and joined 
Company K, Twenty -secon<l ^lichigaii Infantry. 
His ri'giment w;ls :issigncd to the Army of the 
Cumberland, and while participating in the battle 
of Chickamauga. he received a gun-shot wound in 
Ids arm. which necessitated its amputation. He 
w.as lirst Uiken to the field hospital at Nashville, 
and from there w:is sent lo St. Clary's, and later. 
Harper'.-. Hospitals. .-It Detroit. He was unable to 
return home until .lune .'50. |S(;.'>. at which dale he 
rerei\ed his hoh(]rable discharge. 



618 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



November 18, 1877, Mr. Bi-shop and Miss Mary, 
daughter of C.ilviii and Laura Drake, were united 
in marriage, in Kewaunee County, AVis. Mrs. Bish- 
op's ])arents were residents of that place at the 
time of her marriage, but were natives of New 
York, who, in 1881, removed to Geneva, Van' 
Buren County, Blich. Our subject is a member 
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of 
South Haven; also of tlie Grand Army of the Re- 
public, of the same city. He is a strong Republican, 
politicall}', and represented his township in many 
official positions, among which was Township 
Treasurer. He and his wife are members in good 
standing of tiie Congregational Church, and are 
greatly esteemed in Casco Township. 



-^ 



ELIAS B. WILLISON. The village of Au- 
gusta is proud to count amoimg its citizens 
a number of retired farmers, who, after 
lives of severe toil, have by industry and enter- 
prise accumulated a handsome competency, and 
are now taking their comforts in this village. 
Among them there is none more honored than 
Elias B. Willison, whose sterling integrity and 
earnest advocacy of every movement in favor of 
morality have given him the respect, and have 
earned him the gratitude, of all with whom he 
has been associated. 

The original of this sketch was born August 22, 
1825, in Allegany County, N. Y., and was the son 
of Samuel and Eliza (Banks) Willison, natives, re- 
spectively, of New York and Connecticut. His 
Grandfather Willison was a native of Ireland and 
his gi-andmother was born in AVales; they emi- 
grated to America i)rior lo the Kevolutionary War, 
in which conrtict the grandfather fought. 

Our subject came to Michigan witli his parents 
as early as 1837, locating in Barry County. 
Their new home was ni the woods and the nearest 
neighbor was three miles distant. On making the 
journey to the Wolverine State, the elder Mr. Wil- 
lison came overland with two yoke of oxen, camping 
out by the wayside at night-and being four weeks 
making the trip. Elias B. Willison was reared to 
man's estate among the pioneer scenes of Michi- 



gan and has done his full share of redeeming land 
from its primeval state. He received his primary 
education in the regulation log schoolhouse and 
later attended school at Battle Creek. 

]Mr. Willison, .June 15, 1848, was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Nancy Harkness, who was born 
March 16. 1830, in Ontario, Canada. Mrs. Willi- 
son was the daughter of .John and Nancy (Sack- 
smith) Harkness, natives of the Empire State. 
When six years of .age, she accompanied her par- 
ents to Kalamazoo County, where they located in 
Alamo Township, which place was their home foi' 
three years. The}' then removed to Bariy County, 
where Mr. and JMrs. Harkness died, leaving a 
family of whom five are living, namely: Mrs. 
Margaret Mott, Mrs. William Willison, Mrs. 
Robert Marshall, Mrs. Elias Willison and Sam- 
muel R. 

To our subject and his wife have been born 
eight childi'cn, seven of whom are living: Melvin 
J., George E.; Agnes, who is the wife of .John 
Trick; Estclla, Mrs. Charles Noble; Frank L., Wil- 
ford E. and Eva D. Mr. Willison is the proud 
possessor of two hundred and forty acres of ex- 
cellent land, which bears all the improvements of 
a first-class estate. He was Supervisor of Barry 
Township, Barry County, for one year and also 
served as Road Commissioner in that county. 
Mrs. Willison is a member of the Congregational 
Church, and in politics our subject is a stanch 
Democrat. 



^1 



^^i 



\m 



>m 




EYMOUR S. CUMMINGS, ex-Postmaster 
<if Ricliland and an early settler of that 
township, was a native of New York 
State, his birth having occurred in Sclie- 
ncctady County, March 12, 1830. His parents, 
Benjamin and Elizalielli (Hamlin) Cummings, were 
also natives of the Emiiirc State. His paternal 
ancestors were said to have been Scotch, while on 
his mother's side he is of English descent. 

The father of our subject came to Ivalamazof) 
County in 1831, several years before the Territory 
was adinitlcd into the I'liion as a Slate. The 
family joined him in the new home the following 



Portrait and inoGRArniCAL kkcord. 



t)19 



year and located in Richland Townshii) where he 
liail prepared a home for thciii. The elder Mr. 
Cmimiings was married twice and l)ccame the 
faUuT of the following-named children: Hen- 
janiiii F., William II.; .lulia E., the widow of 
(iGorsje Walkins; Irene 15., Kphraim II. and Sey- 
mour S. He dei)arted this life in 1818, and in his 
death the county lost one of her early pioneers 
and well-to-do citizens. lie was a millwright by 
trade and built many of the bridges in this county. 
In politics, he voted the Democratic ticket. 

Mr. Ctimmings of this sketch was reared to 
man's esUite amid the pioneer scenes of Kalamazoo 
County and was trained to all the pursuits per- 
taining to a farmer's son. The advantages af- 
forded the voutli of that period were not what they 
are to-day, Imt Mr. Cummings made the best of 
his opportunities anil now ranksamong the intel- 
ligent and well-read citizens of the county. 

Xovcmber 15, I860, the original of this sketch 
was married to Martha Cook, who was horn in 
Oneida County, X. Y., September 10, 18:38. Mrs. 
Cummings was the daughter of Norris and Syrcna 
.\. (Waring) Cook, her |)arcnts being natives also 
of the Empire State. Ilcr ancestors on I)oth sides 
of the house were well-to-do English people. In 
18.3.'). with her parents, she cmigi-ated to this 
county, where the family located in Richland 
Townshii>. There Mr. Cook died in 1871); his wife 
sti^l survives at a good old age. having been born 
in 1817. Of the i>arenlal famil\- of live children, 
all are living with one excci)tion. Mary A., is 
the wife of Morv .\. Nichols; Martha is Mrs. S. S. 
Cummings; Harriet . I. married SU'|)hcii Wood and 
Ellen H. is the wife ofOeorge .Slieaii. 

Mrs. Cuiiunings is a member of the Presbyterian 
Church and is an active worker in the Ladies' Aid 
.Society of the same. In I88(), our subjoct was ap- 
pointed Postmaster of Richland under President 
Cleveland, and served for a period of three years 
and eight months. He is a firm rx-inocrat in poli- 
tics and IS highly esteemed .as a moral and upright 
citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Cummings are very popular 
incnilu'i-s .of s(H'iety in Richland and contribute 
lilKn-ally of their means for the furtherance of all 
good ol)jects. The estate of our subject includi-s 
ninetv acres of valuable land and is located on 



section 28. Although he does not reside upon 
his farm, he gives it his [)ersonal supervision .•mil 
reaps a handsome income therefrom. A sister of 
our suliject, Irene P. Cummings, makes her home 
with him. 



/p^ILPERT LAMMON. Amung the iiromi- 
'll (_^ iient and enterprising citizens of Hartford, 
^^^S! ^'"" Pureii County, no one is more worthy 
of note than he whom we here name, who is 
carrying on the furnituri' I)usiness. He was born 
in .lefferson County, N. Y., May IS). 182(5, and there 
grew to mature years, and married in the county 
of his birth in 18 18. The ladv of his choice bore 
the maiden name of Ellen .Vvei-y. In I8;").'>, 
they came to Michigan ami located on a farm in 
Van Purcn County, wliiili hv cU'ared and still 
owns. The place is situ.'ited two miles east of the 
village. When he came to this county there was 
nothing but a wild forest where Hartfoid now 
Stands. 

Mr. Laminon isasonof Noah and Nancy ((4ault) 
Lammon, natives of New York State, the father be- 
ing l)orn in Ridgewatcr in June, 1786. Our sub- 
ject was one of a fainil.\- of seven children, and to 
himself and his worthy wife have been born two 
children: Erank and (icorge. The former resides 
on the home farm, and the latter, in partnership 
witli his father, is carrying on the largest business 
of its kind in the village. Poltically, our subject 
casts his vote and inlluence with the Republican 
party. The beloved wife of our sulijed was 
called to the world beyond in August, 1888, and 
is mourned by all who knew her. 



-t — - 



- -<&^ 



-f=<S} 



i>-^<l 



(A>^~ 




O.SES S. HAWI.EY has been a resident of 
'* Michigan for many yeai-s, and in his early 



l\ •••■—■& - ■> 

IS life here w.is prominent as an educator 

* For the past thirty-live years, he h.is been 

identified with the fanning interests of Van Puren 

County, and has a good farm iile:tsanlly situated 

in Paiigor Township. The birth of our subject took 



620 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



place in Ontario County, N. Y., in the year 1812, 
Ue being the eldest in the f.aniilj' of eight children 
of Daniel and Currant (Blake) Hawley. His father 
was born in Connecticut, and was a valiant sol- 
dier in the War of 1812. lie was a son of Moses 
and Mary Hawley, the former of whom was a sol- 
dier of Kevohitionary fame. Tlie names of the 
brotlier and sisters of our subject are as follows: 
Avigustus, who was one of the most prominent citi- 
zens of Jaclvson until his death in that city; James 
H. and Henry 15., twins; .Julia A., Mary PL, John 
C. and Lyman C. 

He of whom we write was thoroughly educated 
at Hamilton College, in New York, and early 
adopted the profession of teacher, in which he en- 
joyed a successful career of several years' dura- 
tion. In 1845, he sought the 3oung and growing 
State of Michigan, for a broader field for his laliors, 
and in a short time attracted notice as an instructor 
of more than ordinary talent for imparting knowl- 
edge, who was progressive in his modes of teach- 
ing, and had his scholars under firm control. His 
first experience was at St. Joseph, where he taught 
school two 3-ears; he then accepted the professor- 
ship of the Albion Seminary, which position ho 
held four years; and after that he was Superinten- 
dent of the Ypsilanti schools for a like length of 
time. He also taught in other places in tliis State. 
Early in 1856, he began his course as a farmer, on bis 
present farm, and has displayed an equal adaptation 
to this vocation. Energetic and well-directed pio- 
neer labor was rerpiired to bring his land to its 
present excellent condition, as when it came into 
his possession it was in its primeval state, and he 
had literally to develop his farm from the wilder- 
ness. It is now under good cultivation, is fenced 
into convenient fields, whose well-tilled acres yield 
abundant harvests, and it is supplied with all the 
facilities for conducting agriculture after the most 
approved modern methods, besides being stocked 
with cattle, horses and hogs to its full cai)acity. 

Mr. Hawley was married while still a resident of 
New York, tf) Miss l\[aria J. Ripley, a native of 
Livingston County, that State, whose devotion to 
his interests has been a great help to him in his life. 
Of the six children born to tliem, four are deceased: 
Warwick, who died in infancy; Sinedley S., who 



died when a child; Mary S., who married James 
Steward, and died in the bloom of early woman- 
hood; and Jennie JI., who died when a child. Two 
children are sjiared to bless their declining years, 
and to make their home cheerful: Mills fJ. and 
Hattie B. 

Possessing a mmd well trained by a lilieral edu- 
cation, and balanced b^- strong common sense, to- 
gether with other ti'aits that win confidence, our 
suliject from the first has occupied a high position 
in the councils of his fellow-citizens. He has rep- 
resented Bangor Township on the County Board 
of Supervisors, and has held many other responsi- 
ble offices. He has ever been firm and consistent 
in his support of the Democratic party. Relig- 
iously, he and his family are Presbyterians, and 
they are among our best people, socially. The 
wife and mother departed this life, January 11, 
1S!)2. 









(i[ IKILLIAM L. DAVIS. This successful farmer 
mpj/f ^^ Kalamazoo County owns and manages 
^^/\f/ a farm consisting of about one hundred 
and eighty -seven acres, pleasantly located on sec- 
tion 23, Prairie Ronde Township. Although not 
one of the early settlers of this county, his resi- 
dence here of more than thirty \ears has made him 
]jroniinent in the public affair.-- and well known 
among the citizens. Much of his prosperity is due 
to the fact that he keeps abreast with the times, is 
a ijractical agriculturist and thoroughly acquainted 
with every detail of farm worK. 

The parents of Mr. Davis were natives of 
Pennsylvania and were b}' name Alexander W. 
and Elizabeth B.(Livingston)Davis. After the death 
of Mrs. Davis, which occurred in the Keystone 
Slate, became West to Illinois and for eight years 
made his home in Will Countv, removing thence 
to Kalamazoo County, this State, in 1862. For 
twenty years he was identified wiili the citizens of 
Prairie Ronde Township, and his death in 1882 
was mourned by a large circle of acquaintances. 

The eldest of the family of three children, 
William L., was born in Centre County, Pa., De- 
cember 2(1, 1.S12. He spent his cliildhood in tin' 
Keystone State and accompanied bis father to Will 




■^.°^4 



cJiaA^ CJ /T-^' 






I ^ ' I 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



623 



I 



County, 111., when he was about eleven years old. 
Ill Fel)rii:irv, 1<S()2, he caiiie to Prairie Htnule 
Towiisliip, where he has since resided. A few _vears 
after coining liitlier. lie was married in Lawton, 
this State, .laiiuarv I, IHIJT, to Miss JIary ('.. dnuuii- 
ter of the late Kansford C. and Harriet (Hair) 
Hoyt, wliose sketch, together witli tliat of her two 
brothers, Owen L. and .lonathan C, appears in an- 
other part of this volume. She was born in the 
township which is now her home, September 2, 
18;)0, and is highly esteemed by llie peo|)le among 
whom her entire life has been passed. 

Mr. and Mrs. Davis are the parents of two chil- 
dren: Alice I,., who is the wife of Clark D. (iil- 
christ, and Willard II. Jlr. Davis has been too 
closelj- occupied with iiis farming interests to de- 
vote any considerable attention to political mat- 
ters, and is neither an active partisan nor an oftice- 
seeker, preferring quiet domestic pleasures to the 
e.\citement and dissatisfaction of public life. Me 
believes that the [ilatform of the Democratic party 
is the best adajited to promote the welfare of the 
Government, and therefore favors its principles in 
National issues. 



_y 



^ illLl.lA.M G. PLUMMEH. The gentleman 
\pj// whose lineaments are perpetuated in the 
^^ portrait on the opposite page is probalily 
one of the best-known men in this portion of the 
State. He was born in Kalamazoo Count3', in 1832, 
and is at present cultivating tiie soil of sections 
25 and 17, West Casco Townsiiip, Allegan Count}-, 
where he has a good estate. lie is the son (if Daniel 
A. and .lane Phimnier. the f:ithi'r a native of Con- 
necticut. 

The father of our subject was reared upon the 
farm of his parents, and. on their removal to Ohio, 
accompanied them thither, locating in Medina 
when that portion of the State was quite new. 
The elder Mr. Phiinmer w.as a veteran in the IJIack 
Hawk War and located in Kalamazoo Count v, 
Mich., iu 1830. He there met and married the 
mother of our sul)ject, who bore the maiden name 
of .lane Giddings. In 1831 the ^oung coui)le 



removed to Saugatuck, where they were the third 
family to settle at the mouth of the Kalamazoo 
River. There the father followed ship-carpentering 
a few years and later came to Allegan and operated 
the old Exchange Hotel, also the Allegan House. 

In 1849, Daniel A. Plummer crossed the plains 
to California in company with several other gen- 
tlemen, they Ijciiig six months on the road, travel- 
ing overland with ox-leams. He engaged in min- 
ing at Placerville, Georgetown, and numerous 
other places in the State. He was very successful, 
but, growing tired of mining, decided to locate in 
Oakland, Alameda County, Cal.. and there died in 
1888. 

William G. Plummer w.as one of three children 
born to his parents, his brother and sister being 
Charles and Mary, the latter of whom is deceased. 
When fourteen years of age our subject began to 
earn his own living. He went to work on a farm 
iu Wisconsin, remaining, however, only a few 
months, when he commenced sailing on the lakes. 
He was thus engiigcd for a twelvemonth, when he 
returned to his old lu)nie in Saugatuck Township, 
and went to work in the lumber woods. He later 
commenced sawmilliiig, being so emploj'ed for 
twenty jears. 

When twenty-five 3'eai-s of age, our subject and 
Miss Susan, daughter of Timothy and Emeiine 
McDowell, were united in marriage. Their union 
has been blessed by the advent of seven children, 
viz.: Charles E., living in .San Francisco, Cal.; 
Alice, deceased; Tiinotliy; Mary , I., who is the wife 
of E. Holly; Susan, a dressmaker in South Haven; 
Lucy, a teacher of South Haven; and William, who 
is dece:ised. Mrs. Susan Plummer died in 1884, 
and our subject later married Miss Anna M. Shaw, 
a native of Ohio. 

The original of this sketch located on his present 
beautiful estate in 1864. His home place numliers 
ninety .acres, which at the time it came into his 
[lossession w.as an unbroken wilderness. Mv. Pluin- 
nicr can relate many an interesting tale of pioneer 
hardships which have made a Lasting impriv«sioii on 
his mind. At one time, he relates that, in com- 
pany with another man, he went to the iiioiith of 
the HInck Hiver and made hay a week on the pres- 
ent site of the thriving village of South Haven, 



624 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



when there was not a liniise to mark the spot. 
Sotnally, Mr. Plunimer is a Mason, and l)elongs to 
both the township and county Grange. In polities, 
he is a stanch Hepiililican. His good wife is a 
member of the Congregational C'hureh at South 
Haven and is a very capable and intelligent lady. 



EDWIN A. LOEIIR. This enterprising and 
industrious citizen is the leading painter 
and decorator in South Haven. From 
German ancestry he derives the instincts of 
frugality and careful consideration of wa3-s and 
means. He is a native of Ohio, having been born 
November 2, 1853, in Stark County. His ])aternal 
grandparents, .Tolin J. and Mary E. (Snider) Loehr, 
were natives of Germany, and on coming to the 
United States located in Ohio. 

The father of our subject, Jacob J. Loehr, was 
also born in Wahlhallien Bezirk, Zweibruecken 
Canton, Waldfischljach, Rheinkreize Beiern, on the 
26th of August, 1814, and was six years old 
when his parents came to the New AVorld. He grew 
to manhood in the Buekej'e State, and became a 
wheelwright by trade. On .Tune 1,5, 18.57, he es- 
talilished a home of his own by his marriage with 
Catherine Shearer. He continued to follow his 
trade, and tilled a farm which he owned, until his 
death on April 4, 1888. His wife died December 
30, 1891, at her home in Stark County, Ohio. 

We make the following mention of the parental 
familj' of our subject, which included nine 
sons and one daughter: .losiah is a farmer in Co- 
lumbia Township, this county: Washington was a 
member of Compan}' B, One Hundred and Fif- 
teenth Ohio Infantrj', and Alls a soldier's grave at 
Mapleton, Stark County, Ohio; Henry S. is resid- 
ing at Paris, Stark County, Ohio; Reul)en died in 
childhood; John J. resides in Stark Count}', Ohio; 
onr subject was the next in order of birth; Charles 
makes his home in Carroll Count}', Ohio; George 
died in childhood; Lincoln resides in Stark County, 
Ohio, as does also Caroline, who is the widow of 
H. B. Singer. 

Edwin A. Loehr passed his early life atten ding- 
school and engaged in farm pursuits. When quite 



young, he began earning money for himself l)y sell- 
ing sewing machines, and when twenty-two com- 
menced work at painting. Onr subject came to 
Michigan in 1H76, and, locating in Blooniingdale 
Township, followed his trade for about eight years, 
when, on account of ill-health, he purchased a farm 
in Cheshire Townshii), Allegan County, and for 
four years tilled the soil. At the end of that time, 
in 1888, he came to South Haven, and since locating 
here, has been engaged as painter, decorator, and 
hardwood finisher, being a contractor in these lines. 

Miss Callie Van "V'oorhees and Edwin A. Loehi- 
were united in marriage in 187G. Mrs. Loehr was 
the daughter of .Tohn and Christina (Kenney) ^'au 
Voorhees, prominent farmers in Stark County, 
Ohio. Their union has Ijeen blessed by thelnrth of 
two children: Delia B. and Charles .S. Politically, 
jNIr. Loehr is independent, and in religious matters 
is an active memlier of the Congregational Church. 
He is an Odd Fellow, and has filled all the chairs 
in that order. He is also a member of tlie Na- 
tional Union, in which he is and has been Secre- 
tary, from the founding of the order in South 
Haven, known as South Haven Council, No. 82. 

Mr. Loehr erected his pleasant residence in 1891, 
and it ranks among the very best in South Haven. 
He is an industrious and I'espected citizen, and one 
whose word is considered as good as his bond. 

John Van Voorhees, our subject's father-in-law, 
was born in Osn.aburgh, Stark County, Ohio, Sep- 
tember 19, 1824; C'hristina V,an Voorhees, nee 
Kenney, was born in Canton, Stark County, Ohio, 
September 27, 1827. 

^ i^ILLIAM W. BROWNELL. The repre- 
\rJI sentative of a famil.v that h.as been nota- 
'J^/Ny ble in the annals of the history of Vermont 
and ISIicliigan, our subject is now in the enjoyment 
of rural life on his fine farm, situated on sec- 
tion i). Portage Township, Kalamazoo Count}'. 
He is the son of Giles Brownell, who was probably 
a native of Vermont, while his mother, who bore 
the maiden name of Lydia Baker, passed her last 
days in Kalamazoo, this State. 

The orisiual of this sketch was the youngest of 



PORTRMT AND BIOGRAPHIC^LL RECORD. 



625 



the parental family of four cliildren. his birth oc- 
C'urrinsi in Pownal. \'t.. I )ccciiiliri- '.•, ISI'.t. lie 
was Imt nine months old "lien his fallicr died and 
ills niotlic'i- married .lohn Nichols, with whom she 
removed to Penns3ivania and seltiod in AV.in-en 
County where our snhjeet u:re\v to manhood. lie 
passed his early years in farm work in the summer 
and lumbering in the winter, continuing to reside 
witli liis niotlier until .\pril, 18")"). 

William AV. ISrownell was married, .\ugust oO, 
1842, to Miss Mary, daughter of .John and Eliza- 
beth (Baker) Sellens, natives of England. The 
mother died in Warren County, Pa., while the fa- 
ther, who eame West, passed his last days at the 
residence of our subject. She was the eldest of 
the two children born to her parents, her natal da^' 
and birthplace being November 16, 1825, Sussex, 
England. At the time of his marriage. Mr. Pirownell 
was engaged in agricultural pursuit* in the Ivej'- 
stone State, but in April, 1855, came to Michigan 
and located on a tract of land in Kalamazf)o Town- 
shi|), this county, where he made his home for nine 
years. He then removed to his present residence 
on section 5, w-here he ha.s a very productive and 
valuable esUite. His possessions aggregate one 
hundred and seventy -eight acres, which is provided 
with a good and substantial set of liuildings, not 
the least among which is his comfoitable brick 
residence. 

Mrs. lirownell is a most estimable lady and is 
noted throughout the county as being a model 
housewife and caretaker. Bj- her union with our 
subject have been born eight children, viz: Thomas 
G., who is engaged in the railroad business in Kan- 
sas City, Mo.; William II., enlisted in the Union 
Army and joined Company E, Eleventh Michigan 
Cavalry, and was killed near King's Salt Works in 
Virginia by bushwhackers; Clarence is a merchant 
in St. Mary's. Kan.; .lohn V. is a manufacturer of 
windmills; Alfred W. is also engaged in the same 
business; Marion .1. is a farmer; ^lary is now Mrs. 
(i. Di'Long and Francis E. is a farmer in this town- 
ship. 

The subject of this sketch has heen the incum- 
l)ent of nianv of the minor ollites of his township, 
serving twelve 3'ears as .luslice of the Peace and 
six years as Highway- Commissioner. In politics, 



he votes the straight Republican ticket and takes a 
great interest in all matters pertaining to his com- 
inunity. With his good wife, he is a ineml)ei' of 
the First Presbyterian Church and gives liberally 
of his means to the support of all good works. He 
has been a great worker in the Sunday-school and 
has done efficient service as Superintendent in that 
body. The friends of Mr. Brownell are as numer- 
ous as his acquaintances and he bears the good-will 
of all who know him. 



OHN KELLOGCi, a representative farmer 
and stock-raiser of Richland Township, 
Kalamazoo County, makes his home on 
section 12. He is a native of Livingston 
County, N. Y., and w.-is liorn December 14, 18.33, 
to .Justin and .Julia (Loomis) Kellogg, natives of 
Connecticut. In the spring of 1844, our subject 
accompanied his parents to ^Michigan, they becom- 
ing early settlers of Washtenaw County, where 
they both died. They were blessed by the birth 
of six children, three still surviving: .John.tieorge 
and Richard. 

Our subject was reared to manhood in AVashte- 
naw County, and has been a lifelong farmer. He 
attended the district schools when a boy and later 
attended the old Ypsilanti Michigan Seminary two 
years. Mr. Kellogg was married, October 14. 1M61. 
to .Jane Pearson, a native of Washtenaw County, 
having been born June 19, 1839. Mrs. Kellogg is 
a daughter of .James and .Jane (Muir) IVarson, 
who were natives of Scotland. Her mother died 
in AVashtenaw County, and the father in Ottawa 
County, Mich.; they had six children, three now 
living: Ezekiel, Andrew and Mrs. Kellogg. 

One son, Andrew .1., and one daughter, Carrie 
J., who died at the age of twenty-three yeai"s, have 
come to bless the home of our subject and his 
worthy wife. The son is in business in Chicago, 
111., at No. 4309 lierkelev .Avenue, where he deals 
in electric bells, speaking tubes, does locksmithing 
anrl repairing of bicycles, locks, wnngei-s, guns, 
trunks, carpet sweepers. um!)rellas, etc. In 1862, 
our subject went to Harry County, where he re- 
sided until 1864, at which time he came to this 



626 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArfflCAL RECORD. 



township and county and with tlie exception of 

four years lias li\o(l licro since. He now owns 
one hundiod and one-(|\iaiter acres of land and is 
a self-niade man in tiie strictest sense of the word. 
He afliliates with the Democratic party in politics. 
The Masonic order at Hicliland claims liim as one of 
its memliers, and he and his wife are active in tlie 
society circles of the townshii). Mrs. Kellogg's 
sister, Maggie Pearson, made her liome with our 
subject for many years and died theie in .lune, 
18it0. 



<S^I)WARD P. HERSEY has been a resident 
ILa] of Wayland Township, Allegan County, for 
1*^ — ^ more than twenty-five years, and is consid- 
ered one of its substantial and representative 
farmers. He was born in Chester, Geauga County, 
Ohio, February 2 1 , 1840. His iwrents were Daniel 
T. and Mary (Holiart) Ilersey, his father being a 
native of Northampton, Hampshire County, Mass. 
and his mother of Cattaraugus County, N. Y. 
His father was by trade a carpenter, but also car- 
ried on farming, to which occupation our subject 
was reared. 

Better facilities for acquiring an education were 
given our subject than were granted to the major- 
ity of boys in that day. He attended the com- 
mon schools for sevcial j'cars and for two terms 
was a student at Chester Seminary in Oiiio. He 
remained at home until nineteen years of age, 
when he went to Wisconsin, and for two years fol- 
lowed farming. At the age of twenty-one years, he 
returned home, and was married, January 1, 1862, 
to Harriet M. Morton, of Russell, Geanga County, 
Ohio. By this marriage, four children have been 
born, namely: Minnie C, Fred D., Mary L. and 
Zora B., all living. 

After his marriage, Mr. Hersey resided in Ohio 
for three j'ears, coming to Michigan .Tanuary 1, 
1865, and locating in the township where lie now 
resides. He took up a place in the unbrolvcn for- 
est and began the hai-d work of clearing it and 
Itrejiaring it for cultivation. He now has a fine 
farm of eighty acres, on which he has pl.aced ex- 
cellent improvements and which amply rep.ays. by 



its abundant harvests, the care that has been be- 
stowc<l upon it. Besides general farming, he car- 
ries on stock-i-aising, and during one year was 
engaged in the manufacture of cheese. In 188r), 
lie erected a lai'ge two-story frame residence on 
bis place, a view of which is presented in this vol- 
ume, and which forms a comfortable, convenient 
and delightful home. 

^Ir. Hersey is a Republican ni politics and takes 
great interest in everything connected with the 
welfare and progress of his townshi|) ami ct)un(y. 
He IS especially interested in educational matters 
and brings iiis influence to beai' in the matter of 
emplojing competent teachers and building good 
schoolhoiises. He has held the olllce of Drainage 
Commissioner. He and his wife are members of 
the Congregatif)nal Church at Wayland, and arc 
foremost in every good work. Ills son Fred is a 
student in the medical institute at Indianapolis, 
ju'eparing himself for the profession of a physician. 
Jfary is engnged as a stenographer at Grand Ra|)- 
ids. All the children have received excellent edu- 
cations and have been engaged in teaching school. 
The family is one of the pi'ominent and highly 
esteemed of Wayland Township. 

' td," "" ••• j )? Q j( ^ ••• .— *^ 

yr;ILLIAM A. CHENEY is a prominent 
farmer on section .'), Allegan Township, 
^^ where he operates ninety-eight and a half 
acres of excellent land. He is a native of Canada, 
having been born INIarch 19, 18.3.3, and is the son 
of John L. and Eliza (Thornton) Cheney, natives 
respectively of Connecticut and Canada. The fa- 
ther was engaged extensively in the lumber luisi- 
ness, and continued to reside in the Dominion 
until his death. The parental family included 
three children: our subject; Marv, Mrs. , I. Lucas: 
and Eliza, Mrs. H. Robinson. 

William A. Cheney received a good education 
in the schools of Ohio, whither he went when quite 
young. He woi'ked in the mills near Cleveland, 
that State, until reaching his seventeenth year, 
and then came to Michigan and located in Branch 
County, where he remained for two years. At the 
end of that time, he came to Allegan County. 




,^>^.,:T-t^^..tjr^-.ililriSixite,'Sti.'^^ 



residence: or WILLIAM a, CHENEY, sec. 5,ALLEGAN TP.ALLEGAN CO., MICH. 




RESIDENCE OF ANDREW A. PLUMMER, SEC. 8. .GANGES TR, ALLEGAN CO., MICH 




RESlDEt^oL ^r L^^^ , i ^^^S EY , SEC. 5 , .V/^r u/.. . D TF.,h.^^-^'. 



-0 .MiCH. 



1 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPITTCAL RECORD. 



629 



wliicli «;is ill Fol)ruarv, 1854, niul, luciiliiio: in Al- 
IcLTMii ■r<"p\Mislii|i. ciiifMijed to clear scvoiity-f'oiir 
iU'irs of li(':i\v timlicf l;iinl, in euiiipnny with (!il- 
l)ort SliHU'. Ho then woiived in ii sawmill in Al- 
legan for lluoe \('ars. and in IS.'iH. Iia\ inn I'nr- 
fliasi'd a farm of forl\' acres in section 7. he eoni- 
nienced its impi'ovement. lie ert'C'led a frame 
house tni his [)laee. anci continued to niaki' that 
his home nntil the outlireak of Ihe Civil War. 

Our sulijecf enlisted in C()ni|)any .\. 'i'hird 
.Michigan Cavalry, a.s a private. His comiiany 
went to (Jrand Rapids, where he was detained for 
Ihiee months; then the^' wore sent to St. Louis, 
Mo., where thej' remained for a like [period. 
(ioingdown tlie"Fatlior of Waters," the first battle 
in which they i)artici|iated was at Farminiiton, 
.Mi.ss. He later took part in many important liat- 
tles and skirmishes, and was undoi' command of 
Cells. Kosecrans and .Sherman at ditTeront time.s. 
.Mr. Cheney was nuistercd out with the title of 
Sorire.'int, receiving his honorahle discharge at 
Itrownsville, Ark. He saw tlirce years and two 
months of hard fighting, and during that time was 
only in the hospital for cloven weeks. 

On returning home, Mr. Cheney- began farming 
in .Martin Township, Allegan County, where he 
remained for two years, and then, soiling his prop- 
erty, purchased another tract in section .5. Ho 
made that his home for two years, when he dis- 
posed of his farm and accepted a position as 
Overseer of the Poor Farm. He continued in that 
capacity for eleven j-ears, and gave the most com- 
plete satisfactif)n to both the inmates and the town 
authorities. During the time he was the incum- 
bent of that office, his wife died, September Ifi, 
1KS2, two children having preceded her to the 
better land. In 1881, Mr. Cheney purchased the 
place on which he resides at the present time, and 
the same 3-ear his wife died he moved hither. His 
estate is embellished by a beautiful residence, a 
view of which is presented on another page, and 
is in every way fitted to l>o the home of an enter- 
jirising and progressive gentleman, such as is Mr. 
Cheney. 

Ho of whom we write was married, in 18r)7, to 
Miss Sjirah, daughter of Harvey and Sarah (Brown) 
Howe, natives of Vermont, who came hero at an 




larly da\ and locitid in Heath Township. Al- 
legan County. Mr. anil iMrs. Cheney became the 
parents of three children: Alice, Charles H. and 
Klmer, all of whom are decea.sed. Our subject, 
who has been engaged in mixed farming, is ex- 
tremely successful in his calling. In politics, he is 
a Ivcpuhlicaii, and is a member of the (irand Army 
of the Kepulilic. He is also identilied with the 
Odd Fellows, and is one of the prominent men in 
the county. He served his fellow. townsmen as 
.Iiistice of the I'eace for a term, with entire satis- 
faction to all concornod. 



NDHKW I'l.l.M.MKli. This well-known 
and respected citizen of (langes Town>liip, 
Allegan County, is making a success of 
agriculture on sections 8 and 17, where he 
owns one hundred and two acres of land. His 
inoperty liears all the improvomenis which arc to 
bo found on a lirst-class estate, and ho h.as twent^y- 
tive acres devoted to the raising of fruit. 

.Vndiow Flummer was born in Saugatuck in ls;J"), 
being the first white child born in the tt)wnship. 
His parents were Benjamin an<l lOlvira I'lninmor, 
the father born in October, 1812, in Maine. The 
grandiiarents of our subject removed to Wayne 
County, Ohio, in an early day. IJenjaniin Pluin- 
mer aecoin|)anied them hither and received a fair 
education in the sc-hools of his neighborhood. His 
father dying when he was yet in his teens, he. was 
thrown upon his own resources, but being strong 
and willing, he .soon made a home for himself. 

The parents of our subject were married in 
Wayne County, Ohio, and in 18;M came to Michi- 
gan, locatingat Saugatuck. They were transported 
down the Kalamazoo River on a raft which the 
father constructed and on arriving at their desti- 
nation made lhem.selves comforUible in the littli 
log cabin which had been prepared for thorn. The 
older .Mr. Plummer erected the first sawmill in this 
locality and, in addition to superintending its opor 
tion, cleared the land which he had purchased 
from the Oovornment. In 18.')0, ho purchased 
property in Oaiiges Township, whence ho removed 
his family, also lieing the first man to build a saw- 



630 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX'ORD. 



mill llieio. Tlio p.irontal family included (he 
followiiig-uaiiK'd seven children: Frederick, An- 
drew, William 11., Lucinda, Elnora, Mary J., and 
Sarah, the latter four deceased. 

Andrew Plummer thought to try his fortunes in 
the State of Minnesota, whither he went after 
reachint;' his twenty -second year. lie there pur- 
chased land from the Government, but being dis- 
satisfied with his venture, went South to Mississippi 
and Texas, in 1860, and was compelled to remain 
until the close of the war. On his return home, in 
1865, he was married to Caroline, daughter of Cy- 
rus and Cynthia (Bigsby) .Terrels. To them have 
been born four children: Otis, who died at the age 
of twenty- years; Elmer, Lewis and Benjamin. 

Our subject purc'hased the forty acres included 
in his present home farm in 1870. His estate now 
aggregates one hundred and two acres, which bears 
all the modern improvements in the way of build- 
ings and machinerj'. In connection with this 
sketch will be noticed a view of this pleasant rural 
abode. In politics, Mr. Plummer casts his vote 
always with the Republican part^-. A sketch of 
his brother, William II. Plummer, will be found on 
anotlier page in tills volume. 



>< 



ON. GILBERT E. READ. This prominent 
., and respected gentleman has been a resi- 
dent of Richland, Kalamazoo County, since 
1842. He is a native of Windsor County, 
Vt., his natal day being May 6, 1822. His parents 
were Rufus and Rhoda K. (Dean) Read, the former 
a native of Connecticut and the latter of Massa- 
chusetts. The Read family traces its ancestry 
back to the seventeenth century, when the ances- 
tors were residents of the Bay State. On the pater- 
nal side of the house, our subject is of English de- 
scent. His maternal great-grandfather was a sol- 
dier jn the Revolutionar}' War, being a Captain, 
and was killed at New Haven, Conn. 

Gilljert E. Read was fifteen years of age when 
his parents removed to Claremont, N. H., and there 
they made their home until coining to Kalamazoo 
Countj^ in 1842. ' The family made settlement in 



Richland Townshii), and there our suliject r('cei\od 
his primary education. He later attended different 
academies in the State, and for five winters was en- 
gaged in teaching. Mr. Read has been a great 
student all his life and is a gentleman who is well 
informed on all current topics. 

The original of this sketch was the second son 
in the paternal family and was reared to manhood 
on the home farm. March 6, 1856, the Hon. Gil- 
bert E. Read was married to Mary A. Daniels, who 
was born October 7, 18.31. Mrs. Read was the 
daughter of David II. and Mary H. (Brown) Dan- 
iels, the former now residing in Galesburgh, this 
State, in his eighty-seventh 3^car. He was a native 
of Rhode Island, while his wife hailed from Mas- 
sachusetts. Mrs. Read accompanied her parents to 
Richland Township, this county, in 1832, the}' be- 
ing among the very earliest settlers here. Her 
grandfather. Deacon Samuel Brown, came to Rich- 
land Township in 1831. 

Mrs. Mary A. Read was educated in the public 
schools and what is now known as the Old Branch 
Seminary and for two terms thereafter was engaged 
in teaching. By her union with our subject, five 
children have been born, four of whom are living, 
namel}': Harriet, who is the wife of Justin Cook, 
of Homer, this State; Charles F., living in Trav- 
erse City, this State; Clajton A. and Fannie K. are 
graduates of the Michigan Universit^^, Miss Fannie 
being engaged in teaching at the present time; 
Minnie R., another daughter, is deceased. 

For a number of 3'ears, Mr. Read served as Sup- 
ervisor of Richland Township, and while an in- 
cumbent of that position acted as Chairman of the 
Board. He has also been Township Clerk and 
School Inspector. He was elected in 1860 to the 
Lower House of the Michigan State Legislature and 
was su(^cessfully re-elected in 1862-64, serving in 
six sessions, there having been three extra sessions, 
owing to the war excitement. During his third 
term, the Hon. Mr. Read was elected Si)eakerof the 
blouse, during which time he established for him- 
self a State reputation and is ranked among the 
prominent and influential citizens of this section. 
During his first term in the Legislature, Mr. Read 
was made Chairman of the Committee of Reform 
Schools and also served on the Committee on 



PORTKAJT AKD BlOGRAi'lUCAL RECORD. 



fi31 



IJaiik;-, liic<)r|(iii:iti()ii.s, etc. niiriiisj Iiis mtuikI 
.session, lir served :i,s ( 'liainuiiii of the Coininitlcc 
on State Affairs and tlie Slate I'lison and was in- 
stiiinieiital in passinj^^ the hill for the LriantiiiiJi; of 
tlietiiand U'apids A- Indiana Raih'oad. He was a 
veiv active nieMilier of the Leirislatiire and it was 
laiL(el\' tlironiili his inllnenee that the a]>|ir(i|iria- 
tioii was made for estahlisliiny the Insane Asylum 
at Kalnina/.oo. 

In 187(), the Hon. (iilhert K. Read was eleetod 
State Senator, sorvin<2; one term with c-redit to him- 
self and satisfaction to his eoiistituents. Four 
3ears later, he acted as Deputy I'niled States Mar- 
shal, his duty licing to take the census for the 
eastern portion of the county. .Mr. liead has been 
successful finaneially, aiul owns lars^e tract-s of 
land in this vicinity. With his estimahle wife, he 
is a member of the Presbj'teriau Church, where 
tliey are active in all ij:oo<1 works and aic <rreatly re- 
specter]. He has been .Suiierintcndent of the Sun- 
day-school and gives liberally and cheerfully of his 
means to the support of the church. 

Socially, our subject is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and in [lolitics is a 
stanch Re|>ublican. He has shown himself cap.a- 
ble of close a|>plication to the duties which lay be- 
fore hiui, and his judicious decisions and wise 
course when attempting to liring about a worthy 
object are well known to those who are ac(|uainted 
with tlie liislorv of the State. 



'-J- 



^>^^« 



'a>— 



-{- 



i:i.S()N 1'. WOODRFFF. a representative 
, . farmer, residing on section G, I'ine (irovc 
Jl ^j Township, Van Buren County, is a native 
of .Monroe County. N. Y., born December 7, IH.T8. 
His father was liirdsey WoodriitT, a native of New 
York, born in 17!(G,a soldier in the War of is 12, 
and a farmer by occupation. The mother of oui 
subject l)ore the maiden name of Sarah IJovee, 
also a native of New York. She died in 1839. The 
fallier married again, his second wife being Kuniee 
!!ennett,who died in IHHl. He came to Michigan 
in ISi'iH. and settled in Hillsdale County, on a 
partly improved tract of lan<1. where he dieil in 
188", at the age of ninety-one goal's. I'.y the lii-st 



marriage nine children were born, live now living: 
Mrs. .\. Ilynu's. .lames I!., .Sarah li., Louisa .M.,and 
OUI- subject. The i)arenls were members of the 
P'ree-will liaplist Church. 

At the age of eightc^'u, our subject became inde- 
penilcnl. cornrni'ncing to work on a farm, lie was 
married, Noxcinlier 12, I8(;(i. to Frances Sweet, a 
daughter of \\'illiam and AnnaC. (Mensch) Sweet, 
both of Xew ^'ork .State. They removerl to ^licli- 
igan in 1818, and located in Marshall, C.-dhoun 
County, and for years he carried the mail from 
Detroit to Marshall, following the Indian trails. 
He lived in Hillsdale County awhile, when he 
came to this county, and lived in Hartford. 
and tinally located in Oobleville, and Ihoiice back 
to Hartford. He died in .Tune, 1887. and his wife 
in JIareh, 188,5. Six f)f tlieii- seven children sur- 
vive: .Mrs. Weston. Mrs. Woodruff. Fnuiklin 15.. 
Celia Redmond, William W. and Willou^hby W. 
They arc members of the Methodist Kpiscopal 
Church. 

The wife of our sultject was born December 7, 
1844, in Xew York, and received a district-school 
education. Our subject came to .Michigan in 
1860, and. in 18()2, enlisted in Company F, Kigh- 
teentli Jlichigan Infantry. They were sent to 
Kentucky, and fought tiie guerrillas through that 
State. The regiment took part in the following 
battles: Perrysville, Athena, Fawn .Springs, two- 
days' fight at Decatur, Ala., and in a number of 
skirmishes. He was honorably discharged in 186.5, 
after serving a full term fif three \ears. 

On his return from the army, Jlr. Woodruff set- 
tled in Hillsdale County, and worked his father's 
farm three years. In 1861t, he removed to Allegan 
CV)unty. and bought a small f:iiin in Allegan 
Townshii), where he li\ed nine years. At the expi- 
ration of that time, he sold and came to this counl.\', 
and settled on a farm in Blooniingdale Tbwii- 
shiji one yeai'. The next year Mr. Woodiuff eanu' 
to his present f:irm in I'inc Crovc Township, 
which w:i.s a raw tr.act of fifty acres. Thirl\ i>f 
this is well cleared, and all the present sul)slanlial 
buildings he has himself erected. 

Mr. anil Jlrs. Woodruff are the parents of four 
chihlren: Lester, born November 12, 186.H: Bes- 
sie, May 15, 1882, now living. They are members 



632 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of tlio Motliorlist Episcopal Cliurcli, and are active 
ill the same, Mr. Woodruff being one of the 
building coramitlee. He is giving his children ex- 
cellent school advantages. The Grand Army of 
the Republic claim him as one of their leading 
members, and he is at present Sergeant-Major. lie 
belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and in politics 
is a stanch Republican. He and his wife are 
friends of the temperance cause. 



^^^^*^^ 
"♦♦•S**^ 






k 



KVI ACKLEY, the owner and occupant of 
a finely improved farm on section 30, 
Columbia Township, is one of the best 
known and most highly esteemed citizens of Van 
Buien County. He traces his ancestry back through 
several generations to Sterling Ackley, a resident 
of Vermont, who was descended from English 
stock. The son of Sterling was Calvin, a native 
of the Green Mountain State, who, at the age of 
sixteen, enlisted in the War of Independence. 
Afterward he removed to Schoharie County, N. 
Y., of which he became a very early settler, and 
about 1819 removed thence to Licking County, 
Ohio, engaging in farming there until his death at 
the age of ninet3'-four. Politically he was a 
stanch Democrat. 

The wife of Calvin Ackley was known in maid- 
enhood as Pliebe Sillick, and was the mother of 
twelve children, eleven of whom attained to ma- 
turity, viz: Levi, Clarissa, Ezra, Whitfield, Wal- 
grave, Leman, .Julia, Eliza, Philetus, Emily and 
Chester. The member of the family in whom we 
are particular interested is Whitfield, who was 
born in Schoharie County, N. Y., May 7, 1805, and 
accompanied his parents to Ohio when fourteen. 
He was a well-informed man, but his education 
was mainly self-acquired. He served as Justice of 
the Peace and in other official capacities in the 
Buckeye State. 

In 1836, Whitfield Ackley removed to Putnam 
County, Ohio, where he entered a tract of eighty 
acres and for many years devoted his attention to 
its improvement. In 1854, he came West to La- 
grange, Ind., wheie he was bereaved by the death 
of his wife, an estimable lady, known in maiden- 



hood as Mary Chambers. She was born in Wash- 
ington County, Pa., and was the daughter of James 
and Jane (AVharrey) Chambers, who emigrated 
from County Down, Ireland, to the United States, 
prior to the AVar of 1812. Their first home was 
in Pennsylvania, and from that State they re- 
moved to Ohio, settling in Licking County. They 
reared a family of six sons and five daughters. 
Mr. Chambers, who participated in the War of 
1812 as a private, followed the trade of a farmer 
and weaver. Religiouslj', he and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian Church. 

Eight children were born to Whitfield and Maiy 
Ackley, namely: Levi, our subject; James H.; 
Alexis and Martha J., who died at the ages respect- 
ively of nineteen and thirty-two years; Deme- 
trius; Edwin R., who died in childhood; William 
W., who passed away when twenty-four; and Ho- 
mera Robbiiis. Whitfield Ackley removed to 
Michigan in 1867, and made his home with his 
children until his second marriage, in May, 1871, 
when he was united with Mrs. Ililliard, of Berrien 
County. He died in that county, in January, 
1890. He was a man of upright character and un- 
flinching integrity, and, in his religious views, 
was identified with the Presbyterian Church. 

Our subject was born July 27, 1828, his birth- 
place one and one-half miles north of Newark, in 
Licking County, Ohio. He received a good edu- 
cation and remained at home until he attained to 
his majority, when he began for himself. He was 
eng.aged in farming during the summer seasons, 
and followed the profession of a teacher for fifteen 
winters. He accompanied his father to Putnam 
County, Ohio, whence, in 1867, he came to A'aii 
Buren County, and resided in Arlington and Ban- 
gor until Janurjr, 1870. He then purchased and 
removed to his present farm, where he has since 
made liis home. As a member of the Republican 
party, he takes considerable interest in local poli- 
tics, and both in Ohio and Michigan has filled va- 
rious official positions. He has served his town- 
ship as Treasurer, Supervisor, and Superintendent 
of schools for six j-ears. 

In October, 1862, Mr. Ackley enlisted in Com- 
pany K, Twenty-first Ohio Infantry, and after serv- 
insJ' for nine mouths was honorably discharged at 



POHTRAIT AND IJIOGRAPIPCAL RECORD. 



633 



the expiration of his term of enlistment. Several 
years prior to liis war service, he was married, 
.V|>ril I, 1851, to Eliza Twcoilalo, who was born 
in County Antrim, Ireland, April 11, 1835. Her 
parents, Robert and Isabellc (Melntyre) Tweedale, 
wcro likewise natives of County Antrim, wliocmi- 
i^rati'd to the United States in 1838, settling in 
.luniata County, Pa., where the father secured 
oiii|>loynient .as a blacksmith. In the spring of 
18 15, he removed to Pandora, Putnam County, 
Ohio, where he died November, 1854, at the age 
of fifty-live. His wife survived until October, 
1871, when she passed aw.ay at IJloomingdale, 
Mich. 

The family to which Mrs. Ackley belongs com- 
))rised six children: William, Alexander, Eliza, 
.Tanc, .John and Robert. .John entered Company 
E. 'rwcnty-liflli Ohio Infantry, and fell in the 
battle of Gettysburg; Robert enlisted in company 
.\, Fii-st Ohio Cavalry, and was taken prisoner 
after the battle of Gettysburg. He died while in 
prison at Jacksonville, Ela., April 25, 1864. Our 
subject and his excellent wife have had six chil- 
dren, namely: Mary I., who died when four 
years old; Wallace, of Mitchell, S. Dak.; Leman,also 
a rcsidoiil of South Dakota; Jane, the wife of 
(ieorge L. .\bbott; Emma and .lolm, who still re- 
main at home. 



r 



E*S==* 



<i^jLIJAH WARNER was born in Orle.ans 
r^ County, N. Y., November 27, 1828, and is 
/I' — -J ) at present residing on a beautiful farm on 
section I, Porter Town.-ihip, \'an Huren County. 
His parents were Leonard .and l-ovina ('riiurston) 
Warner, natives of the pjnpire Stale, where the 
father, who was a farmer and luml)erman, died in 
IH17, his good wife p.ossing away in 188(1. They 
were the parents of nine children, six of wliom are 
living. 

Elizah Warner was reared on his father's farm 
and received a district-school education, lie re- 
mained at home until reaching liis twentieth year, 
am! in 1851 weiil Id (':iilf<>rni:i by way of the 
Isthmus, buying what he supposed to l)e a through 



ticket. It proved to be good only as far as the 
Isthmus of Panama and he was thus detained in 
that pl.ace for two weeks. An English bark com- 
ing in, the five hundred passengers, who had also 
been imposed upon, chartered the vessel and with 
provisions for sixty da^'S started out on the Pacific. 
In about five weeks they found themselves to be 
within one degree of the equator, and m three weeks 
more were obliged to be put on half rations. They 
were becalmed under the equator for two weeks, 
when the crew began to get sick and the rations 
were again cut down. After about two months 
spent in sailing around, they had reached fourteen 
degrees north latitude. Their rations at that 
time were a half-pint of water and a little rice 
which were portioned out every twent3-four 
hours. 

On that perilous voyage to the Golden State, 
fifty of the p.assengers died from thirst and star- 
vation, and, when within five hundred miles of 
land, they had only three days' provisions, at the 
lowest possible rate per day. That night a wind 
sprang up and in three days they were landed in 
IMansinillo, Mexico, and went into port with five 
gallons of water on board. During that period 
our subject lost fifty pounds of (lesh. The party 
was still fifteen hundred miles from California, in 
a .strange country without money or friends. They 
were provided with food by the Mexican authori- 
ties for six weeks, and at the end of that time they 
w^aited upon the American Consul at San Bl.as. 
That gentleman said he could not give them aid, as 
they were gold hunters. They then ai)|Mied to the 
English Consul, who, upon learning that they had 
five hundred tons of stone coal upon their vessel, 
which was verj' valuable at that time, agreed to 
see them safely to their destination. The Consul 
disposed of the coal to the Pacific Steamship Com- 
pany at Acapulco and with the proceeds chartered 
anotlier ves-sel and sent the party on their way re- 
joicing. The vessel was provisioned and tilled 
with leaky water casks. They again started out 
for a voyage of thirtj'-two days and after two 
weeks were put upon short ralif)ns. In four weeks 
one-half of the coiilenls of the water casks harl 
leakc<l out. when a gu:ird was |ilaced over the casks 
and provisions. After sailing for three weeks they 



634 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



were within three days' voj-age of the Sandwich 
Islands, jind after being out sixty-five days passed 
through the Golden Gate and entered San Fran- 
cisco. They anchored beside a clipper ship which 
was ready to start for Australia. The captain 
rolled u|) fifteen barrels of crackers and told the 
starving passengers to help themselves. 

When landing on the shores of California. Mr. 
Warner could not walk more than two rods at a 
time. Accepting the offer of a captain of a boat 
bound for Sacramento to take as many of the pas- 
sengers to that city as wanted to go, our subject 
made one of the company. On arriving there, he 
was taken sick and for two weeks lay in an hotel, 
where he received kind treatment from the land- 
lord. From Sacramento, IMr. Warner went to 
Marysville and then to Park's Bar, where he bor- 
rowed a pick and pan from a miner. He was ob- 
liged to l)eg his dinner after the first day's labor, 
and then went down the river again to Marysville. 
For some time he was unable to find employment, 
but finally was engaged to wheel clay u[) out of a 
bed in a brickyard. His poor health would not 
allow him to continue in that line of work and he 
was then occupied turning over bricks in the3ard. 
He worked thus f<ir three weeks. 

After leaving the lirickyard, j\lr. Warner went 
to Hangtown and upon arriving there had ¥10 in 
his pocket. He was so fortunate as to fall in with 
an old accjuaintance, who owned a ranch, and found 
employment with him for a time. He later met a 
friend who gave him ^30, with which to procure 
some better clothing. He i)aid-i?10 of that amount 
to get his hair cut, for a shave, bath and shampoo, 
and *1.5 for a vest, two shirts, hat and necktie. He 
was emi)loyed nine months .as tail sawyer in a saw- 
mill, working half of the day and night, for which he 
received ^75 and his board. On one occasion, when 
returning from the mill at midnight, he was met 
by an Indian who began to string his bow and 
pick out an arrow. Mr. Warner drew his revolver 
when the red man immediately "made off." 

After spending about a year in the Golden 
State, our subject had regained his former vigor 
and strength and had saved ii!l,(l()n. At that 
time, in company with two other men, he pur- 
chased a sawmill which tliev operated in partner- 



ship about twelve months, then moving it sixty 
miles into the mountain region, continued to 
work together for four years. At the time they 
began in Lhe sawmill business, lumber was selling 
at $300 per thousand feel, and the amount of 
work which they tuined out soon reduced the price 
to $100 per thousand. For the first two years they 
did a business amounting to $100,000. Selling 
out his interest in the mill. Mr. Warner again be- 
gan mining, this time in l>lue Canyon and for four 
years was veiy successful in his undertaking, at 
one time operating twenty claims and his assess- 
ments running as high as $700 per week. 

Mr. Warner had a fine house cat in his camp, when 
all of a sudden it "turned up" missing. A few 
days later, in company with several of his compan- 
ions, he was invited tea Chinese dinner, which re- 
l)ast he enjoyed very much. A short time after, 
he was told by an old Cliinaman that he had helped 
cat his cat himself. He got even with the China- 
man, however, by giving him a very old hawk for 
a chicken. 

On leaving; Blue Canyon our subject went to 
Dutch Flat and engaged in hydraulic mining for 
two years. In the meantime, a brother had joined 
him m the Western country and they made their 
home in a log cabin with a canvas roof. A short 
time after arriving there, the brother was taken se- 
riously ill and Mr. Warner went nine miles over 
rough mountainous roads for a doctor, crossing a 
river three times on a dark night. Two California 
lions had been killed on that road onl3' a short 
time before. The doctor on arriving at their rude 
home ordered the sick man to be removed from 
the shanty, and our subject carried his brother on 
his back to an empty house, half a mile distant. 
The doctor's fee on that occasion was $50. 

The mining operations of Mr. Warner at Dutdi 
Flat were very successful. He was made President 
of a camp which had a capital of $2.50,000 and 
superintended the damming of the middle fork of 
the American River. He completed the work 
within five hundred feet of the flume, the dam 
being twenty feet wide and four feet deep. In 
1862 our subject returned home to New Ycirk after 
an absence of eleven years. During his residence 
in California, he was sent as delegate to the State 



I 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



635 



Democratic Convention in 1856, and was also 
Lieut<>naiit of a volunteer company of California 
State Militia. With his partner, he erected the 
lirst hotel in Dutch Flat, Cal. 

After returning to New York, lie of whom we 
write, toiiether with a lirother, liuilt a canal boat 
n:iinefl the "L. H. Ilcrnck,'" which they operated for 
year on the Erie Canal; then taking their vessel to 
Wasliiiigton, D. C, it was put into the Oovern- 
nieiil service as a trans[)Ort. lie ran it a year and 
during that time sailed on all the prominent rivers 
in Virginia. Gen. Sherman crossed a river with all 
his troops on the deck of this little boat. Selling 
his boat, (uu- subject returned home and was en- 
gaged to press hay for the United States (lovern- 
ment and, while tlius employed, crushed his right 
hand and was not able to work for two years. 

In .Inly, 186f). Mr. Warner and Jliss Frances ^I. 
riiipl)s, of New York State, were united in mar- 
liage. Mrs. Warner was a daughter of Aaron and 
Judith (Pratt) Phipps. of Oneida County, N. Y. 
The Plii|)ps I'nion Seminary, of .Mbion, N. Y., was 
founded by an aunt of Mrs. Warner, in which in- 
stitution, she with a sister, w.as a te.acher. Miss 
Frances was l>orn .\pril 12, 1836, and received .an 
excellent education in the above-named seminary, 
making a specialty of music. 

,\fter their marriage, Mr. .and Mrs. AVanier came 
to Michigan and located on their present farm 
where they have since resided. The estate in- 
cludes (ifty .acres, all well improved. They have 
adopted two children — Hattie, who is now the wife 
of George Hubbard, lives in Paw Paw and has 
three children; Chester is fourteen ye.ars of age 
and is attending school. The}' were both taken into 
the home of our subject when infant-s. Mrs. Warner 
is a member of the IJaplisl Church nnd h;is been Sup- 
erintendent 111 the Siin(l:i\-school: Ml'. ^Varner is 
also a menilMT of lh;it society and has tilled the 
otlice of Treasurer. He h.as lieen a member of the 
Miisonic order for thirty years, being influenced to 
join that scieiety by .seeing the care taken of the 
Ma.sonic |)a.sscngeis when on his trip to California. 
He is Treasurer of his lodge. He is also a inemhcr 
of the chapter at Paw Paw and h.as been Master f>f 
the (irange for the past ten years. His wife was 
Secretary, Flora and Treasurer of the .same tirder. 



Mr. AVarncr has been an active Democrat and has 
been sent as a delegate to everv county convention 
since coming to Michigan. He has lieen Highway 
Coinniissioner for two termsand Siipervisorof Por- 
ter Township for four terms, although the townshi|> 
is strongly Republican. He was candidate for Re|)- 
rescntative to the State Legislature, but w.as de- 
feated by the Republicans. He is interested in the 
Lawton Co-operative Packing F^actory and h.as 
been a Director in that conii)au}' every since its 
organization. 






-£3. 



!^H-^[ 



'W, 



'\flOHN M. WILSON, a well-to-do farmer and 
an old resident, living on his finely ecpiipped 
farm on section 29, Climax Township, will 
^J .always hold an lionor.able jtlace in the 
history of Kalamazoo County as one who has ma- 
terially aided in the development of its rich ogri- 
cultnral resources. Bradford County, Pa., is his 
native place, and .Tuly 21, 1837, the date of his 
birth. His father, .lohn Wilson, was born in Eng- 
land, but he was only a year old when his ])arents 
brought him to this country. They settled in Pcnn- 
sj'lvania, where he grew to manhood, and he be- 
came a manufacturer of furniture, manufacturing 
the wood screw bedstead for a long time, both in 
Pennsylvania and Kentucky. He moved from 
Kentucky to Indiana and located at Huntington 
when he was fifty years old. He w.as deeply relig- 
ious, a preacher in the Methodist Church, and he 
followed a circuit in Pennsylvania for some vears, 
afterwards preaching locally during his residence 
in Kentucky and Indiana. He w.as a Whig in pol- 
itics. ^Ir. Wilson married Isabella Cole, a native 
of Pennsylvania. She, loo, was (|uite active in the 
work of the Methodist Chnrch, of which she wa.s a 
member until her invalidism in later life prevented 
her parlici|)aliiig in the work. She was forty-live 
yeai'S old when she died. She and her husband 
reared five children, named respectively: Elisha, 
Helen,. John M., Leroy and Elizabeth. 

Our subject lived in Pennsylvania until he was 
eight years old, and the next few years of his life 
were passed in Sprlnnville, Ky., where the f;iinil\ 
remained until he waii thirteen years of age. He there 



636 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1 
1 



attended the village scliool.andalso went to school 
in Huntington after the removal of his parents to 
that Indiana town, vvliere he lived until their death. 
His education was completed after he came to this 
county' at Flourlield. lie was only thirteen years 
okl when he began te earn his own living by 
working out by the month in summer, his winters 
being devoted to schooling. November 20, 1854, 
marks an important era in his life, as on tiiat date 
he came to Kalamazoo County, and bought forty 
acres of woodland that is included in his home in 
Climax Township. He thus became a pioneer of 
this section, which was still in a very wild con- 
dition when he came here on that fall day nearly 
forty years ago. There were not a great many set- 
tlers here, and those had made ))ut little headway 
against the forces of nature. There were no roads, 
and but few evidences of the approaching civiliza- 
tion that would soch.nnge the face of the country. 

Our subject was unmarried at that time, and he 
boarded with his brother while he sought diligently' 
to reclaim his land. He has added to his original 
purchase, and has one hundred and twenty-two 
acres of choice land, one hundred acres of which 
are under substantial impiovcment, he having de- 
veloped his farm himcielf, and he devotes it to 
mixed farming, raising grain and stock, and keeping 
many sheep and horses. In 1881, he erected a frame 
house, commodious in size, and he has a large 
frame barn, a part of which was built in 1866, and 
the remainder in 1890, his buildings all being first- 
class. Mr. Wilson is highly thought of in his 
township, and his fellow-citizens have solicited 
him to take public oflice, but he has always refused, 
preferring the couifoit of his cozy fireside to the 
tuiiuoil of civic life. In his i)olitical sentiments, 
he i> a Keiiublicaii. His social relations are with 
the Ancient Order of I'uiled Workmen, at Climax 
Village. Our subject has accumulated his i)roperty 
by sheer force of diligent and well-directed labor, 
seconded by excellent judgmentand wise economy. 
Fifty cents was his sole capital when he started 
out in the world, and he only had the small sum 
of one hundred and fifty dollars left hiin from his 
father's estate. 

Jlr. Wilson was married, Scptomlier 26, 1860, to 
Miss Fanny Wolcott, a good woman and true, who 




has been to him a hel[)mate in every sense of the 
word. Mrs. Wilson was born in the village of 
Hcotts, February 2, 1810, into the pioneer home of 
Hiram and Mary (Campbell) Wolcott, who were 
natives respectively of New York and Ireland. 
They came to Michigan in 1836, and settled on 
land, on a part of which the village of Scotts now 
stands, bu\ing it from the Government. Mr. Wol- 
cott was one of the leading i)ioneersof the county, 
developing several farms, and Ijecoming a man of 
wealth. His death occurred .\pril 2"J, 1871). Mr. 
and Mrs. Wilson have had four children, three of 
whom are living: ]\Iary, wife of Edgar Cheney; 
I^illie, at home with her parents: and Jennie, wife 
of Owen Ilass. 

ILAS \)ii LONG, President of the village of 
the many patriotic citizens 
ivho bravely fought for the 
old flag, is a native of Clinton County, N. 
Y., being born in 1840, and where lie lived until 
1855. In his early youth, he w.as Inouglit to Mich- 
igan b}' his })arents, who settled in Bangor, \ni\ 
Buren County, where he has since made his home. 
He was reared on the farm and accustomed to 
hard labor, receiving a liberal education in the 
common schools of this county. 

Early in the year of 1862, this gentleman en- 
listed in Company G, Nineteenth IMichigan Infan- 
try, and at the battle of S|)ring Hill, Tenii., was 
captured and detained in Libb^' Prison about one 
month, at which time he was paroled and returned 
home. He soon joined Sherman's army in its cam- 
paigns of the South, and in front of Atlanta, Ga., 
was wounded in the leg, which causod him to be 
an inmate of the hospital for a year, and has cri[)- 
pled him for life. 

At the close of the war, he engaged in the mer- 
chandise business, and with the exception of four 
years, from 1868 to 1872, has been continuously in 
business, and is an eminently successful man. lie 
gives attention to every depaitment of his l)usi- 
ness, and is a thorough and sagacious man. 

In the year 1872, he was united in marriage to 
Miss Lissie Landon, an excellent Christian woman. 






PORTRAIT AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



639 



Tlu'v arc l)()tli valued iiu'iiiIkts of tlio Disci|)k's 
Cliinvli. aii<l Ljivi' of tlieii- means most liheiully to 
tlie sii|i|M>it of tlie eliuicli. Sil:i> I )e Loult lia-< a 
Iirotlier, llem y. liviiiir in Uiis eitv. who is a prom- 
ineiit fuiiiitiire dealer, and wiic> also served as a 
soldier in the late war to preserve the Tnion. lie 
enlisted in IHfil. and served until the elose of tlie 
war. 

The parents of our subject arc Allen and L^'dia 
(Uovnton) l)c T.ong. the former horn on (Irand 
Isle in Lake Chamiilain in IHOl, and the latter 
probably a native of New York State. The father 
was a son of Francis De Long, who w:i.s born i)rob- 
ably in North Carolina in IToS, and served in the 
War of the Revolution. He lived to be over one 
hundred and two years old, d^yini;: in this eouiitv 
in liStJd. While a soldier, he was captured and 
taken prisoner to Jamaica Island, where he was 
kept in prison seven years. 



'^ KNRV IRIAH I IMOIIN, M. 1)., was horn 
|i in Richland Township, Kalamazoo County, 
^ July 22.' 1.H4.S. and died after an illness of 
IJ^ two weeks, January 2. 1887. at his home 
on South Street, Kalamazoo. For many years be 
was prominently connected with the icrowtli of the 
city, and was one of its most popular citizens. At 
the organization of the Upjohn Pill and (iranule 
Company he became an equal i)artner in that insti- 
tution, and gave it much of his attention, con- 
tributing to make it one of the most successful 
and lucrative enterprises of the State. 

At Richland Seminary, Dr. Upjohn prepared 
himself for college. In his early life he applied 
himself to mechanics, and having an inventive 
mind, during his leisure moments he devised a 
number of agi'icultural im|)lem(!nts, the most im- 
portant of which was a corn-planter, with which 
much .acreage in Richland was planted. He also 
constructed a feed cutter, which hail an extensive 
nianufaeture, and later secured a patent for a self- 
binder with self-tying-knot attachment; also made 
a self-rake attachment to the Kirby Reaper. Mean- 
while he read medicine with his father. Dr. Uriah 
Upjohn, a successful practitioner in Richland. 
29 



His connection with the Kirby Reaper took our 
subject to lUilTalo, N. V., where he engaged in the 
drug trade. Returning to Michigan, he and his 
sisters and brothers went to Ann Arbor, ni.akiiig 
their home in that city and entering the .State 
Iniversity. I'rior to commencing his collegiate 
course, however, he engaged for a time in the 
hardware business, and wdiile thus employed \iov- 
fected a niiichine for rolling tinware. He had de- 
cided to take ii)) the study fif medicine, and, ac- 
cordingly, entered the medical deiiartinenl of the 
Universit}', from which he graduated in 1M71. 

Immediately after graduating, the young Doe- 
tor opened an ollice for practice at Kalamazoo, and 
for eight years resided on South Burdick Street, 
adjacent to the ^^errill Block. He then erected a 
store building, with a frontage of eighty-six feet, 
including four stores. He also secured a tract 
of celery land in the northern {)art of the village, 
and became a somewhat extensive grower, as well 
as one of the first shippers of the place, his enter- 
prise netting a fair income. Having a powerful 
physiipie and robust health, he felt that he could 
endure an extraordinary amount of hard work, 
and conseipiently dcvt>ted himself with such assid- 
uity to the demands of his practice and his various 
business enterprises, that he was stricken with ty- 
phoid fever, which terminated fatally. 

The Doctor had given much thought to ceonuin- 
ical subjects, and especially' to those matters relat- 
ing to the iienefit of the poor, and w.as revolving 
an idea that would result in their securing cheap 
and suitable homes, .as well as constant work. He 
was a member of the various medical societies, and 
his death was greatly mourned by those organiza- 
tions, as well as the general public. On .all ))oint« 
relating to his profession, he was tluu'oughly read 
anil had the greatest faith in the future of the 
pill and gr.anule business, a faith which has seen 
its fulfillment in the practical issues of the pres- 
ent. 

December 18, 1872, Dr. Upjohn was married to 
.Miss Millie, daughter of W. ^'•. Kirby. of Chaile>- 
ton Township, and a native of Saratoga County. 
N. Y. To the Doctor and his wife were born six 
children, viz: Lawrence N.; Ida Rowena. who 
died when eight years old; William Kirli\. I'. 



640 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Cai'l, Hubert S. and Donald Ileiirv. Lawrence N. 
is a graduate of tlie High Soliool, and he and the 
otlier sons reside witii their niotlier at ^so. G17 
South Park Street. ;\Irs. rpjoiin, who is a lady of 
superior culture and education, graduated from 
Mt. Hoiyoke Seminary in 1871, and after her mar- 
riage commenced the study of medicine, graduating 
in 1875, at the State I'nivcrsity of Michigan, and 
afterward assisted her husban<l in his practice. 
She is a member of the JMethodist Chui-ch and a 
sincere Christian. 

A strictly temperate man. Dr. Upjohn not only 
did not use tobacco, liquor or profane langu.age, 
but he greatly objected to the prescribing of whis- 
key for his patients. During his later years he 
voted with the Prohil)ition party. His portiail is 
presented in connection with this sketch of his life. 



(il i^ILLlAM S. DELANO. In piescnting to 
\r\j// our readers the biograiihical sketches of 
^^ prominent pioneers of Kalamazoo County, 
conspicuous mention belongs to Mr. Delano, who 
is engaged as a farmer on section 28, Cooper 
Township. His father, Stephen B., was born in 
Providence, Mass., September 29, 1795, and in his 
earl}' manhood studied medicine, which he 
practiced during the remainder of his life. Tiie 
family of which he was a member came of French- 
English extraction, and his father, .lonathan, was 
in early life a sea-captain, and later followed the 
calling of a farmer, until his death, about 1825. 

The mother of our subject, Lydia Smith, was 
born in Oneida County, N.H., November 16, 1799, 
and was orphaned when quite young. After the 
death of Dr. Delano, which occurred May 20, 
1827, she was married to Gilbert Benedict, becom- 
ing by that union the mother of three children. 
.She and her first husband were the parents of three 
children, two of whom are living. At the ad- 
vanced age of three-score and three years, .she passed 
away,,Tuly 28, 1862. 

In Wayne County, N. Y., the subject of our 
sketch was born December 17, 1H19. He was the 
eldest in the little f.amily, and was only a small 
child when he was orphaned b}- the death of his 



fathei', after which he went to make his lK)me with 
his uncle, Ichabod Hart, remaining with him until 
he was of age. In the meantime, he attended the 
district school until he was seventeen. and, in 1k;5H, 
accompanied his uncle to Michigan, settling in 
Cooper Township, Kalamazoo County. 

In the fall of 1843, Mr. Delano purchased his 
present farm, of which eight acres had been jiartly 
cleared, and, iqion making it his home, he built a 
log house and commenced to cultivate the soil. 
He was married, May 5, 1841, to Louisa C. Skinner, 
who was born in Providence. Saratoga County, N. 
Y., December 17, 1818, and died .luly 1, 185;i. 
Her parents were Henry and Deborah Skinner, the 
former born in Rutland Count}', Vt., October 27, 
1717. Mrs. Delano was a teacher during the early 
days of this count}', and was identified with the 
Methodist Episcopal Church for many years prior 
to her death. 

* Four of the six children in the family of Mv. 
Delano and his first wife attained to maturity. 
Stephen, who was born September 4, 1842, die<l 
September 1, 1862, at Tuscumbia, Ala., after hav- 
ing served for one year in the Third Michigan 
Cavalry. Joseph E., who was born .luly 5, 1844, is 
married, and makes his home in Barry County, 
Uiram A., who was born July 12, 1847, resides in 
Allegan, where he is a prominent banker. Louisa 
C, born November 3, 1849, is the wife of Peter liell. 
a farmer of Tuscola County. The children re- 
ceived good educations, and were formerly teachers. 

January 18, 1854, Mr. Delano and Miss Hannah 
M. Blanchard were united in marrifige. This lady 
was born in Persia, Cattaraugus County, X. Y.. 
January 12, 1826, and died March 22, 1888. Her 
parents, Herman and Betsey M. (Taylor) Blanch- 
ard, natives, respectively, of New Hampshire and 
New York, came to Michigan about 1842, and set- 
tled in Cooper Townshi)), where they cleared and 
improved a farm. The father died May 3. 1883, and 
the mother p.assed away January 23, 1885. Prior 
to her marriage, Mrs. Delano was a successful 
teacher, and as she was a refined lady and kind- 
hearted friend and neighbor, she occupied a high 
place in the confidence. of all whom she met. 

The following is the record of the children born 
of the second marriage of Mr. Delano: Herman 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



641 



H.. who was horn .hily Kl, 185.'), died Octoher 21, 
1H74; (ieorge E., I)orii August 5, 1857, is engaged 
in tlic grocery husiness in Allegan County; Al- 
heit W., horn Scptoniher 22, 18;j!t, is married and 
resides in Cooper Township; Fred S., wliose hirtii 
occurred Deeemher 20, 1861, also maiics his liome 
in Cooper Township; Lydia M., who was horn 
Novcniher 10, 1HG3, is the wife of Henry Clark, and 
lives in Cooper Township; Laura J., born April 19, 
18(;(;, and Ariyn .1., horn IM.ay 3, 18()8,are at home. 

Stephen 15., of whom previous mention has been 
made, enlisted Novemijer 1, 1861, in Company K,, 
Tliird Michigan Cavalr}', .and served with distin- 
guislied courage and valor at the l)attles of New 
Madrid, Farmington, and the sieges of Island No. 
10 and Corinth, lu'sides other engagements of 
minor importance. His death occurred September 
1, 1862, in a hospital. 

Mr. Delano has served as Township Tre.asurer 
two terms, Supervisor, one term, and is a member 
of the Democratic party. He is a Mason, and for 
many years h.as belonged to Cooper Lodge, No. 149. 
In the Congregational Church, of which lie lias long 
been a member, lie has served as De.acon for a num- 
ber of years. He now owns one liundred and ; 
twentv acres on section 28, .and h.as recently sold 
two farms of over one hundred acres each. Success 
has crowned his efforts, and while he has been 
prospered financially he has also won the confi- 
dence of his fellow-citizens by his unflinching in- 
tegritv. 



►^^ 



:^ 



IL^ f)N. MILAN WIG(HNS, a representative 
*^ and prominent citizen of Van Buren 
County, was born April 29, 18-17, in Inde- 
])endence, Cuyahoga County. Ohio, and 
was a son of Naliurn and Pii<i>bc (l)unliam) Wig- 
gins. His grandfather. Fzr.a_\Viggiiis, was born in 
Vermont, where he was a farmer, and came to 
Ohio aliout 1820. He died in Newburgh, that 
State, at the age of seventy, his wife surviving 
until she was over ninety' yeai's of .age. The 
father of our subject was born near Montpelier, 
\'l., came with his parents to Ohio, and died at In- 
•lependence about 18.") 1, aged forty-two years. He 



left a widow and two children, Milan and Cullin 
H. He was a very active and progressive citizen 
and w.as engaged in farming and merchandising, 
lie w.as an old-line Whig and a member of the Odd 
Fellows. The mother of our subject was born in 
Ohio and was the daughter of .John and Elizalieth 
(Hungerford) Dunham. Her father served in the 
War of 1812 as a musician, and removed from 
New York to Ohio, where he followed the occupa- 
tion of a farmer. He reared a family of seven 
sons and three daughters, all of whom lived to a 
ripe old age, none dying under seventy years. 
-Vfler the death of our subject's father, his mother 
married E. W. Thompson, and of this union two 
children were Iwrn, Lizzie and Asa. 

.Vftcr his father's death. Milan Wiggins resided 
with his uncle, .1. H. Dunham, until eighteen years 
of .age. He received his elementary education in 
the district schools, suiiplemeiiting it by a course 
at Oberlin College. He spent four years teiiching 
in the common schools of Ohio, Iowa and Michi- 
gan, and at twenty began his business life as a 
salesman in a store in Cleveland, Ohio. Two j-ears 
later, he commenced operations on his own account 
and continued in the business for five j'ears, being 
engaged one year in a commission line. In 1876, 
he came to Bloomingdale, A'an Buren County, 
where he purchased one hundred and twenty 
.acres on section 9, and h.as since been cn- 
g.aged in operating a daiiy. He also owns another 
farm of eighty acres. In 1878, he established a 
cheese factory, which he is still carrying on. In 
1880, he formed a partnei-ship with Warren Haven 
in the mercantile business in Bloomingdale, and in 
1888 associated himself with F. AV. Hul>bard, car- 
rying a large stock of dry goods. He also ha-s an 
interest in the gristmill in Bloomingdale. Mr. 
Wiggins has a most estimable wife, whose maiden 
name was ^laric Hubbard, and the}" are the parents 
of four children: Ibittie, Nellie, Luvern and Ar- 
thur 15. Mr. Wiggins is an .active and leading 
Republican and takes a lively interest in political 
affaii-s. He attends both State and National Con- 
ventions and uses his intluence in selecting the l>est 
men on the ticket. He h.as served in various town- 
ship ollices and h.as represented Ins county in the 
State Legislature for two terms. He is a proini- 



642 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



iient momlicr nf tlic Masonic fratpniity. Mr. 
Wiggins has made his own way in the world, and 
is now. witli his wife and family, enjoying a com- 
fortaliie home and the esteem (il'tlieii- many friends 
in the eonim unity. 



KNUV \'. SKINNER. The oldest settler 
Ij now living in Cooper Townshi|>, Kalama- 

\^ zoo County, witii the exeei)tion of one 
other, is this intelligent and progressive 
farmer, who owns and operates one hundred and 
twenty acres on sections 21 and 22. His com- 
modious residence was built in 1868, wliile other 
structui'es for the storage of grain and slielter of 
stock have been added when needed. 

The father of our subject, Joseph Skinner, was 
born in Saratoga County, N. Y., April 28, 1801, 
and always followed the calling of a farmer. In 
October, 18.33, he removed witli his family to 
Michigan, coming via Erie Canal and Lake Erie 
to Detroit, and proceeding thence to Washtenaw 
County, where he settled two miles southwest of 
Ann Arbor. He purchased a tract of land, and 
settled upon it, but in April, 1835, removed to 
Kiilamazoo County, and settled in Cooper Town- 
ship. 

The journey hither was made in a wagon drawn 
by two yoke of oxen, and loaded with houshold 
goods, and those who walked drove the few head 
of cattle. The first night spent in Cooper Town- 
ship, the little party slept on the ground, and 
during the night six inches of snow fell, adding 
to their discomfort. Mr. Skinner took up two 
hundred and forty acres of Government land in 
1834, when not a tree had been cut down in the 
township, and wild game and Indians were numer- 
ous. The following year, two men built shanties 
some distance south of his farm, while a few 
families of Indians lived one-half mile north. 

It was a common occurrence for the Indians to 
have green corn dances, upon which occasions as 
many as five hundred families passed the Skinner 
homestead, which was near one of the trails. The 
patent for Mr. Skinner's land was signed by Pres- 
iden*^ Andrew Jackson, and his firsc house was 



constructed of logs, about 18x20 feet, although a 
more commodious residence was soon erected. 
Veiy soon after he settled on the land, he cleared 
and broke five acres, which he planted in corn, 
l)otatoes and buckwheat. He cleared ten .aci-es 
each succeeding year, until the entire farm was 
brought under cultivation, and upon the im- 
proved homestead he resided until his death, in 
November, 1885. 

A i)rominent man in the community, Mr. Skin- 
ner served as Highway Commissioner and Asses- 
sor, and w.as influential in the organizaticm of the 
Methodist Episeoi)al Church in Cooper Township. 
He was well and favorably known over a wide 
scope of territory, and his death was sincerely 
mourned. His wife, Nancy Veeder, was born in 
Saratoga Count}', N. Y., in 1805, and was of Hol- 
land descent. After her death, which occurred in 
1845, he married Sojjhia Lillie, who still survives. 
Our subject is the onl}' survivor among the six 
children born of the first union, and one child of 
the second marriage is now living. 

In Orleans County, N. Y., where he was born, 
June 26, 1827, Mr. Skinner passed the first six 
years of his life. From there he accompanied his 
parents to Michigan, walking from Detroit to 
Washtenaw County. His educational advantages 
were limited to a brief attendance at the district 
school, the first school in the township being 
taught \>y Mrs. George Hart, who is still living in 
the vicinity. After he was twenty-one, he worked 
at the trade of a carpenter for about three ^-ears 
and also chopped wood, receiving twenty-five cents 
per cord. He took great pleasure in hunting deer 
and turkeys, many of which fell beneath his un- 
erring rifle. After game became scarce in this 
section, he went north each fall for several years 
on a hunting expedition. 

About 1853, Mr. Skinner commenced to farm 
upon his present estate. He was married Decem- 
ber 1, 1852, to Miss Mary M. Delano, who was 
born in Schoolcraft Township, Kalamazoo County, 
April 18, 1835. Her parents, Ephraim B. and 
Nancy (Gillett) Delano, were natives of Saratoga 
•and Orleans Counties, N. Y., respectively, he 
having been born in 1803, and she in 1808. They 
came to Michigan in 1832, rem.aining in Wash- 



K7RTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



-643 



tenaw County two years, and settling in Cooper 
Townsiiip in 183o. Here they tooii up land, and 
iiMiminod until called hence hv death, the mother 
in l.slH. ;iiid llie father in 1872. They were 
oriijinally nuiiiliers of the Methodist Kpiscopal 
Chnrcli. The father died in the faith of the Con- 
gregational Church. They were worthy jjeople, 
highly esteemed throughout the community, and 
devoted to their seven children, whom (hey trained 
for re.sponsihie positions in life. 

Mr. and Mrs. Skinner are the i)aronls uf (hree 
cliildren. namely: .lay J., who was born .lanuary (>. 
18.J5, is now married, and lia^ four children; Hert 
K., wlio was l)orn .June 23, I860, lives in Kalama- 
zoo; the third chiM died in infancy. I'olitically, 
^Ir. Skinner is a Democrat. He has licld many of 
the local ollices of the townshii), has been High- 
way Commissioner for almost twenty yeaj's, and 
has also served as delegate to county conventions. 
lie and his wife are members of the Congrega- 
tional Church, and contribute generously f)f their 
means and intluence in behalf of all measures cal- 
culated to bcnelit the community at large or those 
in need. 



1^^ YLN'KSTKIJ M. IIKSS. .Vmong the Icad- 
^^^^ ing Inisiness firms of Lawrence, \'an Kuren 
\fM Co\inty, stands that of .S. M. A- C. S. Hess, 
dealers in general merchandise, and who 
have built up an excellent trade by their upriglit 
and honest dealings. The senior member of this 
lirni was born in Delaware County, X. V., Septem- 
ber 10. 1H.')I. to William C. and Margaret (Myers) 
Hess, the father a native of New York, of (ierinan 
and Knglish ancestors, and the mother also a native 
of New York, of (ierman and English .ancestry. 
The f;itlier followe<l farming, and moved to Wis- 
consin when (lui- subject was about live j'ears of 
.igu, and pre-empted land where he made his home. 
The father of our subject w:is a soldier in the 
late Rebellion, enlisting in Company C. Eighteenth 
Wisconsin Inl'anlr\-. and participated in the battle 
of IMlL-buru Landing, with a number of other im- 
portant conllict,>. I le w:is tjdven sick .and honorabU 



di-seharged, when lie came liome and died al)out 
six months afterward. After tliis sad event, the 
famil}' were scattered, the motlier going back to 
New York, where she died in a few ^ears; one 
lirother, George E., remained in Wisconsin, and 
the other three, including our subject, came linally 
to Michigan. The only sister, L(niisa C, married 
L. C. Marigold and lives in .Muskegon, IMich. 
Charles S. is married and lives in Lawrence, being 
the partner of our subject. A sketch of the latter 
will be found elsewhere in this volume. 

Our subject and his brother Charles went to 
Indiana to live with an uncle, on the death of 
their father, and remained a year or more. "When 
our subject was twelve and a half years old, he 
came to Michigan and located at Three Oaks, Ik-r- 
rien County, where Ilc worked ffir his board and 
went to school, lie began clerking in a general 
store when fifteen and continued in this otrcu|)ation 
two j^ears. He worked si.\ months for |8 and 
board. AYlien seventeen years old, he began to 
work in the freight ollice of the ^lichigan Central 
Railroad at Three Oaks, and was there about one 
year, when he was ))romoted and sent to Decatur, 
and did ollice w(n-k there, obtaining some knowl- 
edge of book-keeping. He was at this place four 
years, .and then changed his occupation, wttrking at 
a grain elevator for two years. On reaching his 
twenty-fifth year, l\Ir. Ile.ss began the manufacture 
of .staves and heading at Hartford, Mich., in con- 
nection with Alljert W. Rogers, which business he 
carried on four j'eai-s. At the end of this time, 
Mr. Hess came to Lawrence with his partner, but, 
at the end of four years, they dis,sol ved the partner- 
ship, and our subject began in his present business 
in 188.T. in partnerslii|i with a Mr. Whiteman for 
cnie year. lie then bought his partner's inteiest 
and carried on the business until Fibruary 1, IK.S8. 
when he took his brother, CiiarU^s S. Hess, as jiart- 
ner. antl they are doing a splendid, lucrative bnsi- 
nes-s and are held in the highest respect for their 
straightforward business lives. 

Tiie original of this sketch w,as married when 
twenty-seven years of age in Lawrence, this county, 
on the 2«th of August, 187H. The lady of hi- 
choice was Miss .Jennie !•". IJibloji. of i.Mwieiu e. 
She was born in I'aw I'.iw. .Midi.. November 



644 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



30, 1856, to .Tolin 51. and Sarah M. (Phelps) 
Rlblon. By this union our subject and his wife 
have become the parents of five children: Margie 
R.. born IMarch 26, 1880; Blanch L., Octolx-r 
13, 1881; E. Lueile, May 18, 188.5; J. WillLani, 
August 9, 1889; and Hugh C, November 28, 1890. 
All tliese children were born in Lawrence, except 
the eldest, she having liad her birth in Hartford. 
Those who are old enough are attending school 
and gaining good educations. 

The subject of this sketch is a Democi-at in i)ol- 
itics, and has been on the Board of Trustees for 
the villiige; served as Township Treasurer; has 
always been much interested in good schools, and 
has acted as one of the School Board. He was ap- 
pointed Postmaster of Lawrence during Cleve- 
land's administration and served one and one-half 
years. He has Ijeeu ajjpointed delegate to various 
county conventions. ]\Ir. Hess is one of the lead- 
ing members of the Masonic Lodge at Lawrence, 
having now taken his ninth degree. He joined 
this order at Decatur. 

^<..?=, "a ■ ■=^np:=i ■- ■ g c!S»_ 

^ UTHER .SUTTON, who is at present resid- 
I (©) ing in Hartford, was born in Onondaga 
jlLJC County, N. Y., in 1825. In 1834, his pa- 
rents removed to Washtenaw Countv. this State, 
and located just east of where the State Ihiiversity 
now stands. They remained there two ye.ars and 
then removed to Lawrence Towushii), Van Buren 
County, and made their home on a farm in the 
wilderness, when there were but five log cabins 
in the township. 

Lutlier Sutton grew to inauliood in the above- 
named countv, and was married. January 3, 1849, 
to Miss Priscilla .1. Bancroft, and unto them have 
been born three children: Warner P., born in 
October, 1849; Ada E., born in April, 1853; and 
Eva M., l)orn 1863. Ada is the widow of William 
J. Philpot, and Eva is Mrs. Alexander Beeney. 
On the outlireak of the Civil War, our subject en- 
listed in what was known as Birges First Regiment 
Western Sharpshooters, which afterward became 
the Fourteenth Missouri, and later the Sixty- 
sixth Illinois. Mr. Sutton served until May, 1862, 



at which time he was discharged on account of 
disability, caused from a wound received at Stur- 
geon, Mo. 

On returning from the army, Mr. Sutton en- 
gaged in farming and carpenter work until 1877, 
when he edited the Hartford Day Spring. He 
conducted that paper for five years with signal 
success and was identified with that journal 
more or less until 1882. The parents of our sub- 
ject were Orrin and Betsey (Branch) Sutton, the 
father born in 1800, in Onondaga County, N.Y., 
and the mother's birth occurring in Vermont, in 
August of the same year. Thej^ became the pa- 
rents of five children: Rox}' A., who was the wife 
of .lohn L. Northrup, of Bangor; our subject, who 
was the second in order of birth; Nancy, Mrs. 
Benjamin Randall, who is residing in Northwest 
Nebraska; .luliet married Nathan De Long, now 
deceased; and Ann E. married Maynard Randall, 
now deceased. 

The paternal grandparents of our subject were 
Roswell and Nancy (Atwell) Sutton, natives of 
the Green Mountain State, the grandfather being 
of Welsh ancestry. In politics, he of whom we 
write is a Republican and a member of the. Grand 
Army Post at Hartford. Socially, he is an Odd 
Fellow. His son, Warner Sutton, was appointed 
Consul to Northern IMexico in 1878, a position he 
has since held with distinction. He received his 
appointment under President Hayes and fulfilled 
all the duties of that responsible office with credit 
to himself and entire satisfaction to all concerned. 
He was married in .South Haven, in 1874, to Miss 
Mary L. Aiidrus. 



_=] 



©"^ 



"SI 



^+^ 



_§ 



^3 



t_,^^ON. SIMPSON HOWLAND. This respec- 
ted gentleman, who is one of tlia prom- 
inent and in lluential citizens of RossTowu- 
sliip, Kalamazoo County, is widely and 
favorably known throughout this section as a man 
of progressivenessand public spirit. Mr. Ilowland 
is a native of Stillwater, Saratoga Countv, N. Y., 
his natal day being May 18, 1822. He is the 
son of Edward K. and Mai^aiol (Siiii[)suu) How- 
land, also natives of the Empire State. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



645 



Tlie paternal ancestoi-s of our subject are said to 
have l)cen Knirlisli, as the llowland family traces 
its ancestry liack to throe hrothei-s wlio eini- 
<;ratc() from Knglaiul and located in New Bedford 
Ivefore tiie I\evolutionary War. Ills maternal 
ancestors are also said to have licen Knirlish. The 
orijiinal of liiis sketch was a lad of thirteen years 
when his parents came to Kalania/.oo County and 
located on the tract of land whicli is his present 
home anil which is now known as llowlandsburg. 
Edward K. llowland was one of the earliest pio- 
neers of Uoss Townsiiip. haviiii,^ come hither with 
his family in l»;J(i. lie iiere made his home until 
his death, Septemlier 12. lt<.Sl. 

The parental family of our subject included six 
children, only three of whom are livinjj: Simpson, 
oursultject; Mary, the wife of II. 1). Palmer, and 
Mariiari'l. Mrs. L. H. Martin. Mr. llowland was 
reared amid the pioneer scenes of this locality, 
who.se hardships and privations have made a last- 
inj; imiiression on his mind, lie received his ed- 
ucation in tile common scln)ols of that period, but, 
makinj; the best of iiis opiMirlunities, became a 
well-read and intelliucnt iicntlcman. 

The lion. .Simpson llowland was married, .March 
'.t, 1848, to Miss Sarah IJerger, a native of New 
York State, and to them have been granted a fam- 
ily of three children, one of whom is deceased. 
They bear the respective names of Uewitt, deceased; 
Alice v.. Mrs. .lames Spier; and Alliert (). The 
father of our subject erected the pioneer gristmill 
in this section, which is now the property of the 
original of this sketch, lie also built and operated 
a sawmill for a number of years, and was very 
prominent in business circles. 

The original of this sketch has occu|»icd the 
ollice of Justice of the Peace and for years served 
as .Supervisor and Treasurer (jf Ross Township, 
Kalamazoo County, lie wasalso Townshi|i Asses- 
sor and very active in all local affairs. Mr llow- 
land was elected to the State Legislature in 187.5 
and re-clcclcd in 1877, serving with due credit to 
himself and satisfaction to his constituents. While 
a niendier of that body, he olliciate<1 as Chairman 
on the Important comndttcesof Fisheries and Muni- 
cipal Corporations. 

'I'he lion. .Simpsiin llnwlancl is the proprietor of 



a large farm in this section and lia-s l)een more than 
ordinarily successful in all his undertakings. lie 
is virtually a self-made man, as his vast i)0.s.sessions 
are the result of his industry and good manage- 
ment. In early life a Whig, our subject now casts 
his vote and influence in favor of Republican 
candidates. Although not a member of any par- 
ticular denomination, Mr. llowland is a liberal and 
cheerful eontrilmtor to all the various religious 
organizations and is in favor of all movements 
which have for their object the u|)liftiiig and up- 
building of his community. 

Mrs. llowland is a daughter of Henry and 
Hannah (King) liergcr, prominent pioneers of 
Calhoun County, where they bear the reputation 
of honest \i|)right people. 



N#^||-^H^|i^ii#i- 



J 




N.SON I). P. \AN lUKKN. Thisgentle- 
(©/(Jll man, who resides i n ( Jalesburgh, is the pres- 
li^ ent Clerk of Comstock Township, Kala- 
mazoo County, and in addition to the du- 
ties of this offlce he carries on a si)lendid insurance 
business. Mr. Van Buren \v.<is born in Kindoihook 
Township, Columbia County, N. V.. the date 
thereof being April 21, 1822. His father wa.s a 
native of the same place as was our subject, and 
was a cousin of ex-President JIartin Van Buren. 
The elder Mr. A'an Buren was a farmer b}' occu- 
pation and in 1826 removed from his native place 
to Oneida County, N. Y., where he made his home 
until 1836, the date of his coining to Michigan. 
He located near Battle Creek, in the then Terri- 
tory, where he entered a tract of land from the 
Government, lie was an active member of the 
Presbyterian Church, and a strong temperance 
man. lie [i.-issed from this life in 186(). The 
maiden name of our subject's mother was Olive 
.lay, a de.sccnd.ant of Gov. John Jay. of New York. 
Jlrs. Van Buren was born in Little Falls. X. Y.. 
where she grew to womanhood. She met and was 
married to the father of our subject in Columbi.-i 
County and became the mother of nine children, 
four sons and live daughters, all of whom are mar- 
ried and have homes of their own. >Iary married 
L. 1). .Spence and resides in California; Sarah be- 



646 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPfflCAL RECORD. 



came Mrs. E. Dickinson and died in Chillicothe, 
Mo.; Atlanta married George W. Spencer, and 
died at Three Rivers, this State; Eliza, who is de- 
ceased, married Benjamin 51. King, who was a 
very early settler and pioniinent man in this State. 
Martin came to Michigan in 18.36, and is at pres- 
ent residing in Cass County; Harriet married Isaac 
Smith, of Kalamazoo County, and makes lier home 
in Cliarleston Township; Ephraim also came to 
this State in 1836, and for a number of years re- 
sided in Battle Creek; he now makes his home in 
Allegan County, where he has a fine fruit farm. 
Abner J. made this State his home in 1840, but 
is now residing in Charleston Township. Kalama- 
zoo County. 

The original of this sketch is the youngest of 
the parental family and came to the Wolverine 
State with his parents as early as 1836. He re- 
ceived his first scliooling in Whitestowai, N. Y. 
He became a teacher in 1838, having charge of a 
school in Battle Creek Township, Calhoun County, 
this State. He occupied that position until 1843, 
and then attended for four years a branch of 
the Michigan University at Kalamazoo. He later 
took a course of study in the Michigan University 
at Ann Arbor, from which he finished his studies 
in 1849. He was then given charge of the Battle 
Creek High School, where he taught one 3'ear, and 
tlien took charge of the Union school, at the same 
place, for one year. He organized the first school 
in Dowagiac, this State, and went South to Miss- 
issippi, in 1857, wliere he was engaged as a peda- 
gogue in an academy established by the wealthy- 
planters of that section. 

In 1859, Mr. Van Buren returned to Michigan 
and wrote a book entitled "Jottings of the South," 
which had a good sale. Our subject taught 
his last school in the academy at Climax, this 
countv. 

Tlie f)riginal of this sketch was married, in 1856, 
to Mary L. Gilson, of Reading, Pa. The young 
couple tlien located in Galesburgh, where Mr. Van 
Buren engaged in the insurance business, repre- 
senting several fire insurance companies. He lias 
held the position of Township Clerk for the last 
lifteeu years. He has been a correspoudi'iil u( llie 
Detroit Fust, now the Detroit TriOune, since its in- 



corporation. He also holds a like position on the 
Battle Creek Journal and man}' other papers. Mr. 
Van Buren is a member of the committee of the 
jNIichigan Pioneer Historical Society of this State, 
with which body he has been connected for six- 
teen years. He is also a member of the Ameri- 
can Academy of Political and Social Science, of 
Philadelphia, Pa., and is a correspondent of the 
same. 

Mr. Van Buren is one of the committee of the 
Kalamazoo County- Pioneers' Society, in wliich or- 
ganization he is a historian. He is a strong tem- 
perance man and has been an active worker in 
promoting the cause of prohibition in this section. 
He is a member of the Congregational Church, and 
is widely known and highh' esteemed in the 
county. 



PARWIN McKEE, who follows farming on 
) section 24, Decatur Township, is one of the 
worthy citizens which New York has fur- 
nished to A^an Buren County. He comes of an old 
New England family. His father, Chancey Mc- 
Kee, was born in Old Hartford, Conn.. February 3, 
1794, and, when a lad of thirteen years, removed 
with his parents to .Jefferson County, N. Y. In 
1810, he married a daughter of Judge Edmonds 
of that county, and six years later removed with 
his wife and two children to Niagara Country, 
N. Y., where he purchased a farm, operating it un- 
til 1844. He then bought land north of John- 
son's Creek, in Niagara County, and there resided 
until his death on the 26th of August, 1875. His 
first wife having died, he married Lucy Loomis, a 
native of Rutland, Vt. Three children, all yet 
living, were born of the first union: Milo, a shoe 
manufacturer, of Middleport, N. Y.; Clarissa, wid- 
ow of David Hulbert, and a resident of the Em 
pire State, and Lewis, who served throughout the 
late war as one of the boys in blue. Seven sons 
were born of the second union, but only tlirec 
iirew to mai)li(i<id: Ivlwin. a farmer <if Ilartlnnd, 
N. Y.; Darwin, of t,lii> nulice, and Delos, an .'igri- 
culturist of North Dakota, lu early life, the 



l\)RTliAlT A NO BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



649 



father was a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, Iml iii later yx'U'S joined the Weslexaii 
Methodist. He lived a devoted Christian life, and 
at iiis deatii many friends mourned his loss. His 
second wife, who was also a ineinl>er of llie church, 
died ill Royaltown, N. Y., in 1845. 

Darwin McKee was twrn in Royaltown, August 
8. 1828, and there acquired his education. At the 
age of seventeen, he went with his father to Hart- 
land, Niagara County, and there made his home 
until twenty-six years of age, when, in 1855, he 
came to Michigan, hoping to better his financial 
condition by removing westward. He was ac- 
connjanied by his wife, having been married some 
years previous. The lad^y of liis choice was Adelia 
Andrus, who wa-s born in New York, June 29, 
18;i t, and is a daughter of Abel .\ndrus, of Ver- 
mont, who removed to the Empire State in an 
early d.ay. On coming to Michigan, Mr. IMcKee 
pureha-sed a tract of land heavily timbered, and it 
was no easy task to clear it, but with character- 
istic energy he began the work, and in the course 
of time wliere once stood the monarchs of tlie 
forest heaving fields of grain met the eye. A 
cabin home sheltered tlie family until about six 
}'ears ago, when a comfortable frame residence 
was erected. Other substantial improvements 
have been made, which add to the value and at- 
tractive appearance of the place. 

The family cii-cle of Mr. and Mrs. McKee num- 
bered six children, of whom live are yet living: 
Benjamin Franklin, born .January 5, 1856, is now 
faming near Lakeside, Mich.; Leonard Cole, born 
in Royaltown, N. Y., October .31, 1858, aids in the 
operation of the home farm; Darwin, born in 
Harlland, N. Y., March 8, 1860, resides in Decatur 
Township with his wife and two children; Ella 
Dell, born February 1 1. lHi;2, died Jlay l.J, 1865; 
llattie, born .lanuary 20, 1H66, in Decatur Town- 
ship, is now the wife of .Vllison Ives, a resident 
farmer of that townshiii; and Sarah Eleanor, bom 
.lune 25, 1K74, is still under the parental roof. 

Mr. McKee is an independent Repiibllean in 
politic:-, has served two yc:iis on the School Board, 
and the cause of education finds in him a stanch 
friend. It has been his eainesl doirc to give to 
Ilia diildrcu good educuliuU6, Ihua lilting Ihcui for 



the practical duties of life, and he ha.s lived to see 
them become useful men and women, and re- 
spected members of society. His farm comprises 
eighty acres, and, in connection with general 
farming, he engages in fruit-growing, which adds 
not a little to his income. The principal products 
which he raises are wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, 
grapes and peaches. 



' I > 



f I I \ I III 



yA. ENGLE, M. D. Probably there is no 
more respected citizen of Van Biiren 
County than the gentleman whose por- 
trait and life-sketch we present to our readers, and 
who is practicing his profession in Hartford. \U' 
wa.s born in 1827, in .Vllegan^- County, N. Y.. and 
was the third in order of birth in a famil\' of eight 
children, all of whom lived to re.acli mature years 
and become heads of families. 

The parents of our subject were .lolin and Sarah 
(Alvord) Engle. The father wiis born in German- 
town, Pa., about 1795 and was a son of J. ^V. 
Engle, who served in the Revolutionary War. lie 
w.-us a very prominent gentleman and w.as elecleil 
many times to rei)resent his district in the State 
Legislature. The P^iigle family came originally 
fromtiermany and the great-grandfather of our 
subject [)articiiialcil in the noted Gcrmantown 
kaltle. 

He of whom we write grew to mature years in 
Allegany County, N. Y., and was graduated from 
the I'liiversity of Alfred of that county. He came 
to Michigan in 1S55, and began the study of med- 
icine in the Michigan I'niversity at Ann Arbor, 
from which institution he was graduated with the 
degree f)f Doctor of Medicine in 1856. l^ater he 
located in Hartford anil Itegan the practice of his 
profession. He is the oldest [n-acticing physician 
in the village and his pleasant and genial manners 
never fail to make warm friends for him wherever 
he goes. He engaged in the drug business about 
1875 and now has one of the best stores in Hart- 
fi>rd. 

Dr. Engle was married in 186:1 to Mrs. Emily D. 
Woolsey. daughter of D:iiiiel \'an .Viikcn, of Bangor. 
Mr6. Engle had uuu aou by her furuicr iiiarriu^c, 



650 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Fred F., who is employed iu the store of our subject. 
Of her union with Dr. Engie liave been born two 
children: Mar^-, who is the wife of J. L. Ingalls, 
and Manlius A., at Big Rapids. Our subject is 
connected with the ^Methodist Episcopal Cliurch 
and is a member of tlie Michigan Stale Medical 
Society in which organization he is ver^' promi- 
nent, being one of its oldest adherents. Dr. Englc 
is very talented as a poet and in 1883 liad a Ijook 
of i)ocms [uiblished which has received many com- 
mendations. He has at present a work of poems 
ready for publication. lie was Postmaster of Hart- 
ford for ten years, Ijeing appointed to tiiat position 
by President Lincoln. Dr. Engle stands very high 
in professional circles and ranks among the skill- 
ful and progressive physicians of Van Burcn 
County. 



€^ 



eHARLES C. REYNOLDS. This rei)rcsen- 
tative farmer and stock-raiser of Alamo 
Township, Kalamazoo County, owns one 
liundred and two acres of land on sections 34 and 
.3.5. His estate is emlii'llished with a large and 
handsome residence, and all the farm buildings 
which best subserve the interests of an agricultur- 
ist. In addition to raising the cereals, Mr. Rey- 
nolds devotes a great deal of time and attention 
to the breeding of Short-horn cattle and Merino 
sheep, raising the latter for breeding purposes. 

Charles C. Reynolds is a native of the above- 
named township and county, his birth occurring 
Xovemljer 3, 1841). His father was George W. 
Re3'nolds, a native of Niagara County, X. Y., who 
came to Michigan as early as 1837. Locating in 
Alamo Township, he entered land from the Gov- 
ernment, and was among the very earliest settlers 
of the count}-. Mr. Re3'nolds was very fond of 
hunting, and found many an opportunit}- to dis- 
pla}^ his talent as a good marksman. George 
W. Reynolds cleared and improved his land, and 
died April 12. 1888, in the seventy-first year of 
his .Tge. 

The maiden name of our sulijecl's mother was 
Ehira Ford, and her native State, Ohio. She is 
still living, and has liecome the mother of seven 



children, five of whom are still living. Our sul)- 
ject was given a common-school education, and 
resided under the parental roof, assisting his father 
in improving the new farm, until twenty-seven 
3'ears of age. He purchased his present home 
about 1874, and was married two vears later to Hat- 
tie Brocka way. a native of this State. ]Mrs. Ilattie 
Reynolds died (October 7, 1883, and left one daugh- 
ter, Bessie. Mr. Reynolds was again married in 
1888, this time to Christina Rutherford, a native of 
Canada. She came to Miciiigan when quite young, 
and was the daughter of James and Christina 
(Brockie) Rutherff)rd, natives of Scc)tland, where 
they were married. Mrs. Rutherford died in 1871. 
after having become the mother of eight childieii, 
all of whom arc living, with one excei)tion. The 
father is a fanner in Oshtemo Townshii). Kalama- 
zoo Count}-. 

JNIr. and Mrs. Reynolds have two children: Fan- 
nie (). and Charles Raymond. In politics, our sub- 
ject is a Republican, and has lield many of the lo- 
cal ollices of his townslii[). He is well known and 
highly esteemed throughout the community, and 
is making a success of his calling, as farmer and 
stock-raisei'. 



♦^H-^* 



/ 



^~ 



0^'EL R. IIOYT. The village of Schonl- 
^ craft is the home of a number of gentlemen 
^, who ai 



are prominently connected with the 
agricultural interests of Kal.amazoo County, and 
are the owners of large and highly improved 
farms. The estate which Mr. Hoyt owns and man- 
ages is pleasantly situated on section 3, Prairie 
Ronde Township, and the two hundred and forty 
.acres which it comprises are finely cultivated and 
embellished with good farm buildings. Although 
he supervises its management, his home is in 
Schoolcraft, where he occupies a neat and tastily 
furnished residence. 

The family of which our subject is a member is 
one of the best known and most highly resi)ected 
ill the county, and its meinl]eis have aided greatly 
in the develoiiment of the agriculliiral resources of 
Prairie Ronde Townshi}). Lovcl R. is one of a 



PORTliiUT A>D BIOGRArillCAL IMXUllD. 



651 



family iiumlierinij Uiii-t<>iMi rliildrcn. whose father, 
K;iii>f(ii'(l ('., now passed from (he seenes of earth, 
wiis for iiiaiiy years identified with this township. 
For further information in regai'd io the parental 
iiistiiry. the reader is referred to liic liiograiiiiy of 
\i. ('. Iluyt, wliich is presented elsewhere in this 
volume. 

In I'rniric Honde Townsliip, where lie was horn 
Marcli IM, 1843, Lovel R. lloyt passed the yeai-s of 
his hoyiiood and youth in a soniewliat uneventful 
manner, iiis seliool studies l)eing varied hy tiie us- 
ual ciiildish sports as well as the work ineident to 
farm life. IIavin<i: passed his entiri' life on a farm, 
he is jierfeetly familiar with .agriculture in it.s va- 
rious departments, and is a successful and practical 
farmer. He and his wife, who was formerly Mi.ss 
Kva H. Keen, of Porter Township, \an lUiren 
County, arc the parents of two hright and talented 
children, Lena and Tra, who are at homo with their 
parents. 



=^=m>^<m^ 



^p^EOKOK II. WKI.DIN is .successfully cul- 
'II ,^-, tivating a (lortion of the soil on section .3, 
^^^ij) Porter Township. \'an Buren County. His 
father, Lewis II. Weldin. was born in 17',IM, in 
Tom()kins County, N. Y.. and was a soldier in the 
War of 1812. The maiden name of his mother 
wa-s Betsey Merritt, a native of Pennsylvania. 
The elder ^Sfr. 'Weldin went to the Keystone State 
when a young man and tiiere met and married the 
mother of our subject. They remained there but 
a short time, however, and in 1831 came to Michi- 
gan and rented the Kidsey farm in Washtenaw 
County which he operaterl three years. 

In the spring of 1837. tiie parents of our subject 
came to \'au r.iircn County and settled on a farm 
on section 21. Toiter Townshii). which the father 
entered from the (iovernment. His estate, which 
consisted of one liundred and seventy ;icres, was 
all wild land and located between Lake Cedar and 
Orass Lake. His nearest neighbors on the east and 
west at th.'it time were about tliree miles distant. 
He cleared an<l enltivaled hi> farm and continued 
(o make it his abi<ling-place for thirteen years. 
erecliiig theivou ii fruiiie house wiiicli who llii; lirst 



nice residence in Pcu'ter Town.ship. lie also built 
the lirst frame l)arn in that locality and otherwise 
greatly improved his farm. 

Mr. Weldin, Sr., in 18.50 removed to section M 
of the above-named township and again com- 
menced the work of improving a raw farm. The 
frame house which he erected on the jjlace was 
burned, but he soon replaced it and at the time of 
his death had become the owner of a splendid tract 
of land. His good wife died in 18.50, which broke 
into the plans which he had made of moving to 
Iowa. He survived his companion a number of 
years and died in 1865, having become the parent 
of eight children, live of whom are living. The 
father of Mrs. Weldin was a minister in tiie Free- 
will Baptist Clnucli. 

George II. Weldin was the sixth cliiiil in tlie 
parental family and was born in AVashtenaw 
County, tiiis State, November 20, 1831); he was an 
infant at the time of his parents' removal to ^'an 
Buren County He attended the first sehoolhouse 
in the township, which was built of logs, until 
reaching his fifteenth year. He was very ambitious 
to become a well-educated man, however, and, 
making his home with an uncle in Wisconsin, he 
sawed wood to pay for his tuition. He later made 
quite a trip in com|iany with his father through 
the Western Stales and then returned home. 

Purchasing a trad of raw land in Pine Grove 
Township, ^'an Huren County, our sul)jcct cleared 
twenty acres of it and then sold his estate. He 
was married. .lannary 20. 18()2. t<i Miss Margery 
Turner, a native of Fngland, her birth occurring 
in February, 1837. .Mr. and Mi-s. AYeldin are the 
parents of four children, viz: Lewis 11., who mar- 
ried AiHiic Peterson, lives at Lawton; Cora, who 
married Henry Mauk, has two children !ind makes 
her home in I'orter Township; Nora .1., Mrs. .1. 
Dai-sey, lives in .Michigan City: Merritt resides at 
home. 

Mr. AVeldin rented and operated his father's farm 
a twelveniuiitli. ilien removed to section 10, where 
he remained for several years and then locateil 
permanently on his present farm. His possessions 
include two hundred ami .seventy-three acres of 
cxielleht land. I\vent\-live of which are inside the 
I corporate limits of Liiwtou. Forty acres of Lia 



652 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



property are rlevotetl to a vineyard, and although 
he does a general farming business, he gives a great 
deal of attention to fruit culture. 

.Mrs. Margery Weldin died in 1884 and July 3, 
18;i0, our subject was married to Marilla Smith, a 
native of Lake Count}-, Oliio, and the daughter of 
G. C. and Elizabeth (Billington) Ray. Iler par- 
ents had a large family' of tliirteen. Tliey are both 
now deceased. Mrs. Weldin was born August 16, 
183;(,and with her liusband is a member of tlie 
Methodist Episcopal Church at Lawton, in which 
tx)dy Mr. Weldin is Steward and Trustee. They 
are lioth .active in Sunday-school work and our 
subject has been Superintendent of the same. 

Socially, he of wliom we write was a memlier of 
the Grange, in wliich order he was Lecturer for 
seven years, and was Steward of the County 
Grange. He also belongs to the Farmer's Club 
and was its (irst Vice-president. He has been 
School Director and Treasurer and was Collector of 
rate Bills. In politics, he was in early life a Re- 
publican and cast his first vote for Abraliain Lin- 
coin; he now votes the Proliibition ticket and is 
Secretary of the County Committee of that body. 






.^^\ YRl'S THAYER, who represents Cooper 
(|[ „ Townsliip on the Hoard of Supervisors of 
^»^' Kalamazoo County, is a prominent and 
progressive farmer and stock-raiser. His fine farm, 
which is valued at a))out ^26,(100, comprises two 
hundred and fifty acres on sections 15 and 16, be- 
sides eiglit}' acres on section 20. Wiiile he raises 
the various cereals, he makes a specialty- of wlieat, 
of whicii his average crop is three thousand 
liusliels. In 18.S'.I, he phmted ninety-six acres in 
wiicat, and harvested three thousand Imshels, or 
over thirty busliels U) the acre. 

Nahum P. 'I'hayer, f'atlier of our subject, was 
born in Canada in 1801, and followed the trade of 
a carpenter. In 1827, he emigrated to Michigan, 
settling in what is now Springwells Townsliii), 
Wayne County, where he continued work at his 
trade, and also cleared a farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres. On account of service as Cobmel in 
the Black Hawk War, he was faniiliaih' known as 



Col. Tliaver. He was .Justice of the Peace, and 
was closel}' identified with the progress of the 
community until his death, in 1851. 

The maternal grandfather of our subject was a 
native of Canada, and lived to the great age of 
nearly one hundred years. Lavina (Swick) Thayer, 
our subject's motliei', was liorii in Canada in 
1808, and passed from earth about 1881. Her 
family comprised ten children, six of whom are 
living. Cyrus, who w.as the fifth in order of 
birth, was born in Wayne County, iSIich., .Tuly 4, 
1832. After receiving a limited education in the 
l)ioneer log school house of the district, he started 
out for himself in the fall of 1850, and worked <in 
the Flint & Saginaw i)lank road, at a time when 
there was only one house and barn in East Sagi- 
naw. 

March 1, 1852, ^Ir. Thayer came to Kalamazoo 
and aided in building the plank road l)etweeii 
Kalamazoo and (irand Rapids. .Tune 1, of the 
following year, he took passage on the .ship "'In- 
de|)endence" from New York, and while en route 
to California was wrecked on the island of ^Mar- 
garetta, in the Pacific Ocean. When the ship was 
about four miles from the island, it struck a 
rock and sprang a leak; an effort was made to 
reach the island, but within one-half mile of the 
port the vessel caught on tire and the passengers 
were obliged to jump overboard, about three hun- 
dred lieiug drowned. 

Leaving his money and clothes on bf)ard slii|). 
Mr. Thayer plunged into the water and a short 
time after was rescued by a whaling-vessel. Among 
the rescued passengers were about twelve ladies. 
For four da^s and nights they remained on the 
island without food or drink, and their sufferings 
cannot be described. During tlie first day a child 
was born, .and was named Margaretta. When San 
Fr.ancisco was reached, a purse of 1100,000 «as 
l)iesciited to the mother and child, the liusban<l 
and father having perished witli the slii[). 

For four months, Mr. Thayer remained in llic 
mines of California, on the north folk of the 
American River, after which he was employed in 
making shingles until he returned East, at the ex- 
piration of one year. The ship which he boarded 
at San Francisco took lire, Init the flames were ex- 



rORTRAIT AND BIOO RAnilCAL RFX'ORD. 



053 



tinu^nislipd hpfore sonons diimage was rloiio. After 
liis i-('tiiiii lu Kahiiiiazoo C'oimtv, lio st'ttli'(l in 
C'oupi-r's 'rownsliip, wtiero li<^ lias since ivniaiiicd. 
AImiuI 1H7:5, lio pun'luuscd his prcstMil farm, wliifli 
III' has groatly iin|irovpd. 

'I'ho niarriatfo of Mr. Thayer to Jliss Adeline 
.M. Smitli look place July 2.'). lH.")-2. Mrs. 'riiayer 
was horn in Cooper. Deeenihcr '.», 1h;U;. and is tlu' 
daii^liler of Ira and .\nn 1). (Stearnes) Smith, n.a- 
tives respectively of Ohio and New York. They 
hecame early settlers of Cooper Township. \\ lure 
he passed away Decemlier :?. l.ss'.t,at tiie ajje of 
four-score and one. Mrs. Smith ilied Octoher 4. 
1887, when sixty-seven years old. They were the 
parents of seven children, six of whom survive. 

Mr. and Mrs. Thayer are tlie parents of eiglit 
children, namely: Almira M.. wife of Charles 
Fisk, railroad aiicnt at Ypsilauti; Ira, who is mar- 
ried and resides on the old homestead; Iva !>.. 
wife of Frank Lillie. who is with the McCormiek 
Reaper Company, in Kalamazoo; Ida, who mar- 
ried Frank Fisher, a farmer in Cooper Township; 
Ada A., an accomplished [lianist and teacher of 
instrumental music; Myrtice M., a graduate from 
the Kalamazoo High School of the Class of '92; 
Charles M. and Kdna M., who are at home. 

Mr. Thayer is a Democrat politically, and has 
served as a delegate to county, district and State 
conventions. He was Treasurer two years,and is now 
serving his third term as Supervisoi-. For several 
years he h.as been Director in his school district, and 
is greatly interested in educational matters. He h.os 
been a Mason for a quarter of a century, and is 
identified with Cooper Lodge, No. 14!». Mrs. 
Thayer belongs to the ISfethodist K|)iscopal Church, 
in the faith of wliicli tlu' cliildren have lieen 
leared. 



"S^ DMOND M. I'RFSTON. Too much praise 
fe) cannot he bestowed upon those brave |)io- 
IL^ neers, who, during the early rlays of this 
Stale, came hither an<l hewed a path for cou)ing 
civilization. .Much danger fell to their lot and 
many hardships had to be endui-ed, ere they could 
clear the land and l)egin the cultivation of the 



sf»il. On every hand they were expo.sed to peiils, 
nor were they less in danger from the insidious 
foes — miasma, and fever and ague — canseil by the 
upturning of tlie sod. l,li;in they were from wild 
animals and sav.ages. .M.-uiy of the early settlers 
died before they reaped the rewards of their hard 
labor, but. fortun.'itely, some have survived to en- 
yi\ these ihi\s of prosperity, and among llic l:ilter 
class is Mr. I'lvston, a farmer of ,\rlingtnu Tdwii- 
ship. Nail Iiuren County. 

\'ermont was the nati\-e home of .Mr. I'restoii 
and, at White River .lunction. he was born in ls2(i. 
He is one of two children, the other being Klisha, 
who died when lifteen years old. His parents were 
IJenjamin and Hannah (Whcelei ) l'rest<m. jirobably 
natives of N'ernionl. The maternal grandparents 
of our subject were .lonas H. and .Vmy (Parkers) 
Wheeler, with whom our subject remained until he 
was fifteen years old. At that age, he located in 
Penn.sylvania, sojourning in that Stale for three 
years, whence he removed to New York, where 
he remained seven j-eans. In both States he w.is 
engaged in farming pursuils. lint he w:is not satis- 
lied to remain in the East, when the West otTered 
such glowing o])portunities to the young. 

In 1847, Mr. Preston removed to Michigan, set- 
tling in Arlington Townshii), A'an r>ui-en County 
where he has since resided. His occui)atit)n has 
always been that of a farmer, anil he is thoroughly 
acquainted with the late.st methods of developing 
the soil and rotating crops so !is to produce the 
best results. For ft)rty years he has made his home 
at his i)resent place and is therefore one of the 
oldest settlers of Arlington Township. He was 
married in 1849. his bride being Miss Anna K., 
daughter of J. P. and Charlotte ((iray) Fisk, both 
of whom were born in Massachusetts in IHdG. Mr. 
and Mrs. Fisk reared a family of seven children. 
They came to A'an lUiren County in IKI.'i, and 
here l)oth passed away. 

Three children came to bless the home of .Mr. 
and Mrs. Preston, but only one of whom, Orra. 
lived to mature years. He marrie<l and .settled in 
New Buffalo. He was a conductor on the Chicago 
A- West Michigan Railroad, and lost his life in the 
discharge of his duty. At his death, which oc- 
curred in 188(;. he left two children, Ethel M. and 






654 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Nina A. Politically, Mr. Preston adheres to the 
[)riiic'iijl('s iif tlic Dcmooratic party and in his social 
couuectious is a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
belonging to the lodge at Lawrence. 






H.«&..H 



\^^^^^ 



(OSIAII LOEIIK, who owns and man.ages a 
farm comprising one hundred and tvvent}' 
acres on sections 25 and 26, Columbia 
Township, is honored as one of the early 
settlers who have developed the resources of ^'an 
Buren County, and as one of the patriotic and 
courageous defenders of our Government during 
the Civil War. He is descended from German an- 
cestors, his grandparents, .John J. and Mary K. 
(Snider) Loehr, having emigrated from the Father- 
land in 1820 and settled in Pennsylvania. In 
1838, Grandfather Loehr removed to Stark County, 
Ohio, where he followed the trade of a shoemaker 
until his death, at the age of seventy-two. He w.as 
an upright man and a member of the Lutheran 
Church. 

The grandparents of our subject had a family of 
five children, namely: I'rederick P., Otilda, Mary 
E.; John J., Jr. and Louisa, all of whom were born 
in Germany, with the exception of the youngest. 
.John J. Jr., the father of our subject, was born 
August 26, 1811. and .accompanied his parents to 
the United States. He received a common-school 
education in Pennsylvania and learned the trade of 
a wheelwright, his specialty being spinning wheels. 
During the latter part of his life, he followed 
farming pursuits and w;is successful in accumulat- 
ing a modest competency. His death occurred in 
Stark County, Ohio, April 4, 1888, when he was 
about seventy-four years old. 

Catherine (Shearer) Loehr, mother of oursuijject 
was born in Mapleton, Stark County, Ohio, Novem- 
ber 14, 1819, and died December 30, 1891. Ten chil- 
dren were born of lier union with Mr. Loehr, Jr., 
viz: Caroline, Josiah, W.ashington, Reuben, Henry 
S., John J., Edwin, Charles, George (who died in in- 
fancy), and Lincoln. Washington enlisted in Com- 
p.any B, One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Infanti'y, 
and died at the hospital at Murfreesboro, Tenn., 
November 29, 1863. John J. and Catherine Loeiir 



were consistent members of the Lutheran Chureli 
and iiighlj- esteemed in the community- where tliey 
resided. The maternal grandparents of our subject 
were Henrj-and Doroth}' (Grimm) Shearer, natives, 
respectively, of York and Beaver Counties, Pa. 
He was a weaver by trade and also engaged in 
farming operations during a portion of his life. 
He and his wife reared three children: George, 
Catherine and John. 

Ohio was the native State of our subject, and in 
Stark County he was born, August 30, 1840. He 
was reared to manhood upon a farm and made use 
of the common-school education which he received 
by following for one term the profession of a 
teacher. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company 
B, One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Infantry and 
participated in tlie b.attles of Smyrna and Murfrees- 
boro, Tenn. In December, 1863, on account of 
illness, he was sent to hospital No. 2, at Murfrees- 
boro, and, after regaining his health, was detached 
from regular service and remained a nurse in the 
hospital until May, 1864. He then rejoined his 
regiment and remained at Miufreesboro until 
ordered home in 1865, receiving his discharge in 
July of that year, at Cleveland, Ohio. 

In August, 1865, Mr. Loehr came to Blooming- 
dale, this State, and bought one hundred and 
twent}- acres of land on section 26, Columbia 
Township, Van Buren County, where he now re- 
sides. With the aid of his excellent wife, he has 
accumulated a comfortable propertj' and is now 
one of tlie most prosperous farmers of the commu- 
nity. His farm is embellished with a set of good 
buildings, and h.as been brought to a high state of 
cultivation. Mr. Loehr was mariied, .January 6, 
1867, to Cordelia A. Weaver, who was born iu 
Canton, Ohio, December 15, 1845. Mis. Loehr is the 
daughter of Joseph iind Sarah (Baer) Weaver. Her 
father was born near Johnstown, Pa., and fol- 
lowed his trade of a cabinet-maker and a carpenter 
in various portions of the Buckej'e State. For 
thirteen j^ears he was a resident of Milford, Ind., 
whence he removed to Breedsville, this State, in 
1865, and to K.alaraazoo in 1844. In the last men- 
tioned place, he engaged in mercantile pursuits 
until his death, April 24, 1888, at the age of four- 
score and ten. He served with efficiency as Justice 



POinRAlT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX'ORD. 



655 



of till' I'eace and in other lixal dllii ts. Mrs. Weaver 
still survives, as do also tluvc ul' Iut live ciiildii'ii: 
C'onU'iin A., Zcllii A. and .loscpliiiic. 

The uniiin of .Mr. and Mis. Loelir has been 
lilessed by tin- liirlli of five cliil(h-eii, namely: May 
K.. Harvey I-., Kdwiii .1., Clara L. and Arlliiir ('. 
In their relijiioiis eoiivietions, Mr. and Mr-. Liu'hr 
are identilied with the Lutheran ( liincli. It lias 
lii'cn liy arduous exertion alone thai Mr. Loelir has 
aiiiiMiiilated his present property, and he may 
justly be termed a self-made ni.an. as everythiiiii' 
he n(»w has represents the toil of his hands and 
brain. His farm is one of the Iwst improved in the 
township, and the air of thrift perva<ling the plaec 
iH'speaks the industry and eiieruy of the proprit^- 
tor. 



^+^! 



c=r 



JHLO M. KROWN, one of the representa- 
tive farmers residing in Pine (irove Town- 
ship, Van liuren County, is a son of Daniel 
15. lirown, a native of Pittsford, \t., born 
Ausjust 15, IHOU. He was a C!vr|)enter and joiner 
by trade. The mother was Fannie (Pike) Brown, 
a native of Bennington, Vt., born in 1804. The3' 
were married in ^'ermont, and removed to New 
York State, and thence to Warren County, Pa., 
where they resided until 1849, and at that tune 
came to Michigan and settled in Waverly Town- 
ship, this county, on a wild farm. Neighbors were 
very scarce, and the land was all veryheavilv tim- 
liered. He worked at his trade and resided there 
until 1865. when he decided to come to Pine Grove 
Mills, and remained here the rest of his life, ilying 
in November, 1886. The mother died February '.I, 
1«72. They were the parent* of twelve children, 
live now surviving. Seven of the sons served in 
the Civil Wtir, and Krastus was a prisoner at An- 
dei-sonville. The father gave hut little attention 
to politics, but always took an interest in good 
schools and gave his children good educations. 
The mother was a meml)er of the Free-will IJaptist 
Church. 

The subject of this sketch w.as the youngest 
child and was born December 4. IM~, in Warren 
County, Pa., and came to Michigan when but two 



ye,ni-s f)ld. He li.as alw.iys l>een a farmer and re- 
niaineil at Innne and cared for his parents when 
they were old. He was married .lune 26, IHIi'.t. to 
Amanda M. Myers, a native of this count}'. He 
settled on his present farm of wild and unbroken 
land in 1865 and has improved the farm himself. 
It consists of seventy-live acres, and adjoins the 
village of Pine (!rf)\e Mills, his residence being in 
the village. ]\Irs. Ihown passed from this life M;i\ 
.J, 1H7;!. The original of this skctrh was a second 
tinu' united in marriage, taking as his wife, April 
15, 1875, Miss llattie (lallon, a native of Kiigland, 
having been boi'ii there in lH5t(. and come to 
America when a child. 

Mr. Brown is a member of the Knights of Pvlhi.as 
and has held all the otliccs in that lodge, e.\cept 
Chancellor Commander. He was largely instru- 
mental in l.iying out Pine (irove Mills, a large part 
of which lies on his farm. In politics, he is a 
stanch Republican, but has never had any desire 
for oflicial positions. Mr. Ihown and his family 
are held in the highest esteem by all their neigh- 
bors and acquaintances for their sagacious, indus- 
trious and honest habits. 

^p§ FORGE .S. HOWARD. Whatare now uni- 
versally conceded to be the best families c>f 
America are those who through gener- 
ations have evinced those sterling qualities of 
m.anly worth and womanly virtues which have 
helped to elevate the general ccmimunity. Such a 
family is th.at which is represented by our subject, 
who is occupying a pleasant home situate<l on sec- 
tion 6, Portage Township, Kalamazoo County. 

George S. Howard was the youngest of six 
children comi)risiiig the family of .Stephen and 
Fli/.a (Payne) Howard, his birth occurring on the 
old homestead on section 6, December 21, 1H4H. 
He wiis there reared to man's estate, attending the 
common sclioolsand iierforming such duties upon 
the farm as fall to the lot of a farmer's son. 

.Miss Pearly L. Prouty became the wife of Mr. 
HowanL the date of their marriage l)eing Decem- 
Ix'r 21, 1871. Mrs. Howard wius the daughter of 
Leander.s. and Almira (Crandall) Prf>uty, and the 



656 



PORTRAIT ANT) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sistci of Uif uilV of William A. Gibbs. Ilci' birth 
occurred in Alleoan, Octolier 16, 1852. liy her 
anion with our subject have been born three chil- 
dren: Stephen J., Alice M, and George L. S. Mr. 
Howard has alw.ays been actively interested in all 
measures that iiavcfor tlieir object the upbuilding 
and development of his conimunity and is (|Uite 
pi'ominent in local affairs. Politically, he casts liis 
vote and iiillucncc in favor of Republican candi- 
dates. He is liberal in his religious views and 
socially is a member of Kalamazoo Lodge, No. 22, 
F. Si A. M. 

Mr. Howard h.as always devoted his time and 
attention to agricultural i)ursuit,s and at present is 
the possessor of an estate including one hundred 
acres, whicli is thoroughly cultivated so .as to bring 
the best returns to itsoAvner. 



1 * 1 |l ) ' F * > >■ ' 




^\ RS. LUCINDA (HINSDALE) STONE. 
Tills venerable lady is not only esteemed 
by the citizens of Kalamazoo, but occupies 
a warm place in the affection of manj' of 
the foremost men and women of the State. She 
was born in Ilinesburgh, Vt., September 30, 1814, 
and is the daughter of Aaron and Lucinda (Mitch- 
ell) Hinsdale. Her earliest recollection is of her 
father's death, which occurred when she was two 
and one-half years old; the death-bed scene, the 
agony of her mother's face, the tears of her sisters, 
have come back to her often in her life and encour- 
aged tlie belief that no experience of life can be 
entirely lost, but some alchemy of nature will 
bring it back to our clear vision. 

This father whom Mrs. Stone so early lost was 
a man of great kindness of heart, kind and gener- 
ous to the need>-, sympathetic with those in dis- 
tress, humane to the dumb animals, and inclined to 
the belief of the Universalists. The mother, who 
after his death was left to provide for twelve chil- 
dren and carry on a large farm, was a benevolent 
woman, who would cheerfully have divided the 
last loaf of bread with a needy neighbor, and 
whose contributions to the church were regular and 
liberal. 

Hineslmrgh is a little inland town, east from 



Lake Champlain .about eight miles, .and midway 
between the two great colleges f)f the State, Mid- 
dlebury College being twenty miles south and Ver- 
mont Universitj', at Burlington, fourteen miles 
north. It was in advance of surrounding villages 
in the intellectual tastes of the people, its advan- 
tages for education and the uncommon interest 
taken in schools by its people. ■ Mrs. Stone lived 
a mile and one-half from the village, but the dis- 
trict school had the reputation of being quite as 
good as that in the village, which w.as the result, 
principally, of the ambition of the Hinsdale 
family. 

After completing the course of study in the dis- 
trict school, Mrs. Stone, at the age of twelve years, 
entered Ilinesburgh Academy, one of the best of 
New England schools, where m.any j'oung men 
were fitted for college. A library connected with 
the Lyceum was her inspiration, and Itecame her 
model for the founding of many of the Ladies' 
Libraries which she was afterward consulted about 
.and helped to form in this State. Books were rare 
and precious in those days, and were carefully 
kept. 

It was the custom then for girls of fourteen 
and fifteen to read and .analyze Milton's jweras, 
as well as those of Byron, Scott, AVordsworth, 
Coleridge and Shakespeare. When more th.an 
thirty years afterward Mrs. Stone found herself 
able to visit the Lake District in England, it 
was the interest in scenes awakened by those early 
discussions that made Wordsworth's home, his 
name and Coleridge's and John Wilson's carved 
on the f.ace of a rock, Mrs. Heman's "Dove's Nest," 
which travelers were permitted to visit more freely 
then than they are now, seem nothing less than 
bits of heaven to her. 

The great event of the year was to go to com- 
mencement at Middlebuiyor Burlington, and these 
celebr.ations constituted formative influences in the 
life of Mrs. Stone and kindled an interest in educa- 
tion which she has retained to this, the seventy- 
eighth year of her life. She finished the course .at 
the academy and then attended the INIiddlebury 
Female Seminary, where she remained one year. 
While pl.anning to enter Mrs. Willard's Seminary, 
in Troy, she w.as advised by her minister to return 




i,Jr, n,dt(/yit 



i 




X,;^9^#;;^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



6G1 



to the academy and lake the course with the .young 
men wlio were littiiig for college. Tiiis slie did, 
studying Latin, (ireek and mathematics with llicm, 
besides carrying on extra studies alone. 

From the academy, Lucmda Hinsdale wcnl out 
as a teacher, following the profession in Burlington 
Female Seminary and going thence to Natchez, 
.Miss., where she remained three years. She loved 
teaching, and never wore out or broke down under 
the labor incident to it. In 1840, she was married 
to Dr. .1. A. B. Stone, of whom it was often said 
thaf'he was a natural-born teacher." He came to 
Kalamazoo in 1843, to take charge of a Branch, so 
called, of the university located at Kalamazoo, and 
at the same time had charge of the small Baptist 
Church in the place. 

Upon coming to K.alamazoo, !Mrs. Stone .soon 
took charge of the Ladies' Department of the 
ISranch of the State University, wliicii for many 
years was very flourishing and from which have 
gone out noble women, now well known in various 
professions. The branch was subsequently discon- 
tinued, and in its place was revived the Baptist 
Institute, the ohiest literary institution in the 
State. Through Dr. Stone's efforts, this institute 
was devclo))ed into Kalamazoo College, for which 
he ol)tained a charter. He was appointed its first 
President and continued so for nearly twenty 
years, during which time Mrs. Stone was Principal 
of the Ladies' Department of the same. Dr. Stone 
was a warm advocate of the highest education of 
women and for co-education in all our colleges. 
He believed it would come, he often said, as much 
as he believed the next morning's sun would rise. 
\ He also believed that equal suffrage would be 
adopted, .\fter the abolition of slaverj-, of which 
he was an advocate even when it was very unpop- 
ular to be an Aliolitionist, he t)ften said that the 
granting of suffrage to women was the next 
progressive step that he wanted to see taken, and 
he believed that it would come — it must come. The 
whole trend of the age wsis toward it. and it was 
the inevitalile evolution f)f the Declaration of In- 
dependence. 

In those first j-eare of abolition, the residence of 
Dr. Stone w.as the home of lecturers on that siili- 
jeet, a-s it w.-vs a little later of lecturers on woman 
30 



sufTr.age. Thus they entertained nearlj' all the 
great leaders of advanced thought: Emereon, Al- 
colt, Wendell TliiUips, Fred Douglass, Mrs. Stan- 
ton, Susan B. Anthony, Mary Livermore, Lucj' 
Stone and a host of others. Dr. Stone was veiy 
anxious that the Republican party should right it- 
self on the subji!ct of woman suffrage. It had "^ 
been the party of progress, and he was anxious to " 
see it fulfill its earlier promise. 

In November, 1864, i\Irs. Stone laid down the 
work in Kalamazoo College, where she had taught 
for nearly twenty years with little reward, except 
what she had found in teaching and in seeing the 
intellectual and spiritual development of her pu- 
pils. Into the building up of Kalamazoo College 
she and her husband put the strength and vigor 
of their lives and sacrificed property tli.nt would 
have secured them an easy competence all their 
lives. 

Leaving the college threw Mrs. Stone into an- 
other line of educational work, that of the forma- 
tion of Women's Clubs for the education of 
women. Spending some weeks in Boston, just 
after the formation of the New England Woman's 
Club, she came home to transmute what had been 
her historical classes into a Woman's Club, the first 
in the State. She has also taken many classes 
of young ladies abroad for the stud3' of history 
and art, thus visiting the countries of Europe, 
Egypt and Palestine, and seeing the places with 
which, through books, she had long been familiar. 
Thus even in her old age she continues her stud- 
ies, so that she will, as she believes, go fully pano- 
plied and equipped to continue the highest learning 
of this world in the next. 

Dr. and Mrs. Stone were the parents of three 
sons. Clement Walker was educated at Kalamazoo 
College, and on the breaking out of the Civil War 
enlisted in the Second Michigan Infantry. He 
served first as Quartermaster and was subsequently 
promoted to the rank of Captain, serving with 
valor for four years, at the expiration of which 
time he returned home with enfeebled health. 
Prior to entering the army, he was married to Miss 
Carrie Moore, of Mooreville, Mich., and they had 
two children. His death occurred October 3, 
1887. The second son, Horatio Il.ackett, was edu- 



:^> 



662 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



cated a( Kalamazoo College aiirl aicd in 1884. 
Both the lu'others were newspaper men and for 
several years engaged in publishing the Kalamazoo 
Telegraph. .lames II. Stone, who also received his 
education at Kalamazoo College, was for many 
years manager of the Detroit Trihune,a.\\A now re- 
sides in Detroit. lie married ■Sliss Margaret Web- 
ster, of Plymouth, N. I!., and they have three 
children. 



4^ 



^EV. JAMES A. 15. STONE, was horn in 
Piermont, N. II., October 28, 1810, He was 
i*A \V educated in the district school of his native 
village and fitted for college in Royalton, 
Vt. In 1834, he graduated from Middlebury (Vt.) 
College, having sustained through his college 
course a high reputation for scholarshii) and char- 
acter, and graduating with high honors. He was 
made tutor in the same institution immediately 
after completing the course. From Middlebury, 
he accepted the position of Principal of llinesburgh 
Academ}', which flourished greatly under him for 
twoj'ears. He was a natural teacher, and in teach 
ing lost sight of everything in iiromoting the best 
interest and progress of his pupils. No one under 
his instruction ever forgot him or the benefit they 
received therefrom. 

Mr. Stone possessed the remarkable faculty of 
kindling in his pupils a desire to know, an en- 
thusiasm for study. There were few dullards in 
a school of which he was teacher. He knew per- 
sonally every pupil in his school and everyone 
knew him, and he contrived to find out some way 
in which a love for the study of some thing could 
be awakened in the dullest. His influence in this 
respect will never be forgotton in the town of 
llinesburgh, while one remains who there came in 
personal contact with him. 

From llinesburgh, Dr. Stone went to Ando- 
ver Theological Seminary, where he remained 
for three years, and a year after his graduation 
acted as Librarian and taught at intervals in 
Philip's Academy in Andover. His first settle- 
mentas a minister was at Gloucester, Mass., wliich 
place he left to fill the professorship of Biblical 



Literature and Interpretation for Dr. Iloratifi B. 
Haekett, during his absence foi a year or two in 
Europe, for the purpose of study in the (Jernian 
universities. This he did with great acceptance 
to students, trustees and Dr. Haekett himself. 

Dr. Stone was married, .lune 10, 1840, at Grand 
Rapids, Mich., to Miss Lucinda Hinsdale, of Ilines- 
l)iiigli, ^'t. She accompanied him to Gloucester, 
where he fully entered into his work as a minister, 
especially what might be considered the educa- 
tional work in his society. In 1841), Dr. Stone 
received a call from a small liaptist Church in 
Kalamazoo, and also to take charge of the 
••Branch" of the Michigan University, located 
there. There were eight of these Branches in the 
State, which, when they were established as feeders 
for the University, or schools preparatory to the 
University course, it was supposed were to be .as 
permanent as the University itself. But after a 
few jears, the State funds not proving sutlicient to 
sustain these Branches, they wei'C cut off, and the 
State appropriations ceased to be made to them. 

Very earl}' after the first settlement of Kalama- 
zoo, the Baptist Convention of Jlichigan had 
founded there the first literary institution in Mu^ 
State, called tiie ''Baptist Institute." This had 
been suspended when a "Branch" of the Univer- 
sity had been located in Kalamazoo, upon a pro- 
mise made to the Trustees of the "Institute" that 
if the}' would suspend instruction in their school, 
the Baptists might nominate the principals of the 
r.rancli. But when the Branches were cut off from 
the University, there was no longer any jeason 
for suspending instruction in the I nstitute, which 
was therefore revived and mainly through Di-. 
Stone's efforts, this Institute was converted into 
Kalamazoo College, for which he was instrumental 
in obtaining a charter from the Legislature and of 
which he w.as made President .and continued lo be 
so for nearly twenty years. 

To this work Dr. and JMrs. Stone gave the best 
years of their lives in service as arduous, unre- 
mitting and unselfish as was ever performed. No 
thought of self ever came between them and their 
educational work. There was also connected with 
Kalamazoo College a theological seminary, at the 
head of which Dr. Stone was placed. So flourish- 



PORTRAIT AND HIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



663 



ing was this college under Ur. Stone's administra- 
tion tiial it suinctimes numbered four liuiidred and 
liflv stuilcnts. N(>n»' of llie local colleges stood 
higher its to nunilier of sludeiils or grade t)f 
seholarslii|). From this standard there was a great 
falling off upon Dr. Stone's resii;ii;i1i<pn, wliieh 
occurred in 1861. 

We copy the following from a volunu' issued 
upon the occ:u<ion of the "Reunioi. of the former 
pupils of Dr. and Mrs. Stone" in 1885: 

While Dr. Stone has employed the larger part of 
his life in teaching, he has found time to bestow con- 
sideialilc hard W(jrk upon other pursuits. His exper- 
ience as a journalist commenced more than fifty 
years ago, and it will lie recollected that he was for 
several years editor and publisher of the Kalamazoo 
Daily and Weekly Telajraph. He was also Post- 
master at Kalamazoo four years during President 
(Jrant's administratitm. He was at one time Presi- 
dent of the Michigan State Teachers' Association 
and afterward President of the Michigan Publish- 
ei"s' Association. Several of his sermons, lecttnesand 
addresses, and numerous letters from Europe and 
the Orient, have been imblished from time lo lime. 
He has visited the Eastern Continents twice, spend- 
ing at one lime several months in different Mo- 
hammedan countries, including Egypt, Arabia, Pal- 
estine, Asia Minor, and visiting Troy. Constanti- 
nople and tireece. 

Although now seventy-live years old, his health 
is good, far lietter than during a part of the last 
twentv-live ycai-s. and he does not liimself believe 
that his vital activities are yet exhausted. He is 
now engaged in ])reparing a volume of "Pleasant 
Memories," made up of reminiscences of notable 
men and events that have come under his observa- 
tion during a long life, devoting about equal 
parts to what he has seen in New Hampshire, 
Vermont, INfassachusetts, Michigan and foreign 
countries. 

Dr. Stone was eminently a public-spirited 
man, and in all the educational, intellectual 
and benevolent interests of Kalamazoo and the 
State he took a deep interest, giving to tliein 
time, labor and money, according to his utmost 
means. The arduous labors of his life told se- 
riously ujion his health in the last five or six years 
of his life, during which he was subject tf) ])arox- 
ysms of terrible suffering, which he bore with great 
patience and cheerfulness, often regaining his 
breath after one of thein with a look of death upon 
his face, but with a joke so characteristic as to pro- 



voke irresistible laughter in those watching with 
intense anxiety to see if a heart-beat or the sus- 
l)ended breath would ever come again. But as 
.soon as breath was restored, his book, a newspaper 
or writing was resumed and scarcely an allusion 
was ever made to any suffering endured. 

He died instantly, seized with one of tho.se 
paroxysms of pain to which he had long been sub- 
ject, while on a visit to his son, .lames H. Stone, 
of Detroit, May lit, 1H88. He left the memory of 
a good and just man. In his literary tastes he was 
a great lover of the old classics, especially Homer, 
whom he read up to the last days of his life, some- 
times inviting in the young people to read Homer 
to them, explaining to them passsiges in the [^won- 
derful Iliad and (Jdyssey and showing them how 
Schliemann's excavations, in which he always took 
great interest, had corroborated Homer's story. 
: So thumbed and marked are his Bryant's trans- 
lations of those great poems, which he greatly ad- 
mired and which he closely compared with other 
translations and with the original Greek, that it 
1 would seem, as has been remarked by persons com- 
ing into his library, as if "Dr. Stone might speak 
from either of these volumes." 
' Dr. Stone had tlie spirit of a true reformer. IK- 
never asked, who had embraced this opinion or 
that, or Is it popular? but rather. Is it true or right.' 
Thus, though lu'ouglit up in the Congregational 
faith, educated in a Ctmgregational college and 
theological seminary, convinced from his own 
study of the scriptures that immersion was script- 
ure baptism, to the great astonishment and dis- 
appointment of his fellow-students in Andover, he 
was l)aptized and joined a little Baptist Church, 
a most unpopular act in that stronghold of Con- 
gregational orthodoxy. So, too, with the most 
unpopular anti-slavery doctrine among Andover 
students, he avowed his cordial acceptance of it, 
his firm belief in it. and his l)elief in its ultimate 
triumph. He would go down to Boston from An- 
'. dover to hear Garrison and Wendell Philli|)s, in 
days when anti-slavery sentiments were very un- 
pojiular among the students, when (iarrison was 
lead through the .streets of Boston, hooted and 
st-oned l)y the mob, with a tarred rope around hl^ 
neck. But from the lirst utterance of anti-slaverv 



664 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sentiments ill tlie seminary, Dr. Stone said: "This, 
my hrotliers, is tlio true Gospel; the infidehty is 
on tlie other side; no m.in can believe in the fa- 
therhood of God. the brotlierhood of man, .accept 
Christ's teacliings in the Sermon on the Mount, 
and helievc in the I'ighteousness of slavery at tlie 
same time. Tiiis newtrnth is God's trnth and it 
is sure to prevail." 

It was the same vvlien the question of Woman 
Suffrage came before the ]iul)lic. He said; "This 
is right; it is the n.atnral. and must lie tlic inevit- 
able,evolution of the Declaration of Iiuk'iiendence. 
Taxation and representation are inseparalile — must 
be in a true Republic." From this o))inion he 
never swerved, always expressing it on any occa- 
sion when his opinion or vote was called for. He 
always said that jNIary Woolstoncraft struck the 
keynote in this subject nearly one hundred years 
ago, when she based woman's rights on human 
rights — woman suffrage on the rights of all 
suffrage and the rights of human beings. 

Dr. Stone was a believer in co-educati(m and did 
more than any man in the State to secure the ad- 
mission of women to oiu- State University. He 
thought they had a right to all its privileges, and 
it was for them to decide what they wanted to 
study. Men could not judge for women, any 
more than women for men, as to what tastes they 
might indulge, or what thej^ were to do in life. 
He was not a fanatic in anything, but never made 
any compromises with expediency. He was an 
honest and sincere Baptist, but much of the 
trouble which caused his resignation from the Pre- 
sidency of Kalamazoo College .arose out of his in- 
sisting upon an open, rather tiian purely Baptist 
corporation for the college. He said he saw the 
day of purely denominational colleges waning, 
and thought that the great good of such colleges 
was that they might appeal to manj- persons for 
their support, who would not otherwise be led to 
give anything for educational ' purposes. He 
wanted Kalamazoo College to be an educational 
institution, not merely a Baptist College. As 
such he wanted it to take hold of the people of the 
city and State, and be a moral and intellectual 
influence here. It is now plain to be seen, that, 
had such counsels been regarded, its condition to- 



day would have been very different from what it 
is now. 

No (me ever more freely or magnanimously 
forgave a most cruel injury attempted against him- 
self, or more deeply lamented the harm done to 
the college liy the wild fanatical persecution of 
himself and wife, carried on by f.ilsehoods, for- 
geries and pei-juries, than did tlif Doctor, and 
when, some years after his resignation, he learned 
that a President of the college had permitted the 
portraits of himself and wife, which were the gift 
to the college of private indivi<luals and were 
hanging on the w.alls of the college chapel when 
he and his wife resigned, to be taken down, ban- 
ished to the wood cellar of the college, where they 
were found, turned face to the wall and jammed 
in between the stone foundations and floor above, 
covered with dirt and cobwebs, as a spite to the 
originals, who had really built the college and 
rendered it most faithful service during twenty 
years; when he was told tif this attempted insult, 
he turned very pale, his lips trembled for a moment 
and the tears started, but the cloud quickly passed; 
he smiled and said: "God forgive those who have 
done this, is all 1 have to sa}^; those better than 
we and who have made greater s.acrifices for the 
good of the world, have suffered more ignomin- 
ious treatment from the hands of their enemies 
than this. God forgive them. He knows that I 
would not harm a hair of the head of one of them 
if I could." Revenge or implacability was not in 
his n.ature or heart. Of no man who ever lived 
could it l)e more truly written as an epitaph upon 
his tomb: "With malice toward none and good- 
will toward all, lived and died this man." 

The portrait of Dr. Stone presented on another 
page perpetuates his lineaments for those to Mhoin 
his fame has extended, as well as those wlio in 
future years will learn of his life and deeds. 

, LIVER R. .SCHUYLER. This gentlem.an is 
the owner and occupant of a productive 
tr.act of land on section 21, Columbia Town- 
shii). Van Buren County, a part of vvhich he pur- 
cha,sed, and has had in his pos.session for two de- 



K)RTRA1T AM) BlUGKArilJCAL UECOUD. 



665 



cjuU'S or more. The fai-m consists of one hundred 
and Uveiily acirs, bears the usual iinin-ovenients. 
and is so niaiiagi'(l as to hiin<i- fortii abuu(hinl crops 
of good (nialilv. 

Our sulijeel conies of a good family, being a son 
of Hansom and Catherine K. (Dow) Sciuiyler, who 
were natives of the Knipire State. The father was 
a son of David Scliulyer, wlio, in turn, was a son 
(if (ieorgc Schuyler, born in (ierniany, and a 
biiiliiei of (ien. Schuyler of UevohUionary fame, 
who came to .Vmeriea in 17.)o and settled in New 
York Slate. He was a brother-in-law of Gen. Her- 
kimer, and was killed in tlie battle of Hiskeney. 
The grandfather of our subject was liorn in New 
York, and married Mchilable Snulli, wlm bore him 
Ihirteen children, of whom they reared two sons 
and six daughters, lie was a coo|)er b_\' trade and 
died in Madison County. N. Y. 

Ransom .Schuyler was a farmer, born in Oneida 
County, N. Y., .Seplemlier '.), IHl 1, and moved to 
Ohio about 1838, settling in (icorgia. lu iJsll.lie 
came to Lawrence. X-.iu Huren County, coming 
here by the old, primitive mode of travel — by 
wagon and ox-team, lie Ml lirsl Ijought only 
seven acres, which he subseiiuenlly sold ainl i>ur- 
chased forty acres. Some years later, .about lis.")l, 
he came to tlii> township and x'ltlcd on section 
22, and entered forty acres which he later traded 
for a like number near Paw Paw. lie thence 
moved to Decatur Township. In l.s.').s, he located 
in Ottawa for one year, then returned to Bloom- 
ingdale. and lin.ally spent his last years in Colum- 
bia Township, dying August 17, 1X77. 

The parents of our subject had eight ithildren : 
\Villiam, who died at the age of twenty-eight 
veal's; Amantla; Susan, who died when six years 
old; Mary, Oliver H.. Richard. Franklin and 
(ieorge. The father was a member of the rnited 
brethren Clmrcli, and tlicmothri- of the Methodist 
Kpiscopal. The mother of our subject was a 
daughter of .lames and Klizabeth (-lay) Dow. na- 
tives of Connecticut and New York, resjiectively. 
Mr. Schuyler w.as ri'aied upon the farm and ob- 
Uiined his education in the common schools, and 
at the age of fourteen years commenced to make 
his own way in the world. M the age of twenty- 
one years, he began workinij out bv the month. 



' and in this manner spent three years, when he 
learned the carpenter's trade, which he h.-us ever 
since followed. In lH7o. he bought f(»rly acres of 
land where he now resides and cleared and ini- 
l>rt)ved it. In 1H7H, he added eighty acres more, 
u|ion which he has .also placed good impfovements. 
He has a fine orchard, covering forty acres, piinei- 
|)ally of peach trees, although he raises all kinds 
of fruit. 

Mr. Schuyler was married. .Inly 1, 1X71, to Net- 
tie Gilbert, a native of Ontario County, N. Y., 
and a daughter of Daniel 1'. .■iiid l'"Miiiiie .M. (Peper) 
Gilbert, who were liorii at Ontario, and Wayne 
County, N. Y., respectively. Mr. ( i ilberl, who was a 
son of Daniel and .Viina (Kiiapp) Oilbcrt, was a 
shoemaker bv trade and removed from New York 
to Portage County, Ohio. In the spring of 186.), 
the^- came to Columbia Township, and purch.nsed 
twenty acres of land on section 13, where he rcwided 
until his death, October 5, l«7(i. Mr. and .Airs. 
• iilberthad six children, of whom lliree arc now 
living: Milford M., Lelah K. and Nettie, wife of 
our subject. !Mr. (iilbertwas a member of the Or- 
der of Odd Fellows. 

Our subjet't and his wife are the i)arent~s of live 
children: (ulbeit R.. Charles M.. Clara M.. Cleve- 
land and Maude. Mr. Schuyler is au honoreil .■iiid 
respected member of the .Masonic fraternity and 
is highly esteemed .as an intelligent and worthy 
citizen, who has made a place f(n' himself in the 
world bv his own eneriiv and industr\-. 




ILl.L^M COOPFIi. Ilaviiigihe full eoiili- 
iV/V// *lt'"*-'c and esteem of the people among 
whom he has passed his entire life, the 
career of Mr. Cooper furnishes . an excelleiil illustra- 
tion of the success which rewards painstaking and 
energetic efforts. One of the most enteri)rising 
merchants of Schoolcraft, in fact, |ii'Oinineiit among 
the dealers of Kalamazoo County, his facilities for 
doing business are complete and everything i-on- 
iiectcd therewith bcais- the mark of order and .sy.'<- 
lein. 'I'he Ihoidugh knowledge of business t.actics 
which he possesses and the line slock of griods 



666 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



which he carries have made his store the popular 
place for trade among the citizens. 

The parents of our subject were .Justin and 1j<jw- 
ville (Hazzard) Cooper, natives of Sencen and 
AVashington Counties, Js. Y., respectively-. They 
removed to St. Joseph County, this State, in 1831, 
and three years later came to Schoolcraft, where 
they have since resided. Their family comprised 
seven children, William being the fifth in order of 
birth. He was born in Schoolcraft Township, Sep- 
tember 28, 1842, and was reared on his father's 
farm, his education being gained in the common 
schools of the district and the jiublie school in 
Kalamazoo. 

About 1870 Mr. Cooper left the parental home 
and settled on a farm in Schoolcraft Townsiiip. 
where he resided for two years. He then came to 
the village, and was for three years employed as a 
clerk in a store, after which he embarked in business 
as a merchant. As above indicated, he carries a tine 
stock of goods and is the leading merchant of the 
])lacc, being widely known .as a successful tiusiness 
man and public-spirited citizen. He owns six hun- 
dred acres of land in South Dakota, and also is the 
owner of considerable propert\' in Schoolcraft, the 
value of which is constantly increasing. 

December 7, 1869, Mr. Cooper was united in 
marriage, in Schoolcraft Township, with Miss Re- 
becca Bogardus, a native of Brooklyn, N. Y., and 
an estimable lady whose position in social circles 
is prominent. .Air. Cooper has always stood aloof 
from political affairs, preferring the pleasures of 
home in his leisure hours to the excitement of 
political contests. 



S7 EANDER CANNON. Upon section 7, Brady 
I (^ Township. Kalamazoo County, resides Mr. 
jiL^ Cannon, one of the representative agricul- 
turists of this county, and a gentleman who is well 
and favorably known. He is an old resident of 
this place, and a native of Cayuga County, N. Y., 
where he was born August 8, 1830, to Thomas and 
Amelia (Craft) Cannon, natives of New York 
State. The grandfather, Thomas Cannon, was a 



Revolutionary hero, and a native of Dublin, Ire- 
land. He came to America in early life and 
bought land of the Government at a sixpence an 
acre in Cayuga County. N. Y. He was married to 
Abigail Slot, a native of Germany, and became the 
father of a family of four boys and five girls. His 
death occurred when he was aljout ninety years 
old, and that of his good wife when about the 
same age. He drew a pension from the Govern- 
ment for his services in the Revolutionary War. 

The father of our subject was a farmer, who died 
in Ca}'uga County, when about sixty years of age. 
He owned a place of one hundred and twenty acres 
in his native State. Socially he was a Mason, and 
liolitically a Democrat. He married Amelia Craft, 
a native of New York, and by their union two 
children were born: Leander .ind Adaline. The 
mother of our subject was a second time married, 
tliis time becoming the wife of .James Wilson, by 
whom she had two children, Mortimer and Laura. 
She died .at the age of forty. Her father, William 
Craft, the maternal grandfather of our subject, w.as 
a Scotchman by birth, and a shoemaker by trade. 
He died when past his three-score years and ten. 

Our subject was reared on the home farm, and 
obtained his rudimentary education in the district 
school. His father died when he was but four 
years old, and he lived with his mother and stej)- 
father until reacliing his eighteenth year, when he 
started in life for himself. He came to this State in 
1837, and located at West Le Roy, Calhoun County, 
making the journey* by horse-team to Buffalo, 
crossing Lake Michigan, and finishing the trip liy 
team. He settled in the forest and liuilt a log 
house, where he w.as siirrouniled by wild animals of 
all kinds. Mr. Cannon came to this county in 
1841, and settled witii his father-in-law, working 
by the month for half a year, receiving a recom- 
pense of 16 per month. There were but very few 
settlers here tiien. it being little but a vast wilder- 
ness, infested by wild animals of all kinds, and as 
he w.as very fond of hunting, he was enabled to do 
a great deal of it. 

Wlicn he of whom we write was twenty yens 
old, he purchased seventy-five acres of land wliicli 
was but little improved. lie had nothing when 
he commenced for himself but is now the posses- 



PORTRAIT AKD BlU(iUAVlllCAL RECORD. 



667 



sor <if two liiiiuhi'<l and twenty broad and fertile 
acres in Urady T(>\vnslii|>, and oiirlity acres in 
WaUesluna Townsliij). inniving liiree luindred acres 
in all. He Ivceps a good grade of :stock. and makes 
a s|H'ciaUy of wheal growing and llie raising of 
swine, 'riie present fine brick residence of our 
subject was erected in 1861, at a cost of *5.0()(). 
Splendid buildings of all kinds adorn the place, 
including tlii'ee neat lianis, wliich have been erected 
at different times. 

The worthy gentleman of wlioui we write was 
united ill marriage, February II, 1853, to Miss 
Ch.-iilotte M. Houghton. Mi-s. Cannon w.as born 
ill ISatavia, N. Y., December 25, I8;i(). and liy her 
union with oiir subject has become the motlier of 
five children: Mabel (^Irs. Oleason), Tluimas E., 
Warren !>.. dertrude, and Claude. Miss (lertrtide 
has a very line talent for piano playing which she 
exercises beautifully and also engages in teaching 
music. She does very line oil painting, of which 
elegant work is to be found in the home. Mr. 
C:iniion in his political views at present alliliates 
with the F.'irnieis' Alliiiiu'c, but was foriiierlv a 
Democrat. Socially, he is one of the leading mem- 
bers of the Masonic I.od^c. No. .'10. j'lirtage 
Township. 



\^^D\\.\i;i) IIM.I.V. Iliis enterprising and 
I7S] eneruetic Imsiness man of Ilaitford is very 
1^ — '" popular in this section fur his thorough 
and lionot way of dealiiii; with his fellow-men. 
lie was liorn in Palmyra, N. V., in I85;i, and w.as 
a son of Patrick and IJridiret (Kaley) {-"inley, na- 
tives of Coiinly (allow, Ireland, where tlu'V were 
married and had one child Ixirii to them. 

In .luiie, IH,")1. the elder Mv. Finley emigrati'd 
with liis family to the New World .and located at 
East Walworth, N. V. Three years later, they 
came West to \'an Huren County, this State, mov- 
ing hither when our subject was an infant. They 
located on section .'{5, IJjingor Township and the 
old home farm still remains the properly of the 
family. 

Ivlwaid Finley was one of a family of eight 
cjiilcjien liorii to his parents, viz: Mary, FMward. 



:{C- 



Jennie E., John, James II.. Ella. "William T, and 
Louis, all of whom are residents of \'an Unren 
County. Our subject served as Postmaster of 
Hartford during Cleveland's administration and 
in 1889 engaged with llor.'ice M. Olne.v, under the 
Style of H. ^I.Olney iV Co., in luiying.and sliipi)ing 
grain, seeds, and wool. They also handle coal and 
are r.-mked among the [iiogressive and successful 
young liusiness men of the pl.aee, ]\Ir. ?'inle.v has 
never married. In polities, he casts his vote and 
inlluence in favor of Democratic candidates. 



<)XATII.\N C. IIOYT. A prominent part 
in the upbuilding of Kalamazoo County has 
been borne by Mr. Iloyl. an influential 
farmer on section 2.!, I'rairie Roiide Town- 
ship. Having been engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits throughout his entire active life, he is tlK>r- 
ouglily familiar with the best methods of cultivat- 
ing a f:irm, and has been very successful in his 
chosen calling. He owns and oper;iles two hun- 
dred and sixty acres of fertile land, which he has 
ac<iuired through his unaiiled exertions. 

For information in reganl to the parents of Mr, 
Iloyt, the reader is referred to the sketch of Kans- 
ford C. Iloyt, which appears in another portion of 
this volume. Jonathan C.was born in Prairie Ronde 
Township, December 2, 1848, and was reared on 
the homestead, wliich he now owns. His boyluiod 
w,as passed in the soniewhal uneventful manner of 
a farmer's son, his winters being spent in the com- 
mon schools and the summer seasons being devoted 
to the tilling of the soil. 

April 1), 1874, Mr. Iloyt was mari'ied to Miss 
Vienna Smith, who was born in Prairie Honde 
Township, May 12, 185.'5. Her p.iieiits, .lolm and 
Catherine (Ennis) Smith, came to this township 
in 1852 and have since resided here, being kindly, 
generous jieoplc, wh<i stand high in the estei'm 
of their neighbors. Mr. and .Mi-s. Iloyt are the 
parents of six chihlren. namely: Monroe H., \'ere 
C., Vinson. Lee W., .lessie and (Jrace. The chil- 
dren are at home with their parents, with the ex- 
ception of Vinson, who ilied in childhood. 



668 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



There is no measure proposed for the develop- 
ment of Prairie Ronde Townsliip, or the advance-' 
ment of its interests, which fails to receive the 
most hearty S3^mpath3' and co-operation of Mr. 
Hoyt, who has contributed his quota to the growth 
of the community', alike in its educational and 
agricultural interests. He believes that the welfare 
of the Government is best promoted l)^' the prin- 
ciples of the Democratic partj'. and accordingly 
he advocates its pliitform and upholds its candi- 
dates. Realizing his peculiar fitness for official po- 
sitions, his fellow-citizens have called ui)0)i him to 
represent them in various pulilic posts of duty and 
responsibility, and he h.as served as School Direc- 
tor, Drain Commissioner and Township Treasurer 
witli efficiency. 1 n his social affiliations, he is a 
member of the Masonic fraternity and the Order of 
Maccabees. 



^i^EORGE A. MYERS, proprietor of Fruitl.and 
jll ,=. Sumraei Resort. This beautiful hotel is 
^^JJ^ located on the lake shore, in the south- 
western portion of the village of South Haven, in 
the midst of four acres of ground. In October, 
1890, the land was as nature had left it. It was 
then that IMr. INI^ers conceived the idea of pur- 
chasing the land for the purpose of making a resort 
where the many summer visitors to South Haven 
could be creditably entertained. He at once com- 
menced grading the ground and building. On 
another page will be found a view of the hotel, 
which is 100x28 feet, with wing 24x.32 feet, and is 
three stories in lieight. His forty sleei)ing rooms, 
large, airy reception, dining and other rooms, are 
all well furnished. He hsis also a bowling-alley, 
billiard rooms, tennis court and bath houses. The 
grounds are embellished with fountains, fish ponds, 
etc., with a fine view of the village and surround- 
ing fruit country. It borders the lake and is sixty 
feet above the lake level. 

Mr. Myers was born in Plattsville, Greene 
County, New York, February 16, 1843. His great- 
great-grandfather was born in Germany, near the 
River Khlne. where he wa> m.iiricd and reared a 
family of three sonis and two daughters. He then 



came to America and located on the banks of the 
Hudson River, in New Y'ork. His son, Steiihen, 
married and resided in Schoharie County, where 
he carried on farming and reared a family of seven 
children: Stephen, Harmon us,. John, .Jacob, Cathar- 
ine, Charity .and Eliza. Of that famil3', Jacob 
was born, m 1789, and married Caroline Becker. 
After their marriage, they resided in Prattsville, 
Greene County, N. Y., where he died. The mem- 
Ijers of Ills family were named Henry B., Katie A., 
Thomas, Eliza, William, .John, Addison, Rosalia, 
Willis, Sabina and Caroline. Heni\v B. was born 
in Prattsville, June 26, 1813. His father, although 
he had never learned the trade, carried on an ex- 
tensive business in making wagons, etc. Our sub- 
ject when only ten years old commenced to work 
in the shops and, like his father, was naturally a 
good mechanic. He learned the cabinetmakers' 
trade and became a general wood-worker. 

Henry B. Myers, the father of our subject, was 
married, in 1839, to Mary Ann Randall. Ten 
years later, he left the family in New Y'ork and 
traveled for nine years. In 1851, the family re- 
moved to Michigan, and first settled in Flowerfield, 
St. Joseph County, where tiie father worked at his 
trade. His wife died soon after coming to the 
Wolverine State, leaving a family of six children. 
They were Helen, the wife of .John C. Dale, of 
Kaus.as; George A., the subject of this sketch; Rosa- 
lia, the wife of Jesse Earl, of California; Mary Ann, 
the wife of .Jesse M. Crose, of Kalamazoo County; 
Charles E., also of Kalamazoo County, and Harriet, 
the wife of F. D. CobI), of California. 

In 18.56, the father of our subject removed to 
Schoolcraft, this State, where he resided and fol- 
lowed his trade until 1891, when he came to South 
Haven to make his home with our subject. He 
has been married f((ur times. George A. Myers 
received a good business education and when he 
attained his majority engaged in business in School- 
craft, which he carried on with marked success un- 
til 1889, when he came to South Haven. Here he 
purchased a farm of forty acres, which he still owns, 
and engaged in its cultivation until launching 
out in the hotel business. 

Jlr. ]M\ers. of this sketch, has bcuu twice married. 
In 1865, Miss Celia Walsh, of Ithaca, N. Y'., became 




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PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



671 



hi* wife; slic died in lS7fl. and was the mother of 
oni' child, who died in infancy. In 1S71, our 
siiliject was married to Ida Sliannun. a native of 
Friendship, N. Y., and by tlnit \ini<in i\Ir. flyers 
has hccoinc llie fallier of two fliihhcn: Henry 15. 
;in(] Olive G. In polities, he is a firm Democrat, 
and in his rcliijious lielief is a nionilier of the Bap- 
tist C'hureh. 



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,|/,-^ ARLKX S. SMITH. .M. I). Tlie profession 
)j) of medieine invarialily attracts to its prac- 
tice men of learninjr. whose scientilic re- 
[^j searclies have contriliiited to its advance- 
ment. .\monij this nninher maybe mentioned Dr. 
Smith, a prominent and successful physician of 
Sclioulcraft, who ranks amoni; the foremost men 
of his profession in the county. He is identified 
with tiie Ivalamazoo .Vcademy of Medicine and 
various local organizations, taking an active in- 
terest in all medical investigations and keeping 
al)reasl witii the latest di.scoveries in therapeutics. 
The family of wiiirli our subject is a member 
traces its origin to England, and one of it-s first 
representatives in this country was Stephen .Smith, 
who died in New York State. His son, Ilezekiah, 
made his home in the western part of the Empire 
State, where, at an advanced age, his life was 
brought to a close. The next in line of descent 
was .Steiihen, who was born in New York, where he 
was a farmer and merchant. During the late war 
he came to Michigan and settled in Schoolcraft 
Township, where he has since engaged in farming 
pursuit.s. He married Harriet Smith, a native of 
New York, who still survives. 

The eldest of the four children boin to Ste|)hen 
and Harriet Smith was Ilarlen S., the subject of 
this sketch, who was born in (atl.-iiaugus County, 
X. Y., .\(iril 7, ISti. He grew toarobusi manhood 
in his native State, receiving his education in the 
common schools and flrillith Institute, after which 
lie commenced to read medicine. At the age of 
niiieleen years, he entered the employ of llie (lov- 
ernment, being comiei'Ud with the \\':u Depjirl- 
ment.aiid wa.- thus engaged until the fall of 1SC>7. 
MuuuwUUe hi: continued his uicUical studies and 



was a student in the medical department of the 
(ieorgetown Medical College, where he graduated 
in 1867. 

Resigning his position with the (lovernment 
during the following year, the young doctor trav- 
eled through the West in search of a location. 
Failing to find one which he considered suitable, 
he returned to New York and opened an olliee for 
practice in Ellicottsville, remaining llieie about 
thirteen years and l)econiing known ;is a skillful 
physician. In 1879, he came to Michigan, and, 
after a sojourn of one year in Kalamazoo, located 
in Schoolcraft, where he h.as since resided in the 
enjoyment of an extensive and lucrative practice. 

The marriage of Dr. .Smith, at F^liicottsville, N. 
Y., united him with Miss Sophie M. Skinner, a na- 
tive of Cattaraugus County, X. Y., and they are the 
parents of three children: Florens V. Z., Leslie G., 
and Stephen II. The Doctor is identified with the 
Alasonic fraternity and the Rei)ublican party, ex- 
tending his influence in aid of those [lublic meas- 
ures which he considers calculated to promote the 
welfare of the people. 



EORGE C. FAXCKBOXER. I'his popular 
(— n citizen of Schoolcraft w.a.s l)orn in Helvidere, 
^ Warren County, X. .1., .lune 11, 182!). 
When eight years old, he accoijipMiiied his paicnt.s 
to Kalamazoo County, settling in I'rairie Ronde 
Township, and growing to manhood upon his 
father's farm. Possessing an industrious disposi- 
tion, he commenced to learn the trade of a carpen- 
ter when about eighteen and served an ap|)rentice- 
ship of three years, meanwhile remaining with his 
father. 

P\)r twelve years, Mi'. I'anikbonei- followed the 
tra<k' of a carpenter and met with considerable 
success in the |iursuit of the trade. l)eiiig engaged 
|)rincipally in the vicinity of Schoolcraft. For 
two years of that tune, he also operated a farm, 
after which he followed the vocation of a farinei 
for twelve seasons, mean while running a tliieshiiig 
iii;n-hine foi- neigliboi"s. In Fi>bruai\\'. 1H(;7, lie n-- 
Mlo\ I'd to Scliool(i;ift wlieri' for another lwel\e 
years he tullowed the U'udc of a butcher uud at 



672 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the same time sold agricultural implements anrl 
managed his farm. 

The next business to which Mr. Fanckboner 
devoted his attention was tlie manufacture and 
sale of monuments and gravestones, in which he 
continued some three years. lie owns a splendid 
farm of one hundred and twenty-eight acres, be- 
sides village property of considerable value, and 
since 1881 has engaged exclusively in farming. 
He still supervises the place, although a ten.'int re- 
sides upon it and cultivates the land. Although 
his personal affairs have required his almost undi- 
vided thought, he is a keen observer of men 
and things and contributes his quota to public 
enterprises. Especially has he maintained close 
interest in the County Fair and was largely in- 
strumental in securing the location of the Fair 
Grounds at Schoolcraft. 

November 1.5, 185,5, Mr. Fanckboner was united 
in marriage in Prairie Ronde Township, to Miss 
.\deline McCreary, tiie sister of George IMcCreary, 
wliose sketch mav be found elsewhere in this vol- 
ume. Mrs. Fanckljoner was boru in Prairie 
Ronde Townshii), March 29, 1835, and was edu- 
cated in the public schools of the community. A 
lady of great amiability and culture, she luas been 
especially active in temperance work, having 
signed a pledge when she was young and kept it 
.sacred ever since. She h.as l)elonged to almost 
every temperance society which has been organized 
in the vicinity of her home, having been iden titled 
with tiie Sons and Daugliters of Temperance, (iood 
Templars, Crusade Society, White Ribbon, Blue 
Riblion, Prohibition and Woman's Christian Tem- 
perance Union, and in all of which she has held 
oHices of trust and honor. 

^Ir. and >lrs. Fanckl)oner are the jiarents of 
three children, namely: Lottie A., wlio married 
Frank Drumniond. and died Octolicr 15, 1888; 
Preston W., who chose as his wife Miss Anna Mack- 
lin, and Hattie E.. who is also greatly interested 
in temperance work and is an .active member of 
the Young Woman's Christian Temperance Union. 
She is connected with the Methodist Church, of 
w hich she is organist. Mr. Fanckboner has served as 
a memlier of the \'illage Board and w.as itsl'iesident 
for four terms. While residiui;- in Prairie Ronde 



Township, he filled the position of Constable and 
takes considerable interest in i)ublic matters, al- 
though he is independent in his political attiliations. 
He contributes to the support of the .Methodist 
Chinch, of which his wife is an active menilier, 
and .as old settlers and iiromlnent citizens, both 
arc highly esteemed liy their aciiuaintances. 



\|^DWIN VOSBUH<;iI. In all his enterprises 
jl^ this gentleman has met with marked mic- 
/ mLs^ cess, and is now one of the solid business 
men of Kalamazoo County, having for many years 
successfully engaged in farming pursuits on section 
24, Ross Township. He owns one hundred and 
sixty acres of good farming land, one hundred .■iiid 
twenty of which comprise his home pl.ace. and he 
occupies a beautiful residence, erected in 18'J1. 

AVayne County, N. Y., is the native place of Mr. 
Vosburgh, who w.as born December 7, 1835. His 
parents, David and Sophronia (Loomis) Vosljurgli, 
were natives of New York, and he was reared u[M)n 
a farm there, meanwhile gaining such schooling .as 
was possible at that day. In 1847, he accompanied 
his parents to Michigan and located with thciii in 
Charleston Town.ship, Kalamazoo County, where 
he was a witness of the development of the county. 
In the home there established, his parents spent 
their remaining years, and at their death were 
survived by five children: Alonzo, Edwin, .John, 
Milford and Susan. 

The hardships of pioneer life, the clearing of 
land, removing brush and •••tumps, turning the first 
furrows in the soil — all this work was participated 
in by IMr. Vosburgh. Soon after commencing for 
himself, he was married to IMiss .lane Romans, and 
live children were l)orn of the union, three of whom 
still survive, namely: ^larshall, who married Cora 
Foard; Sarah, wife of Benjamin Piper, and Ella, 
who l)ecame the wife of Joseph Hudson. 

The second matrimonial alliance which was con- 
tracted b}' Mr. 'N'osburgh brought to his home a 
bride whose maiden name was Ellen Roiiian>, .'iiid 
wild is an estimalilc lady of great kindness of heart. 
They are the parents of seven children, namely: 



i 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRArH'CAL RECORD. 



673 




Cora, now ^frs. Clinrlos Stratton; DiMinis. who is 
livinij ill W;isliiiigt()ii Slate; Manioy. David, .Susan, 
Walter and Hertlia. Aiiout the time of the close 
of the Civil War, Mr. \'osbiirirli .settled upon his 
])iivient farm, where he has since remained, eni^ag- 
ing in ajjricultural pursuits with success. 

The Domoeralic jiarty has a stanch adherent in 
Mr. ^'osbul•gh, who uses liis influence and l)allot 
for It-i principles and candidates. Xo measure is 
])reseiiled of piililie importance wliicli fails to re- 
ceive Ills hearty symi)atliy and .active .assistance. 
His life has lieen such as U> win liie confidence of 
all with whom luisiness or social rel.ations have 
lirouglit him in contact, and his success is the re- 
sult of the sterling traits of character which he pos- 
sesses. 



'I^M ICMAEL C. CRONIX, M. I)., one of the 
most prominent physicians of Van Buren 
County, resides in I'angor, where, in the 
few years since he came to that place, he 
has built u|i an extensive practice, and has secured 
hosts of friends, nfit only through his successful 
treatment of tiie '• ills which flesh is heir to," but 
hy his affable manners and courteous treatment of 
every one with whom he comes in contact. 

Dr. Cronin is a native of Indiana, his birth talc- 
ing place at Muncie, September 9, ISOfi. At the 
age of eight years, he accompanied his parents to 
Hartford City, Ind., where he was educated at 
Ridgevillc College. He afterward taught school 
for five terms and then began reading medicine. 
In IH7H, he entered the medical department of the 
Butler I'lii versitw in iiis native State, from which 
he was graduated in 1X81. He followed the prac- 
tice of his iirofessinii at Hartford for .a shoil time, 
anil then located at South Haven, Mich., where he 
practiced ff>r nearly two years in part^iersliip with 
W. C. Ransom. In the fall of 18H2, he came to 
Bangor, where he h.i-s since resided, and has been 
emiiieiitly successful. He has always been a close 
stinlent and has kept alireasl of the times in seien- 
tilic disctivcries ami in everything whicli would aid 
ill tile bettor kllowlecIu;r of Hie lllllli:ill ^\>lrlil Mild 

the effects of drujjs. in the fall of l»a7, Dr. Cronin 



went to Xew York and took a post-graduate course 
in Bellevue Hospital and College, thus adding 
greatly' to his practical experience in both medi- 
cine and surgery. 

The parents of our subject, .Tohn and JNIary 
(Trant) Cronin, were natives of the Emerald Isle, 
but emigrated to .Viiierica earl_y in life. The 
father is still living at Ilartffird City, Ind., where 
heh.as four sons in business, one beinga phj'sician, 
another in the medical college, the third a iner- 
cliaiit, and the remaining son interested in buying 
and selling land. 

Dr. Cronin was married in M.ay, 1880, to Miss 
Emma Willison, of \'an Burcn County, rolitically, 
the Doctor is a Democrat and strongl}' attached to 
his party, which he believes holds the correct 
views on national government. He li.asa beautiful 
residence and a fine office, in which may be found 
a well-selected library of books, the m.ajority of 
which treat especially on the subject-s connected 
with his professif)n. Dr. Cronin is a man wIk) has 
lived a bn.sy and useful life, is liberal and generous 
to all demands made upon his time or pur.se, and 
who counts his friends b^- the score. 



4#= 



'•••^. 



=^ 



AFKRT SLOTMAN. The gentleman whose 
name heads this sketch has atl.'iined con- 
^^ siderable |iromiiieiice in agririiltiiinl circles, 
by reason of his intelligence and iirogre.ssive tend- 
encies and also by his genial and frank ways. He is 
at present residing on his comfortable farm on sec- 
tion "21 , Overisel Township, Allegan County, where 
he gives his time and attention to the cultivation 
of the sfiil. and by a proper rotation of crops his 
land has been brought to a high degree of cultiva- 
tion and made to yield handsome returns. 

Mr. Slolman is a son of Lafert and .lohaiiiin 
.Slotman and was liorn March I, 1818, in Syracuse, 
X. Y. He was an infant when his parents re- 
moved to this State and ktcated in Overisel Town- 
ship, where he has since made his home. He was 
given a fair education in the .schools of his neigh- 
borhood and when eighteen years of age starteil 
out to do for liiinsolf. by working out by the 
month as a farm laborer. 



674 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Alice Wagner became tlie wife of our subject, 
their marriage taking place in Overisel Township. 
Mrs. Slotman is a native of Holland and is the 
daughter of Cornelius Wagner, also a native of 
Holland. She was brought to Grand Haven, this 
State, when a child of seven years and was given 
a good education in the common schools of her 
neighborhood. Her father died in Muskegon, 
where her mother is now residing at the advanced 
age of eighty-two years. 

Seven children have come to bless the liome of 
our subject and his wife, six of whom are living 
at the present writing (181)2). They bear the 
names respectively of Johanna, Katie, Willie, Lena 
Flora and Lawrence. One child died in infancy. 
Mr. Slotman is the owner of eighty acres of excel- 
lent land which has been brought to its present 
prosperous condition by his own hands, .as it was 
in its primitive state when he purchased it. He 
has erected good and convenient buildings on his 
farm and everything about the premises bears the 
marks of the industry and good management of 
the owner. 

Mr. vSlotman has occupied the responsible i)osi- 
tion of Township Tre.isurer, occupying the ollice 
for two years, and during tliat period giving entire 
satisfaction. In politics, he is a firm adherent of 
Democratic principles. He, with his family, is a 
memljer of the Reformed Ciiurch and is highl3- es- i 
teemed as a valuable addition to the farming com- [ 
munity with which he has been idenlilied for so j 
many years. 



•S-^+s 



./ 



r~ 



~x 



^^^ AMKS HALE, wIlh is one of the prominent 
.•ukI representative farmers of Antwerp 
Towiishii),A'an Buieii County, resides on sec- 
tion 3, where he has a finely cultivated place. 
He is a native of England, liaving been born in 
Devonsliire. February 27, 1827. His parents, Will- 
iam and Mary (Lettaby) IJale, were natives of the 
same shire, where the fatlier was a house-builder by 
occu|)ation. liotli parents died m their native 
land, the father in 18:31 and the mother in 184 J. 



They were consistent members of the Eitiscopal 
Church. 

Our subject received a good common-school ed- 
ucation in Devonshire, and at the age of sixteen 
learned the cari)enter's trade which he followed 
until 1849. In this year, on April 1, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Eliza Pugsle^-. She also was a native 
of England and born in 1822. Five children were 
born to these parents, of wlioni four are living: 
^lar\'. wife of Albert Mosher, who has two cliildrcn, 
Lena and Roy; .Jennie E., who is at home; Waldin 
.T. married Miss Clara B. Sheldon, and they 
have one daughter named Beatrice; Henrietta, 
wife of E. H. Babbitt, resides in St. Louis, Mo., 
and they have iwo children, .James B. and an in- 
fant, William Dean; Eva died in 1853 at the age 
of two 3'ears. 

In 1819, ]Mr. Bale emigrated from England 
to the United States, coming at once to Micliignn 
and settling on a farm in Paw Paw, this county, 
where he worked at his trade until the sjjring of 
18.59 when he removed onto a farm one mile from 
Paw Paw. Here he lived for several 3'ears, wiicii 
he sold that farm and moved onto the place where 
he now lives, which consists of two hundred and 
fifteen acres. Here his wife died, February 22, 
1881. She w^as an excellent woman and a nieml)er 
of the Methodist Episco|)al Church. Mr. Hale 
was again married, December 2, 1882, this time to 
Mrs. Isabella (McBain) Chesebro. She is a naiive 
of Albany, N. Y., born Felnuary 19,1840. Mr. 
Chesebro was a native of New York, born October 5, 
1830, and was principal of the High School at 
Grand Rapids, Mich., for a number of ^-cars and 
also held the office Of School Inspector. lie was a 
Union soldier in the late war, serving from 18()3 
unlil the latter part of 1861, when he was taken 
ill and died in Ai)ril 1865. He united with tiie 
Methodist Episcopal Church when a small lioy.and 
lived an upright Christian life. This coujile were 
the parents of three children: Croinbie S., who 
lives in Des Moines, Iowa; Grant, who was born 
June 10, 1860, died February 13, 1888, leaving one 
son; Jennie, born August 29, 1857, is the wife of 
Francis E. Everts, and resides at (irand Rapids, 
Mich. 

Mrs. Bale is the daughter of William and 




trvAArn, 









PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



677 



IIpIph (C'r>\vip) McBaiii. llcr |i;iiciil> wcrr iiativps 
(if Soillniid. wlicif the r.'itlit'r \v;is a li:unpss-in:il<ci- 
liy trado. vvliich iM(ii|i:ili<in he follciwcil in tin' 
pally ])ail<)f life, hi I8/)!», lip piiijijratpd to Micli- 
iijaii, spttliiig in (!rand Rapids, and PUijaijinL;' in 
fannini; wliicli he fnlldwcd until his death, wliicli 
oppiii'iimI July I. IHHl). Tlu' nudlier died Feliiiiary 
13, l.SSd. Tlipy wpipllie [laiPiilsof live eliildi-eii: 
Klleii, wife of Kven Ilendeisliot. a resident near 
(irand Rai)i<ls; .lessii'. wife of Pliilip .lewetl. re>i(l- 
ingin(irand Rapids. Mieli.. William- .lanie. de- 
ee.aspd; and Isaliplla. They were lioth nienilieis of 
tlip CtinjiTPgalional Church. 

Mr. Halp is liip only child liviiii;' of the (larental 
family, nine in numher. Of his inarriasc with his 
last wife, lip has no cliildrpn. In IM-llt, Mr. r>alp 
Joined tlip Methodist Episcopal Church, in which 
lip li.as borne an active part ever sincp, liaving 
hpen .Stpvvard, Trustppand Class-lpadpr in tliP I'aw 
Paw Church for a nund)pr of \'cars. His wife is a 
inenilier of the same elmreh and lliey are active 
inp\prv good work 



— }- 



— <ffl 



M>^^<m 



■-<3) 



-J— 




>g^^ HARLKS .S. .MAYXARD, M. D. Ihpre is. 



perhaps, no pliysician and surgeon in Paw 
<< Paw more skillfid and jirogressivo than the 
gentleman whose name we place at the head of this 
sketch, an<l whose portr.ait on the opposite page 
perpetuates liis lineaments. He was lx>rn in IJata- 
via, N. Y.. April 1, 1H:5(), and is the son of William 
S. and Lovina (.'^tuart) Maynard, the father horn 
in Sudbury. Afass., in 18().'5, and of .Scotch-Irish 
ancestry; the mother was born in Morrisvillc. N. Y. 
Tiie parents of our subject removed to Forest- 
villc. Chaulauf|ua County, N. Y.. when he was an 
infant, to liulTalo when he w.as eight ^ears old, and 
t-o (Jirard, Erie County, P.a., when he was thirteen. 
They remained in the latter place until Charles S. 
reached his majority. He was given an excellent 
education, I)eing graduated from the academy at 
(iirard wlien thirteen years of age. He took a 
thorough cour.se in Latin. Erench and (lerman.and 
became a lluent speaker in both the latter lan- 
iruages. He was a great lover of music and at the 
early age of twelve years received training in that 



ait. studying both vocal and inslrnmental music. 
He alsii taught music in the old-fashioned singing- 
sehnols and can relate' many an interesting tale of 
his exi)cricnce in that line. 

From his earliest boyhood, Dr. Maynard had de- 
termined to study medicine, but .is he had to make 
his own way in the world, it was not until he 
reached his twenty-lifth year, that he was enabled 
to carry his resolution into eflect. Our sidiject <m 
reaching Ins majority was married in Pennsylvania 
to Miss Cynthia Ann Weed. He attended the Ec- 
lectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 
ISoS-,')!!. being graduated in the spring of the 
latter year. He then came to I'aw Paw, where he 
has since resided, and h:is built up an enviable 
reputation. 

Dr. Maynard was commissioned .Assistant Sur- 
geon in the Twelfth Michigan Infantry during the 
late war. by (iov. lUair. but ilid not accept the 
position, as he was needed at home. Had he 
obeyed his inclinations, he would have entered the 
service, but professional duty forbade him to do 
so, and he contented himself with aiding to rai.se 
companies. He was at one time offered a Lieuten 
ant's commission. The Doctor was a Republican 
in politics in carl^' life, having been reared a Whig 
He supported H.ayes in 1H7(!. but shortly after 
joined the Greenback ijarty, who (ilaced him on 
their ticket as a eandidatp for Rei)resentative. 

In the spring of 1878, Dr. M.aynard was elected 
President of Paw Paw and served most acceptably 
for one term. One year intervening, he w.as again 
elected to that responsible imsition. holding the 
oflice for four years, which was twt) and a half 
times .as long a.s any other incumbent; he declined 
to serve a. sixth term. Dr. JIaynard was also 
Townsliip School Inspector for two yeai-s. He is 
the present Health Olliccr of Paw Paw Town- 
ship, liaving held that ollice for the past ten years. 
He has been Director of the Raw Paw Schools 
since 1882, and has devoted a great deal of his 
time and influence to building up the schools here, 
and may well be proud of the result of his lalnirs, 
as the city has as g<if)d institutions of learning as 
are to be found in Michigan. 

In 1884, Dr. Maynai'd became a l)pni(K>rat and 
supported Cleveland. In 18nH. he received the 



678 



PORTRAIT AND EIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 



Democratic iioiniiiation for Congress from the 
Fiiiirlli Districl. ainl. allhiiui;li that section was 
strongh lU'pulilican, lie ran alieail of his tici<et by 
several luuuh'ed votes. The Doctor is very prom- 
inent in political affairs, anil has been a delegate 
to various conventions, helping to nominate the 
successful ticket at (irand Rapids, in 18',»0. 

Our subject, although reared a Methodist, is now 
a memlier of the Christian Church. The four chil- 
dren born to the Doctor and his wife are: Ella, 
widow of Sidney Lewis, who has a daughter, Miss 
Xellie Lewis; Kate, who married James E. Ander- 
son, has four children; Ilattie, who is a teacher of 
penmansliip and book-keeping in the Paw Paw 
public school; and William S., the youngest child, 
who was drowned at the ,age of sixteen. 

-i->^"i"»|<^'^4"i"{-^ i — ' 



-^■^■i-i-i-'mm ■i-i-i-i-h 



'^in^jENJAMIN F. IIECKERT, attorney-at-law 
llMv^ ^^^ Probate Judge of Paw Paw, Van Buren 
/(fM)llj Count3-,was born inWa^aie Count}', Ohio, 
^^f'' March 29, 1840, to John D. and Saloma 
(Hersh) Heckert. The father was a native of Vir- 
ginia and died t)n a farm in Ohio, in 1844. The 
mother was born in Pennsylvania and died in 1877. 
Our subject remained on the farm in Wayne 
County until eighteen, when he took a course at 
Canaan Academ\-, and began teaching at nineteen, 
lie taught two terms, the last one the winter be- 
fore the w-ar. 

On April 18, 1861, three da.vs after the Presi- 
dent's proclamation for seventy-flve thousand 
men, our subject enlisted in Company K, Six- 
teenth Ohio Infantry. He was in the first engage- 
ment of the war, at Pliilippi, also Ricli Mountain 
and Carrick's Ford. At the end of three months, 
August, 1861, he helped to get up a company 
among his old schoolmates and neighbors. In that 
company he was appointed Orderly-Sergeant, and 
in February, 1862,was promoted to be Second Lieu- 
tenant. They went into camp at Camp Tiflin, 
AVayne County, Ohio, and then at Camp Dennison, 
where they remained a month and then went to 
Lexington. Ky. January 1. 1862, they were 
ordered to Mill Springs, and from there to Cuin- 
lierland Ford, and in June of that year they helped 



to capture Cumberland Gup. Here they remained 
until August, and then went to Tazewell, Tenn., 
where they fought Kirby Smith's command. From 
here they retreated to the Oliio River,on account of 
supplies being short. They had to live by fora- 
ging on the country, mostly for green corn which 
was grated and baked. They refitted at Gallipolis 
and went np theKanahwa Valley to Charleston, W. 
\a.. From Portland they started for Memphis, 
Tenn., and there went into camp. From Slemphis 
was organized tlie expedition against Vicksburg, 
and the regiment was under Sherman. They took 
transports to Johnson's Landing on the Yazoo 
River, where, after skirmishing two or three days, 
they charged the enemy's works on December 29, 
1862, and were repulsed. Our subject was cap- 
tured at this place and held prisoner five months 
at Vicksburg, Jackson, Mobile, Atlanta, and 
finally at Liliby Prison, two mouths of the time. 
In May, 1863, he was exchanged and joined his 
regiment in front of Vicksburg. He was at the 
fall of Vicksburg and then w-ent with Sherman to 
Jackson, Miss., and fought Johnson. After a while 
at various places in the South, the regiment went 
to Ft. Esperanza, Tex., and remained there till 
April, 1864. They then went up the Red River to 
re-inforce Gen. Banks, and his regiment helped to 
dam the river and float the federal gunboats over 
and down the rapids. They went into camp at 
Morganza Bend, on the Mississippi River, and 
that fall, his term of enlistment having expired, 
he w.as ordered to Columbus, Ohio, to be mustered 
out. In the spring of 1865, he began to attend 
school at Il.aycsville, Ohio, where he remained a 
year and a half. He then entered the University 
at Ann Arbor, Mich., studying in the Law De- 
partment in the fall of 1867. 

The subject of this sketch was graduated from 
the Tniversity in 1869, and located at South Ha- 
ven to practice law. He was married in Wayne 
County. Ohio, April 30, 186«, to Miss Emily M. 
Barr, a daughter of the Rev. Thomas II. and Ca- 
roline (Metcalf) Barr. Her father is a Presbyte- 
rian minister. Our subject lived at South Haven 
six years, where he was Village Attorney and Jus- 
tice of the Peace, and was elected Circuit Court 
Commissioner in 1872. In July. 1874, he was ap- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



679 



ixiiiitcil Prospftitiiig Attonicy for llii- cuiinly. niiil 
III Oi-tiilicr, 1S7."). lie locntcil in l':i\v l':i\v. Mr. 
lU'ekoil was tlireo limus i-li-cU-d I'loseciilinj; .Vt- 
torney after that, lie l)e<fan lii.s practice liere, 
ami, in 1888, w.i.s elected Judije of l'rol)atc Court, 
tiu'iliilii's of wliicli ollicc lie is f;iillifiilly discliarji;- 
iiiii'. Ill' liMS also lieeii \'illa^i' Attorney a niini- 
lier of yeai>. In tlie fail of 1886, lie went In Kan- 
sas Cily, l)ul reinaiiu'il there only a few nionlhs. 
when he returned. In (lolitics, this jijentleniaii is 
a stalwart He|iiil)lii:iii. 



1^ OlM) H. Cl'MiMINGS, deceased. In llie 
death of this If en 1 1 email. Hicli land 'rownslii|). 
^ Kalamazoo t'oiiiity, was deiiii\cd of one of 
its active .and representative citizens wlio hacl lonu' 
lieeii an honored and mlhiential resident of this 
place. The State of hisljirth was New York, where 
he was liorii Feliriiar\' I'.t, l.S2(J. His |)arents were 
Benjainiii and Elizahelli C'uinmiiiu;s. and he was a 
luother of S. S. Cummings, ex- Post master of IJicii- 
Innd. 

Mr. Ciinimings was a mere lad when he jour- 
lieye<l to this county with his i)arenl,s and was here 
reared to ni.an's estate. Ilisearly youtli was >pcnt 
on the farm, assisting his father and altcnrlino ilic 
conimon schools. He took as his life companion, 
.Inly 2, 185!), Miss Einily Stewart, a native of I'or- 
tage County, Ohio, having had her Ijirlii August 
6, 18:58. Mrs. C'uinmiiigs is a daughter of Tiioiii;>s 
and .Syliila (Waller) Stewart, the father coming 
from Ireland and the nxjther from Conneclicut. 
They came to this county about 18|.j, and located 
land in Richland Townshiii. where the father 
pa.ssed away in 18;)0 and the mother in 1M72. 
They had horn to them ten children, of whom the 
following-named survive: Waller; Mrs. Cummings; 
IJet-sey, the wife of Alexander Pliilow. aiicl .lulia. 
wife of (leorge Mason. 

For a time, our subject engaged in the grocery 
liii>iness at Chicago, III., and after his marriage 
settled on the farm where his good widow now re- 
-ii|r~. He cultivated this place and did general 



fanning until hi< death, wliioli oeeiirred December 
:i, 18KK. When he look the place, it was liut a 
wilderness and he made a splendid e>tate of it, 
erected good substantial buildings of all kinds and 
effected excellent improvements. He was a hard 
worker and jiaid close attention to his busines.s. He 
took an active part, in school matters and served 
on the .School Hoard of his district and wji-s al- 
ways in favor of anything that would better the 
condition of the schools and the township. He 
was a kind and loving father and husband and 
an obliging neighbor and not only is he mourned 
by ills family but by the whole community. 

The gentleman of whom we write and his esti- 
mable wife had born to them two children, whom 
they named Harriet and Nettie. They are both 
first-class teachers in the public schools of this 
county. Mi's. Cummings resides on and has the 
supervision of the homestead of one hundred and 
live acres and the place shows her sagacious judg- 
ineiit and business ability. She is a lady nuicli 
like() and res|K'clcd, as are also her two daughters 
who are active niembers of the best societs in the 
township. Mrs. Cummings is a consistent and 
valueil member of the Presbyterian Church. 



^I[ 



m^ 



H 






ESSE S. P>ART()X, a prominent citizen of 
Paw Paw, was born in Washtenaw County 
this .State. .luly 17, ls:!.s. and is the mui of 
William and Cliarity (Stevens) IJailon, 
natives of New York, who removed to \"aii I'.uren 
County when Jesse S. was a youth of fourteen. 
He received a common-school education and was 
reared on a farm. When about eighteen, he coni- 
nienced in life for himself and bought a trad of 
wild l:ind, comprising eighty acres in Almen.a 
Township, which he cleaied and afterward sold. 
He now owns one hiiiiilred and sixty .acres in Al- 
meiia Townshiii. and is prominently connected 
with the Inisiness interests of the coininunity. 

.laiiuary 2.i, l«<i(!, Mr. liarton w.as married to 
Miss .\nna ."swick, who was born at IJig Flats, N. 
Y., October 26. 1.S42. Her father, Rev. P.. R. 
.Swick, was born in New York .lanuary 2, 1808, 



680 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArfflCAL RECORD. 



anrl was a weli-kiinwii Baptist clergyman of West- 
ern New '^'<irk. Ik' was united in marriage witli 
Hila Ann Armstrong, born in New York State, 
Jnly 15, 1805, and tlie union was blest by the birth 
of ten children, seven of whom attained to mature 
years. They now reside in Michigan with the ex- 
ception of Mrs. Mary Burnett, whose home i^ in 
Lisbon, Dak. The mother of the familj' died in 
Bath, X. Y., ill April, 1850, but the father survived 
until August, 1370, when he passed awaj', mourned 
by all wlio knew him. 

By a course of study in the common schools and 
the Genesee Wesle3'an Seininaiy at Lima, N. Y., Mrs. 
Barton prepared herself for the profession of a 
teacher, which she entered upon at the early age of 
seventeen, teaching some five terras in New York. 
She came to Michigan in October, 1862, and com- 
menced to teach, continuing to follow that profess- 
ion until she was married to Mr. Barton. At the age 
of thirteen, she was converted and became a mem- 
ber of the Baptist Church. When quite young, 
she began to write for publication, her first poems 
being i)ublished when she was seventeen. 

At that time Mrs. Barton had no thought of 
ever collecting her writings, but in later years, 
when her health failed, she interested herself in 
collecting her various poems, which she published 
in 1882 in an edition entitled "For Friendship's 
Sake." As a writer, her stjde is pleasing, clear 
and flowing, while the sentiment of her produc- 
tions is lofty and noble. However, she is equall.y 
well known through her ministerial work, which 
probably had its origin in the spring of 1874, when 
she was requested by the Sundaj'-school Superin- 
tendent at Waverly to take charge of the Young 
People's Bible Class. With great reluctance, she 
accepted that responsible position, which she re- 
tained for three years, when the class became so 
large that she was compelled to divide it. 

, As the reward of her consecrated efforts, Mrs. 
Barton saw her husband profess Christ in 1876, as 
well as the majority of the members of her class, 
numbering more than fifty. During the absence 
of the pastor, Rev. B. L. Prescott, at the Centen- 
nial, she was requested to read a sermon, which 
she did, and afterward aided her pastor in revival 
services. The following winter she was called to 



be pastor of a newly organized church at Glidden- 
burg, six miles west of Paw Paw, and accepted 
the charge, remaining there for one j'ear. She 
then accepted a call from her home church at 
Waverly, where she remained two years. 

On account of nervous prostration, Mrs. Barton 
was compelled to cease fi-om the ministiy for per- 
haps three years, and upon recovering her health 
she commenced evangelizing in various places. 
Afterward she remained for a few months as pas- 
tor of the church at Gliddenburg, and from there 
going to Oshtemo, where she was pastor of the 
church for one year. In the winter of 1886-87, 
she assisted in revival work at Paw Paw, and 
during the following spring accepted a call to the 
Free Baptist Church here, where she has since la- 
bored with excellent results. In December, 1886, 
she was ordained to the ministiy, and will doubt- 
less devote her energies to her chosen work so 
long as life shall last. 

In her home, the Rev. Anna Barton is a devoted 
wife and loving mother; as a friend, she is faith- 
ful, and as a neighbor unselfish and generous. Her 
life is an exemplification of her Christian belief, 
and in all her actions and writings she is actuated 
by an overwhelming desire to win mankind to 
Christ. Iler labors have been blest and through 
her ministration of the Word many have pro- 
fessed Christianity. She has ever been a tender 
and wise mother and counsellor to the three chil- 
dren that have blest her union. Of her family-, 
the 3'oungest child alone remains under the paren- 
tal roof, the others having established homes of 
their own. 

The only daughter, Minnie, who was born in 
Almena Township, November 14, 1864, graduated 
from the Paw Paw High School in 1888 and after 
teaching for a few years was married, August 19, 
1891, to Elmer Aseltine, a native of Vermont and 
a teacher in the schools of Gobleville. William 
B., who was born in Almena Township, September 
27, 1866, now resides in Dowagiuc, this State, lie 
was married, March 11, 1867, to Miss Anna Snyder, 
and they have one child, Leta. Phineas Almond, 
was born in Almena Township, April 29, 1871, 
and expects to follow the calling of a farmer. He 
is not married. 




Mrs. Walter monteith 




Walter Monteith 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



685 



(^ IfeALTKH MONTKITII. a rcUierl faiiiier. 
\/\li/ ^^'''"^'-'^^' 'iiniie is in Martin, was born July 
W^ 2^1 1815, in Caledonia Townsliip, Living- 
ston County, N. V. lie is descended from a lonn' 
line of wortiiy Scotch ancestors, and has inherited 
the ((ualities of perseverance and thrift, wiiieh 
charueteiize the natives of the "Land of the This- 
tle." Grandfather William ^Ionteilh,\viio was born 
in 1743, in Scotland, emigrated to this country, 
settling in Montgomery County, N. Y., where he 
died. During the Hevolutionai}- War, he served 
with bravery and was especially conspicuous for 
courage and valor at the battle of Sackett's Harbor. 
The maternal grandfather, William Allen, was 
likewise a native of Scotland, and, emigrating to 
the Fnited Stjites, s|)ent the last years of his life in 
New York. Thomas Mouteith, father of our sub- 
ject, was a native of the Empire State, and his 
birthplace w.as forty miles west of Albany. Tliere 
he w.as reared and also married, choosing as his wife 
■lane Allen, a native of East Galwa^-, N Y. The 
young couple removed soon after marriage to 
Caledonia Township, Livingston County, N. Y., I 
and for twenty years resided on a farm there,which 
they improved. In 1841, they came West to this 
State, settling in »Martin Township. Allegan ' 
Count}-, and at once commenced to cultivate a 
farm on section 29. 

In that place the parents spent their remaining 
days, and there the father died when more than 
than three-score years, and the mother when p.ost 
four-score. Their eight children attained to ma- 
ture years and, of the number, five are now living, 
namely: AVilliam; Walter, our subject; Thoin.is, of 
whom see sketch on another page of this volume; 
John and Mary. Mr. Monteith was reared in Cal- 
edonia and, in 18:?/), when twenty years old, came 
to Michigan, .settling in Hillsdale County, and 
Mo-scow Township. There he cast his first vote. 
Somewhat later, he returned to New York and 
after remaining there until .March G, 1837, once 
more sought Michigan, coming direct to Martin 
Township, Allegan County. 

With his brothei-s, our subject erected the third 

house that was built in Martin Township, and it 

was located on section 32, south one-half of the 

south southeast quarter. They not onl\- built the 

31 A 



house, but cut the logs for its sides and otherwise 
improved the [iliice by planting orchards, fencing 
the land and putting up farm buildings. After 
years of arduous toil, Mr. Monteith retired from 
the .ictive duties of farming, and, moving into the 
village of Martin, established a home in a com- 
fortable residence where he is quietly passing his 
closing years. 

The marriage of Mr. Monteith, which took place 
March 21), 181(1. united him to Elizabeth, daugh- 
ter of Duncan and Margaret (Mc.-Vrthur) McMar- 
tin. Mrs. Mouteith was Ijorn in Montgomery 
County, N. Y., .Vpril 14. 1814. Her father, who 
was born in .Scotland, came to New York when a 
young man and there married Margaret McArthur, 
who was born in .lohiistow^n. that State. The fa- 
ther died in Montgomery Count}-, N. Y., when 
seventy, and the mother at about seventy-two 
years of age, w-iiile living in Gun I'laiii, Allegan 
CouLit3',Mich. All of their twelve children grew to 
mature years, and four are now- living, namely: 
I'eter.who is a minister in the Presbyterian Church 
at Plainwell; .John, who is a farmer of the same 
place; Catherine, the widow of William Anderson, 
and Mrs. Mouteith. 

Eight children were boru of the union of .Mr. 
and Mrs. Monteith, as follows: Thomas II., who 
died at the age of one year and eight months; 
Elizabeth, wife of Robert Wylie, of Martin Town- 
ship, and the mother of four sons; Eleanor J., who 
died at the .age of eighteen months; Arthur, w-lio is 
a lawyer in Belton, Dell County, Te.K.; Mary, who 
resides with her parents; Peter, who died when 
about tw-o years old; Millaid, a telegraph operator 
in Chicago, anil Catherine, the wife of Daniel Me- 
Leod, a resident of Manistee, this State. Mr. Mon- 
teith is the owner of three hundred and thirty- 
two acres of well-improved land, the mostof w-hieh 
he cleared himself. When he started out in life 
on his ow-n account, he w-jis not only without capi- 
tal, but was in debt 114, and his present posses- 
sions, with the exception of one hundred and sixty 
acres which he received from his father, represent 
his unaided efforts. 

When Mr. Monteith came here, the country was 
a wilderness and show-ed iK)l the least indication 
of its present prosperity. lie aided in building 



686 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the first hfidge across tlio (Inn Rivoi- in I'lainwell, 
also the lirst bridge across the Ivahimazoo River at 
Phiinwell.and tlie first mill in tlie \illao'eof (Jtsego. 
In liis political alliliations, ho was lirst a Wliig and 
later a Heiiuhlican. In 1839, he was elected Iligli- 
way Commissioner and lieljiod in malving many 
roads in the conntry. lie has been Assessor for 
tliree townships — Martin, Wayland and Layton — 
and also served as Commissioner in the same. 
Foi- many years, he served as School Director and 
Pathmaster, and was Justice of the Peace for four 
years and Postmaster eight years. In woid and 
deed he is a sincere Christian and holds menibei- 
shiji in the United Presbyterian Church, of which 
he has liecn Trustee for many years. He has been 
a generous contributor to the cause of religion 
and has aided in liiiilding two churches, one of 
which cost $7,000. 

The attention of the reader is invited to tlic 
lithographic portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Monteith, 
which are presented in this connection. 



S^+^ 




ET 



EN.7AMIN ^'0(^^IIOKST. The gentleman 
whose name stands at the head of this 
sketch is a prominent meichant in Overisel, 
where he is carrying on a thriving general 
merchandise business, dealing extensively in hats, 
caps, drj'-goods, groceries, crockcryware etc. His 
place of business is located in Overisel, and is 
40x22 feet in dimensions, every inch of which is 
utilized to good purpose. 

Mr. Voorhorst is a native of Overisel, his birth 
having occurred here September 21, 1865, and 
although still a .young man, he has established a 
business which is one of the best paying in the 
township, and by his honesty and coui'teous dealing 
with his customers has a large patronage, carrying 
everything needful for both country and city 
households. The parents of our subject were Cor- 
nelius and Fredricka (Kleinneksel) Voorhorst, na- 
tives of Holland, the father being born in 1818, 
and the mother in 1830. The elder Mr. Voorhurst 
spent the earlier part of his life in his native land, 
and in 1847, wishing to know something more of 
the land beyond the sea, emigrated to America 



and, landing in New York, remained there only a 
short time, when he came to Allegan County, and 
made his home for two years in Holland. He was 
a surveyor and real-estate agent, which business 
he followed with great success for twenty-five years. 
He was married to the mother of our subject in the 
Wolverine St^te, in 1841), and to them was born a 
family of eleven children, four s<ms and seven 
daughters. 

The father of our subject was more than ordi- 
Jiarilv successful after coming to the New World, 
as he started out in life with nothing but a willing 
heart and strong determination to succeed in what- 
! ever he undertook. He chose wisely and well in 
deciding what would be his life work, and at liis 
death was the owner of one hundred acres of 
valuable land, upon which were all the necessary 
farm buildings. He bad owned one hundred acres 
in Ottawa County, but disposed of it prior to his 
death. He was one of the most prominent men in 
the township, and took an active interest in local 
politics, having held the office of Supervisor for 
seventeen years in succession and was an incum- 
bent of that position, in all, thirty years. In pol- 
itics, he was a stanch Democrat, and was looked 
upon .as one of the most active workers in the 
ranks of that party. He also served his fellow- 
townsmen in the oftices of Township Treasurer, 
Justice of the Peace and Notary Public, and 
indeed so popular was he that from the time of his 
advent into the county until his death in 188!i. 
he occupied some official position. His wife [ire- 
eeded him to the better land some years, her 
death occurring in 1865. Mr. Voorhorst was a 
man who possessed the full confideuce of the peo- 
ple of his community and was greatly mourned 
when he p.assed away. He was an active member 
of the Reformed Church of America. 

Benjamin Voorhorst, of whom we give a brief 
sketch, W!is reared in Overisel, where he received 
a good education in the English branches, and re- 
mained under the paternal roof until reaching his 
nineteenth year. At that date he and his brother 
Fred engaged in the mercantile business, and con- 
tinued together for two 3'ears, or until 1888, when 
our subject purchased his brother's Interest and 
has since carried on the enterprise alone. That he 



PORTRAIT AND BK >( nJAl'IlKAL HKCORD. 



687 



Ims lu'en successful in liis undertakiiijioan Iiciiscim- 
tiiiiicd l>y a visit to iiis store, wliicli is stociicd with 
a well-selected grade of iioo<ls of every variety 
earned \>y jjeiieral inereliaiit.s. lie is liuildiiiii u|) 
for liiinself a line liiisiness and the i)eo|)le of ( )ver- 
isel may well lie [iroiid to niiinlier among her en- 
terprising citizens so energetic and amhitious a 
voung man. 

Mi: Vooihorst is a member of the IJefoinied 
Cliurcii of America, to the snpi»ort of wliicli he 
contribntes of his means liberally and cheerfully. 
The Republiean party claim liini as one of its in- 
fluential nieml)ers. He very much prefers to give 
his entire time and attention to his business; at the 
same time his iirogressiveness leads him to keep 
thoroughly posted in political affairs, in which he 
is much interested. 



OIIX II. SKMON is actively aiding in con- 
ducting the great farming interests of Alle- 
gan County, and his farm on .section 8, 
^^^^' Allegan Township, is the site of one of 
the most attractive homes within its borders. Mr. 
Semon was born in Rensselaer County, N. Y., 
May 10, 1841, into the household of David D. and 
Adeline (I lawley) Semon, who were also natives 
of that county. The father was a farmer, and in 
1855 cninc to Michigan to hew out a farm from 
the forests of Allegan Township, lie bought a 
tract of eighty acres of heavily-timbered land on 
section 8, Allegan Township, and by years of hard 
pioneer labor developed it into a valuable farm. 
He cleared away the trees, put the soil under ad- 
mirable tillage and subsequently replaced the 
small frame house that lie at lirst erected to shel- 
ter his family with a commodious residence, and 
built a good barn and other out-buildings. He 
continued to live on his homestead until his hon- 
orable career was closed by his death in 1H70, when 
his township lost one of its most valued citizens, 
who lia<l contributed his (piota to its upbuilding, 
had always been public-spiriteil, and was a man i)i 
sound head and true heart, who was universally 
respected. He had a noble record as a soldier in 
the L'nion army during the war. With devoted 



p.-il riot ism. he had abandoned the comforts of home 
and his personal interests to go to the front to 
help fight his country's battles, enlisting in 18G2, 
and serving with (idelity throughout the Rebel- 
lion. He accoini)anied Gen. Sherman on his 
famous march to the sea, and was in other cam- 
paigns. In his p >litics, Mr. Semon was a Demo- 
crat. His wife survived him until the year IHHf), 
when she, too, passed awa.v. They had six chil- 
dren who lived to grow uj), and live of them are 
still living: Henry, .lohii, (ieorge, Oscar and 
Charles. Henry w.as a soldier during the war 
and did good service in the ranks. 

John H. Semon had good educational advan- 
tages in the |)ublic schools of New York and 
Michigan, and was well grounded in all that per- 
tains to agriculture during his youih. At the 
age of nineteen, he returned to his native State, 
and was employed in tiie lumber business in Or- 
leans County the ensuing two years. At the end of 
that time, he came back to Michigan to tjike charge 
of the old homestead, as his father and brother 
Henry went into the arm)'. After the war closed, 
he piiicliased a farm of forty acres opposite his fa- 
ther's, and lived thereon until 1890, when he 
removed to this i)lace on section 8, Allegan Town- 
ship, where he has a fine home, with pleasant sur- 
roundings. He owns forty-four acres of farming 
land and a ten-acre wood lot, and has all the con- 
veniences for carrj'ing on agriculture after the 
best modern methods. He is a man of sound 
sense, of excellent business capacity, and is one of 
the prominent citizens of his township. He is a 
steadfast adherent of the Dem<x'iatic party, and 
keeps himself well-informed in iiolitical matters. 
A man of his calibre is well suited for civic posi- 
tions, and he has liehl various town.-hip oflices 
with marked ability. 

3Ir. Semon wsis married, in 1865, to Miss Nellie 
Doland, and theirs is a felicitous domestic life. 
They are blessed with three children: Carrie K., 
Mrs. Cathe, of Milwaukee, Wis., who is the mother 
of two children. Hazel and Wilina; Oeorge W.; 
and Ivlna M. Mrs. Semon was born in the town- 
sliiii of (iroveland, Livingston County, N. V. 
Her parents, Philip and Mary (More) Doland, 
were also natives of the Kmitire SUite. where her 



688 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



father was ongau-cil in I'ariniiio- until a slioit time 
[jiior to Ins deatii, wiiicli oeciined veiy siifl(lenl\- 
in lH4;i, wliile Im> was (in a tiij) to Mexico. Mrs. 
Semon's mother came l«i Miehiiian in 18C7, and 
lived witli her until her death in ISCis. Two of 
her three children still live: Mrs. Klizalieth Howe 
and Mrs. .Semon. Iler son Peter was killed at 
the haitleOf Cold llarhor. 



^^APT. EDWARD CirNMNGIIAM. who is 
III residing on section 32, Ganges Township, 

^i^^ Alleo-an Cotinty, was born in White Hall 
Township, Washington County, N. Y., January 2.5, 
1843. He is a son of .lames and .Sns.an Cunning- 
ham, the father born in Glasgow, Scotland, where 
he spent his early years. When very young, he 
went into the Briti-sh Army and served three years. 
About 1840 the father of our subject came to the 
United States and settling in New York was mar- 
ried to Susan Mullen, a native of Ireland, but of 
Scottish parents. Mrs. Cunningham was the daugh- 
ter of David and Mary Mullen, the father a shi|) 
carpenter in his early life, but who on coming to the 
Xew World became a general mechanic. He was 
engaged in the construction of the Delevan Hotel 
at Albany, N. Y. 

Capt. Edward Cunningham had two brothers 
and a sister: AVilliam, Henry, and Belle, who is 
the wife of Melvin Bassett. The elder Mr. Cun- 
ningham first located in W.ashington County, 
N. Y.; later he removed his family to Cayuga 
Comity, and finally, in 1871, came to Eaton 
County, this State, where he made his home for 
eighteen years. In 1889, he came to his present 
home in Ganges Township, Allegan County. An 
uncle of James Cunningham served for a number 
of years in the British navy as Lieutenant, under 
command of Lord Nelson. While in the .service 
he lost an arm, in consequence of which misfortune 
he drew a large pension from the F>ritish Govern- 
ment. 

He of whom we write began to earn his own 
way in the world when fourteen years of age. He 
received an excellent education, being graduated 



from the Port Byron Academy at New York in 
18G3. Then, although but .seventeen years of age, 
in conipany with twelve of his classmates, he en- 
listed in the Union army, being mustered into 
Battery A, Third New ^'ork Light Artillery of 
New York. He fought with tlic Army of the (iulf 
and a portion of the time under Gen. Butler. Ho 
enlisted as a private but was soon promoted to the 
position of Lieutenant and when mustered out was 
Captain of his company. He jtarticipated in the 
following-named engagements: Rainbow Bluff, 
Little Surf Cieek, Little Washington, Cold Creek, 
etc. Our subject received a wouml in the chest at 
the battle of Wi.ses Forks, N. C, for which he le- 
ceivesa pension of 124 per month. 

On returning to New York after the war, Mr. 
Cunningham traveled four years for the Onondaga 
.Salt Company. He was married in 1871 to Caro- 
line, daughter of Abram and Ann .Sturge, natives 
of New York. Four children have been granted 
them, namely: James, who is now attending 01i\el- 
College, this State; Maggie, who is a graduate of the 
Olivet High School; Minnie and Susan. Our sub- 
ject has always been greatly interested in educa- 
tional matters and for nine years taught school iii 
New York. He was Superintendent of Schools of 
l-^aton County for a number of years and has been 
identified with the School Board wherever he hns 
lived. In politics, he is a strong Republican, and 
is a member of Jacob Fry Post, No. 46, G. A. R. 
He was formerly connected with and cominiuidei- 
of Lewis Clnrk Post, of Eaton County. 



tei . W w t . ^ i h . 




RI BAKER, of Martin, was born in Arling- 
ton, Bennington County, \t., November 
14, 1809. and now enjoys the distinction 
of being the oldest surviving settler of Allegan 
County, the three white men who were the only 
residents of the cotinty at the time of his arrival 
having long since passed away. His father, Ileinan, 
a native of Connecticut, removed in early man- 
hood to Arlington, Yt.. where he was married to 
Clarinda Hawley, a native of that place. The 
joung couple settled on a little piece of land, com- 
prising four acres, and there Mr. B.aker established 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



68y 



a cooper sliop. 'J'lionce lie removed to Maeedon, ' 
AVavne Couiily, N. V., and engaged in liusiness as 
a cooper until his death when seventy-throe. 

'I'lic niotliur of our subject had Iteen married : 
[iriur to her union witii .Mr. Hakcr, lier first hus- 
l)and being I'ri Young, and three children had been 
l)orn of the union: Curtis, William and Betsy, ail 
of whom are deceased. Our subject was the only 
child of her second marriage, and she died when lie 
was only a few months old, passing away February 
10, 181(1. .Vfterward Ileman liaker w.as again mar- , 
n('<l. choosing as his wife Patience Steele, and they 
becann' the parentsof live children, namely: Chaun- 
cey, St'\ inour 11. and C'clia (twins). Sheldon and 
Hushrod AV., all uf whom aic now deceased. So ; 
far :is is known, our suliject is the only s\uviving j 
member of the liaker family. 

When our subject was ten years old. he went to 
live with his maternal grandparents, Curtis and i 
nannah (French) l!awley,:uid remained with them 
for six years, (iraudfather llawley, who was a na- 
tive of tiic Creen Mountain Sljite, was a farmer l)y 
f>ccupation, and served during the Kevolutionary 
War, t4iking i»arl in the battle of lieiuiinglon. \l 
the age of sixteen, our subji'ct went to Wayne 
Coinity, N. v.. ;ind for about two years resided 
witii ills father. Thence he removed to Lodi. the 
same State, where for one year, he worked at any 
occupation which furnished the means of earning 
an lionest livelihood. .Vs early , 'is 18'2M, he c:ime 
West to the Territory of Michigan, proceeding to 
what is now Otsego Township, Alleg.-in County, 
and assi>ting to build the lirst sawmill here, it be- 
ing located on I'iiu' Creek. 

In removing hither, Mr. l>:ikercame in company 
with Turner Aldrich. of Lodi, N. V., for whom he 
workcil ten ye;\rs in the sawmill. For a tinu- he 
owneii a one-third interest in the mill, lint during 
a flood, lo>t what represented the accumulated sav- 
ings of yi'iu's. .Vflerward he again worked by the 
month until he removed tolnill Prairie (now Kich- 
land 'I'owuship). Kalamazoo Countv, where he so- 
jourue(l two year>. Next he l)Urchased a small 
|>iace conl.-iiiiing two ;icres. :nid loc;itcd in the 
town of I'rHirieville. Harry County, which con- 
tinued to be hi> home iiutil his removal to wlijil is 
now ^(lrkville. Al'ler "(irkiiiir in a sawmill there 



for one and one-half years, he purchased a lot, and 
built a dwelling house, which he traded for forty 
acres of tinil)ered land on section 2!), JIartin Town- 
ship. 

\l once ^Ir. liaker commenced to clear and im- 
[U'ove the i)lace, on which he found a log house 
and some outbuildings. In order to reach his 
lilace, he cut the road from where the hotel now 
sUmds for one mile esist, and endured all the 
privations incident to frontier life. It was seldom 
that his solitude was cheered even by the coming 
of a letter, for the postage on each letter was 
twenty-live cents, and as the country w.is sparsely 
settled, he worked alone and unaided. At no time 
while working for others did he receive more than 
^I per day salary, with the exception of one day, 
when he received ^1.50. 

.Vt that early daj' those things which the present 
generation considers the necessities of existence, 
were dillicult t<j obtain, and very e.x[)ensivc. On 
one occasion, Mr. Baker paid 1^8 for one-half bar- 
rel of salt, and ^3. DO for six yards of shirting, 
while for his wheat he i\'ceived forty-two cents per 
bushel. His journey to this section of country was 
made under adverse circumstances, and he was 
com|)elled to sleep out of doors from the time he 
left INIonroe until he arrived at Prairie Ponde. 
For three weeks he and his friends subsisted on 
lilackberries and milk, and sometimes were unable 
to procure even that scanty diet. While in Kala- 
mazoo, he hel[)ed to rai.se the lirst building there, 
and wa.s in Clrand Rapids when there was only one 
frame building in the village. The nearest grist- 
mill was »>n the St. .loe River, seventy miles from 
Pine Creek, while the nearest postotlice was at De- 
troit, one hundred and sixty miles away. 

Mr. Baker was married in Otsego Township, 
Allegan County, in lH;!l,to I)ia<lema Aldrich, a 
native of Lodi, N. V., who died after one year 
of wedded life. In 18;}.t, Mr. B:iker w.as united 
to yiiivy \. Putnam, a native of Macedon, Wayne 
County, N. Y.. where her marriage occurre(L Three 
eliildren ble.s.sed the union: Lydia Ann, who died 
when sixteen years; Laura A., who was taken 
hence by death when nine; and Stephen IL, who 
pas-ie<l away at lifteeii. 'I'lie mother of these chil- 
dren <lied in I8I:?. .\fterward Mr. Bakei- wa> mar- 



690 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 




ried to Anna M. Saxe, a native of Vermont, who 
was born in Ilighgate, Franklin County. Mrs. 
Anna M. Baker died April 18, 1891, aged eighty- 
four years and ten months. 

Twenty-six years after Mr. Baker settled on the 
farm on section 21), lie removed thence to the vil- 
lage of Martin, where in quiet happiness he is 
p.assing his declining years. His work in behalf 
of the county has won for him the respect of 
every true patriot, and so long as the brave pio- 
neers shall have a place in the hearts of genera- 
tions yet to come, so long will his name be cher- 
ished with affection. Politically, he is a stanch 
Democrat, and years ago, while in his prime, served 
with etliciency as School Inspector and Postmaster, 
as well as in other positions of trust and responsi- 
bilitv. 



iORUM W. GORTON. The labors which 
have resulted in the present high state of 
^^jj development of Allegan County were for 
many years participated in by this gentleman, who 
is now deceased. A native of New York, he was 
born August 29, 1829, in Henrietta Township, 
Monroe Count^^ and was the son of AVilliam II. 
and Electa (Hitchcock) Gorton, natives of the Em- 
pire State. His parents remained in New York for 
some years after their marriage, liut finally came 
to this State and spent their last years here. The 
youngest member of the family was our subject, 
who was reared in his native State, whence he re- 
moved to Michigan in 1852. 

Upon his arrival in this State, Mr. Gorton came 
directly to Watson Township, Allegan County, 
and settled on section 1.3, where his widow now 
resides. The land had been taken up from the 
Government in 1836, by Thomas Gorton, our sub- 
ject's grandfather, but no improvements had been 
placed upon it. As soon .as possible, he put up a 
log house, 16x26, and commenced to clear the land. 
The years which intervened before his death, were 
busily devoted to the work of developing the 
place, which he enibollislied with a first-class set of 
buildings. His death occurred March 21. 1882, 
while yet iu the prime of his useful existuuce. He 



was a consistent Christian, identified with the Bap 
tist Church, and in his political affiliations was a 
Republican. 

Mrs. Gorton, whose maiden name was Mary A. 
Mellows, was liorn June 30, 1830, in Henrietta 
Township, Monroe County, N. Y., and is the 
daughter of Thomas Mellows. The latter was 
born in Nottinghamshire, England, and there re- 
mained until he was twenty years old, when he 
came to America. He landed in New York City 
with fifty cents in his pocket and from that city 
worked his way to Rochester, N. Y., where he 
purchased some Government land and commenced 
farming. He gradually added to his first purchase 
until he owned two hundred acres, for the Last of 
which he paid $100 per acre. On that place his 
death occurred, August 24, 1871, at the age of four- 
.soore years. Success crowned his efforts, for from 
his original fifty-cent piece he increased his pos- 
sessions until he had $6,000 in the bank, besides 
his fine farm. In his political belief he was a Re- 
publican. 

The mother of INIrs. Gorton bore the maiden 
name of Jane Davis and was born in Hampshire, 
England, whence she emigrated to America as a 
nurse when a young girl. She was early bereaved 
by the death of her parents and thus sadly or- 
phaned, was compelled to support herself when 
still very young. She attained to the advanced 
age of seventy-seven years, and passed away, April 
7, 1878. She was the mother of eight children, 
four sons and four daughters, n.aniely: John, 
who is deceased; Elizabeth, the widow of Thomas 
Newton and a i-esident of Monroe County, N. Y. ; 
Mary, Mrs. (Jorton; Thomas, deceased; Ann, the 
wife of Jacob F. Slenker, who lives in Three Rivers, 
this State; Jane, the widow of Clinton Woodruff, 
of Henrietta Township, Monroe County, N. Y.; 
William, who is deceased; and James, whose home 
is in Henrietta Township, Monroe County, N. Y. 

The early years of Mrs. Gorton were passed in 
her. native i)lacc, her time lieing occupied in home 
duties and studying. In 18.50 she w.as united in 
marriage with G. W. Gorton, in Monroe County, 
N. Y.. and two years later came West to IMichigan, 
arriving iu this SlMtc Alay 3, 1K52. Airs. Gorton 
is the mother of three children, namely; Electa J., 



PORTRAIT AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



691 



the wife of Morris Kent, of Sturijis, ^licli.; Rosell 
.1., wlio in.'irriiM] .Miss Clarice Koiiiul, of Ilo|iivins 
Towiisliii). Ailciran County, and is tlie father of 
tiiree ehiidrcn: Itoliiii (I., ]\Iaiiiie and Cl\ dc 15.; and 
.laeoh W., who resides witli his mother, and super- 
vises tiie ohl hoiiie>teail. Since liie death of lier 
husli.-md, Mrs. (iorlon has earrie<l mi her farm with 
niarl<ed executive ability and has kept its one 
liundred .Mnil four acres under good cultivation. 
She now lias tiie ellicient assistance of her younger 
son. and witii him conduct>s a general farming and 
stock-raisin^' business. 



/ 



■ti IfcAI-TKI! S. lit )DGKS. secretary and origin- 
V r.!fi al stoikliolder in the Kardecn I'aper Coni- 
\V7vy pany.al ( )tseg(i.wliich he helped to organize. 
is a native of this State, and a popular and talented 
young liusiness man. who has already accpiired .an 
en viable ri'putation in linancial liicles. He vv;is 
liorn ill (iale^burgh, Ivalama/.oo County, Decem- 
ber 1, l.s.").j, a son of ('apt. George .S. Hodges, a 
<lislingnislied ollici'r in the late war, and a well- 
known pioneer and prominent citizen of Stuithern 
Michigan until his death. His father was born 
iie.ar Uatavia. N. V. In the vigor of early nian- 
liood, he came to ]Micliigan, in tlic year 1H:J8, and 
was one of tlie early settlers of Com>tock Town- 
ship, where he purchased improved land. He was 
actively engaged in f.arming under the [lionccr cfin- 
dilioiis that llii'ii prevailed, and he developed his 
land into one of the linest farms in the neighbor- 
hood. He u.sed to sell his produce in Kalamazoo, 
when Ihe town was too small to afford milch of a 
market. He was married in .lanuary. 18.');'), to Ma- 
rion I'lllis. daughter of .Stephen KUis. a prominent 
man of .\ttica, N. V. 

After his marriage. Capt. Hodges returned to 
Michigan, and bought :i farm in Ch.arleslown 
Township. Kalamazoo County, in IH/i;!. He live<l 
there until during the war. when he iemove4l liis 
family to (ialesbiirg. wlu're he resided for a short 
lime. In the o|iening year of the rebellion, lie 
olTered his ser\ ices to lii'lp defend the honor of 
lii.s beloveii coujitry, aujl was mustoied inter. Com/ 



pany T, Second ^lioliigan Cavalry, as Second Lieu- 
tenant. He saw four years of hard fighting, and 
at the close of the war was lionorabl^' discharged 
with the rank of Caiitain, having been twice pro- 
moted for meritorious conduct on the field of 
danger, when he h:id shown ail the high courage 
and true devotion to the Inion, that characterized 
both otiicers ;iiid men in f)ur army and led to vic- 
tory, lie fought in nianv note<l battles. He was 
at the front in the engagement at Franklin, .lune 
4, 1863; faced the enemy with his regiment at 
Dandridge, December 24, 1863; and led his men in 
the encounter of the Federal and Confederate 
forces at Moss^- Creek, December 2'.), 1863. These 
battles are particularly mentioned, as on their fields 
he especially distinguished himself and won honor 
and preferment. The men who servetl under him 
were devoted to him. and were proud of his 
triumphs, and, as a token of their admiration, pre- 
sented their leader with a handsome gold watch 
and chain at the close of the war. on which were 
inscribed the above names and dales. The Cap- 
tain was witl^ Carter on his famous expedition, 
and dnriug that time he was in the saddle twenty- 
two days and nights. Although he was often in 
the heat of liattlc, he was never wounded, but he 
had a horse killed under liiiii in one fight. 

Captain Hodges continued to live in Galesburgh 
after he retired from the army until 1870, and was 
engaged in business there. In that year he took 
up his residence in Kalamazoo, and remained in 
that city until death closed his career in 1878. 
He served ,as l)e|)uty I'nited .States Mai-slial two 
terms, and .as I'lider Sheriff in Kalamazoo County 
two terms. He wasa son of l.oriii Hodges, a New 
York farmer, who died in l.sld. To tin- parents 
of oursubjcct were born three children, of whom he 
is the only survivor. His mother is vet living. 

Our.subject laid the foniidation of a libeial edu- 
cation in the common schools of <;;ilesl)urgh. was 
sub.se((nently a student at the Kal.amazoo High 
School, and later pursued a careful course of >tuily 
in I'arsons' IJusiness College, from which he was 
graduated .September .5, 1877. .\fter leaving 
schcHil, he spent a year in connoction with his 
father's bu>ines'<, and. alter the hitter's deadi. he 
ciiii.'i'_'e<l with the firm of F. S. St<im' iV- Soir; wlw>hv- 



692 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sale and retail grocers at Kalamazoo, for a year. 
He suhse<iuentl3' spent a short time in the whole- 
sale and retail crockery business with T. S. Col)l» 
it Son, of Kalamazoo. The ensuing five 3'earshe 
was with the United States and American Express 
Companies. He next began work for the Kalama- 
zoo Paper Company, in 1882, as bookkeeper. In 
1887, he, among others, suggested the organiza- 
tion of the Bardeen Paper Company-, and, in con- 
junction with INIessrs. Bardeen, Bryant and Hoek, 
effected his purpose, Otsego, at his suggestion, 
being selected .as the best site for the mill, which 
was erected and put in running order .as soon as 
possible, and to-day it is one of the most import- 
ant industries of the State of Michigan. He has a 
material interest in the concern as one of the stock- 
holders, and he ii.as had charge of the books .as 
head bookkeeper ever since the firm began busi- 
ness. He has thrown his whole soul into his work, 
devoting himself to the extension of the business, 
and the prosperity it enjoys is due in no small de- 
gree to his energetic labors in its behalf. lie and his 
amiable young wife have established a charming 
home in the vilhage, which is the center of a pleas- 
ant hospitality, and both are .active m social circles. 
In his political relations, Mr. Hodges is an ardent 
Republican. 

Our subject w.as married October 31, 1882, to 
Miss Nettie, daughter of Peter .S. and Elsie M. 
(Hall) Carmer. To them has been born one son, 
whom they have named Carmer. Mrs. Hodges' pa- 
rents were natives of New York. Her father came 
to Michigan when a young man, and became a 
pioneer of Galesburgh, where he was eng.aged in 
business twenty years. He w.as afterwards ap- 
pointed Superintendent of the Kalamazoo County 
Poor Farm, and acted in tliat capacity fourteen 
j'ears. In April, 1884, he removed to Otsego, and 
died here the following .Tune at the .age of sixty- 
two years. He bore a prominent part in the man- 
agement of pulilic affairs during iiis residence in 
Galesburgh, holding many of the local offices, and 
serving often on the village board. His wife sur- 
vives him, and is a welcome inmate of the home 
of her daughter and son-in-law, of whom we write. 
Mrs. Hodges is her only ciiild. She was well eilu- 
cated in the schools of Galesburgh, and before her 



marriage taught the children in the infirmary of 
which her father was Superintendent. She is a 
member of the Episcopal Church, and her name is 
associated with its good work. 



■~^ -i 



%>^^<m^ 



W OSEPH THORN. The attention of the p.as- 
I sing stranger is sure to be attr.acted by the 
^^^ beautiful residence owned and occupied by 
^^}) Mr. Thorn and by him erected in 1869 .at 
thecost of 14,000. Elsewhere in this volume will 
be noticed a view of this pleasant homestead, with 
the rural environments which contribute greatly to 
the general effect. Other buildings suited for 
their various needs may be found on the place 
while the one hundred and sixty acres comprised 
in the farm have been brought to a good cultiva- 
tion by the close attention and prudent watchful- 
ness of the owner, who has here resided since the 
fall of 1852. Besides this estate, which is located 
on section 25, Monterey Township, Mr. Thorn 
owns eight}' acres in Hopkins Township, whose 
improvements indicate a careful hand and wise 
judgment in man.agement. 

.loseph Thorn, father of our subject, was born in 
Trumbull County, Ohio, November 3, 1804, and 
was united in marri.age, April 16, 1829, to Cath- 
erine Mathews, who was born in Butler County, 
Pa., October 22, 1802. He located with his wife 
in Trumlnill County, and passed away from 
earth shortly after the birth of his son .Joseph, 
which there occurred, May 16, 1830. The widowed 
mother was afterward married to .lohn ^McCurdy. 
with whom .loseph lived until he attained the age 
of nineteen, when he w.as given his time and 
started out in life for himself. His education was 
gained in the Ci^mmon schools of the district and 
was su]i]ileinented bv attendance for one year at 
Kinsman Academy. His portion of the inlierit- 
ance was fifty .acres, which he traded for one hun- 
dred and sixty .acres in Allegan County, and there 
has since resided. 

December 20, 1855. IMr. Thorn was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Mary L., daughter of Hiram Wilson. 
Her father, one uf the pioneers of .Vllegau County, 
cleared the town plat of Allegan in 1835 and also 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



695 



superintended the construction of the dam on the 
Kalamazoo Kiver at Allegan. The only ohild of 
Mr. and Mrs. Tliorn, Charles K., wns horn Octoher 
2, 1856, and died .June 18, 1860. Mr. Thorn re- 
lates some interesting incidents in connection willi 
his journo}- to Allegan County, whither he came 
in October, 1852. The lirsl railroad he ever .saw 
was at Detroit, and when he reached Kalamazoo he 
w.ns obliged to walk the remainder of the way to 
Allegan, meeting en route with (juite a thrilling 
experience, as two men attempted to .secure from 
liim the few dollars he had in his possession. ^Vf- 
ter his arrival at Allegan, he worked for a time by 
the month for Iliram Wilson, who afterward be- 
came Ills father-in-law. 

]n politics, ^Ir. Thorn is a ihorough-going Re- 
|)ublican, and has been honored b}' his fellow-citi- 
zens with various local oflices, .serving as .Justice of 
the Pe.ace and in other i)ositions of responsibility. 
He has been actively identified with the Grange 
and, with his estimable w-ife, holds membership in 
the Methodist Episcopal Clnircli. This worths- 
couple are tranquilly passing tlie twilight of 
their useful lives in their beautif\il home. They 
arc surrounded by the comforts which have been 
accumulated by years of industrious toil, and en- 
joy the esteem of their host of friends, who wish 
for them many years of continued happiness. 



l^OLLIN M. CONGDON. The e.arly history 
b*^ of Michigan w\as a familiar one to the gentle- 
Ji «\ man whose name heads this sketch and his 
j-emini.^cences of those pioneer days were very 
interesting, cs[)ecially to tho.se who know this 
western countiy only as it appears after years of 
(•iilljvation anil iniprovenieiil have tuiiifcl ilic 
broad prairies into fertile lields. the forest into 
thriving towns and villages, and the rude log 
house into a liand-some, comfortabh' residence of 
brick or stone. 

The parents of our subject, ICrastns and Emma 
(Spcrry) Congdou. were natives of N'ermont, going 
from there to Ni'w ^'ork. wiieie their marriage 
liiok |iImc('. Leaving tli.it Nt.itc in IM.'i I, they came 
to Michigan and located in Kalamazoo County, 



later removing to Hopkins Township, Allegan 
Count\- in wliicli township Mr. Congdon w.as one 
of the first to settle. At that time AFichigan was 
yet a Territory, the Indians were still camping in 
many parts of the country, and wild animals 
roamed through the woods, and played havoc with 
what little poultry- or young stock the settler 
might happen to possess. Neighbors were few 
and far between, and a good log house was the 
height of a pioneer's ambition in the way of a 
residence. It is not to be wondered at, that, under 
these circumstances, but few educational advant- 
ages were offered to the children of the early set- 
tlers, and our subject w.is eleven years old before 
he ever saw a schoolhousc. His early disadvant- 
ages in this respect were, however, overcome by 
later reading and observation and he was a well- 
informed man. who held prominent places in this 
community. 

Rollin ]M. Congdon was born in Yates County, 
N. Y., September 2, 1831, and was but three years 
old when his father removed to ISIichigan. When 
eighteen 3'ears of age, he began work for himself, 
his first attempt being at breaking prairie with six 
yoke of oxen, no easy task for a lio}' and requiring 
much patience and endurance. He worked out by 
the mouth until he was twent>--eight years old. 
He then decided to make a home and undertake 
fanning on his own account. The lady who has 
so well filled the position of wife and helpmate 
was Lucy I. Eldred, of Wayland Town.ship, 
Allegan County, whose father w.as a farmer of that 
township. Tiieir marri.age took phace November 
15. 1859, and of this union one child has been born, 
Almon B., whose birth occurred August 21, 1860. 
He has received an excellent education and has 
made a good record as a teacher. 

Mr. Congdon owned a number of places in 
tills county, but the one on which he resided, in 
AV:iyland Township, is the only one which he cul- 
tivated, ll w;is partially improved by its former 
owners who were relatives of his wife. Our 
subject bought it in 187;"!. When the Civil 
War broke out. Mr. Coiigili)ii. in common with 
hundreds of others who fell Ihat the interests 
of the country were at sljdvc, laid aside his .-igri- 
uullural pursuiUi aud in 16\ii culistcd iu Cum- 



696 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



pany K, Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, and 
was with Sherman on his famous march to the sea. 
In .Iiine, 1865, he was lionorably discharged from 
tiie service and returned to liis liome. 

Mr. Congdou was a Republican in i)olitius and 
alive to all that pei'tains to tiic advancement of 
his section of the country. He held the office of 
Township Treasurer for two years, and was Super- 
visor of his township, which responsible position 
he filled with ability. lie belonged to the Ma- 
sonic fraternity and was a member of tlie Grand 
Army of the Republic. He died January 17, 1892. 



OIIN II. SLOTMAN. On section 21, Over- 
isel Township, Allegan County, may be seen 
a beautiful farm which is adorned with 
first-class farm buildings. This is the prop- 
erty- of the gentleman whose name we have just 
given and who was born January 1. 1842, in Hol- 
land. He is a son of Levi and Johanna Slotman, 
for a fuller history of whom the reader is referred 
to a sketch of Levi Slotman, elsewhere in this vol- 
ume. 

The gentleman uf whom we write was reared in 
Holland initil reaching his fifth year, when he was 
brought by his i)arcnts to the New World, and who, 
• 111 locating in Michigan, were among the early set- 
tlers of Overisel Township. His parents were poor, 
and lie was thus given but limited school advantages, 
but since locating here he has become thoroughly 
well ac(piainted with the English language and is 
classed among the intelligent agriculturists of the 
community. 

Mr. Slotinau, upon the outbreak of the Civil 
AVar, obeyed the call for volunteers, and, October 
8, lcS6 1, enlisted in Coiiiiiaiiy I, Thirteenth IMichi- 
gan Inf.antry and |)arlicii)ated in all the engage- 
ments ill which his company was conierned until 
the close of the war, when, Jul}' 25, 1865, he was 
disch.arged. He entered the army as a private, but 
as a reward for his gallant conduct in times of 
dangei, he w.as promoted to lie Sergeant, Oclolicr 
1, 1861. He participated in the lialUes of Hari<ids- 
burg, Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Chickamaugu, ^Mission 



Ridge, Chattanooga, Savannah and BentonviMe, 
and during the entire period of his enlistment 
was never wounded or taken prisoner. 

In 1868, our subject was married to l^elia Peters, 
who was born in Holland and was an infant when 
her parents came to Overisel Tovvushij). She was 
the daughter of Gerrit and Johanna Peters, who 
were among the earliest settlers of this locality, and 
thus the early pioneer scenes through which Mrs. 
Slotman passed have made a lasting impression 
upon her mind, and she can relate many an inter- 
esting tale of bygone days. Her parents both died 
in Overisel Townshij). 

Mr. and Mrs. Slotman are the parents of five sons 
and four daughters, namely: Lena, IJenjamin (de- 
ceased), Henrietta, Zena, .James, Alice, John, Harry 
and Daniel. In 1867, our subject made a purchase 
of eightj- acies of land, but at the present time 
owns seventy acres, all of which he cleared and 
[lut under thorough cultivation, until, by a rotation 
of crops, the land has been brought to a high de- 
gree of cultivation. The various buildings have 
been erected which best serve the purpose of an 
agriculturist, and he has all the appliances for car- 
rying on his first-class farm. 

He is a firm believer in the iiriiuiples advocated 
liy the Democratic party and has been honored liy 
his fellow-townsmen by being elected to the ollices 
of Highway Commissioner, Constable and Justice 
of the Peace, being the present incumbent of the 
latter office, and has been for the past seven years. 
Mr. Slotman is highly esteemed personally, and we 
are glad to lie able to present his sketch in this 
Ki;((ii;ii. 



•^^^I^-^'H^I' 



■^lOIIN C. NEUMAN, a native of Dorr 'IViwu- 
ship, Allegan County, where he was born, 
April 29, 1866, is a resident of the same 
place. He is a son of Joseph and IMary 
(Elger) Neninan, both natives of Germany, where 
they were reared and married. The father was liy 
occupation a mercliant and opened the first store 
JH'ld ill this lownship. He and his good wife eaiiie 
lo this cutiiiliy ill Septemljcr, 1857. He liad 
to go to Grand Hapids to gel. his goo(l§,-aml he 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



697 



used to drive there with an ox-team and wagon. 
This was tliirty-four years ago, and tlie site ot tlie 
village of Dorr was then but a wilderness, infested 
with wolves and other wild animals. He also did 
some farming, and cleared a place near to what is 
now llu' village. Joseph Neuinan took for his 
second wife ^Irs. .\nna Riemer. This union was 
childless. 

.John Neunian was given a pretty fair education, 
hut. being of a very observing disposition, he has 
probably gained a great deal moi'C than he could 
have obtained from books alone. He attended the 
Swingsburg College, at Grand Rapids, one year. 
His fatiicr died in 188;?, at Dorr, and the mother, 
February 2, 1878. In the parental family were 
live children, of whom our su})jcct was the third 
born. His brother Joseph died in the spring of 
18itl. The others are Annie, Carrie and Theresa. 
Our subject began life for himself at the age of 
nineteen, as a clerk in the village of Dorr, and 
clerked for six years. In the spring of 1891, be 
liought the general store of Mr. Kisher, and since 
he h.as conducted a lucrntive bvisiness under the 
name of J. C. Neuman it Co., his sister Theresa 
being the company. He is a true-blue Repub- 
lican politically, and he and his sisters arc mem- 
bers of the Catholic Church at North Dorr. 



-=]. 



"S) 



^H^ 



(■=> 



i=y RED V 

il—fe l"'«'l"'i 
iL "" also tl 



RED W.\DE. This gentleman, who is the 
(rielor of tlu' Lakf Shori' Conimcrcial, is 
/|5s ~ also the popular Postm.a-ster of the village 
of Saugatnck. receiving his appolMlnicnt during 
the present administration of (icn. Harrison. He 
is the son of George and Mary !•",. (I'pdyke) Wade, 
natives of Canada and New York, respectively'. 
His father was one of the pioneers of ,\llegan 
County, and laid out tiic village of Douglas wiiicli 
was at lirst n:iMic<l Dudlcyville. after an uncle of 
the subject of this sketch. 

The subject of this .sketch was born in .Mlegan 
County, Jtuie 29, ]Ht'r>. iind was educated at 
Douglas, afterward sradiiating at the High S<-hool 
at Krenionl. lhi> State. In liie Cl.a.ss of "i\l. lie 
lr:irncil llif piinl<r'> li;idi' .iiid In 1 SXR bouglil the 
paper which he is at present couducliug. He is a 




man of ability and has been successful in his en- 
terprise. In October, 1883, Mr. W.ade w.as happily 
married to Miss Ida Nies, and to them have been 
born one son, Frank. In politico, Mr. Wade is a 
Republican, .and does what he can in the interest 
of that party. Socially, he is a member of lx)dge 
No. 328, A. F. it A. M.. and also of the Knights of 
Honor. 



v_. 



IMITll P. ALBERTSON. As an example 
of those whose success should inspire 
others lo greater elTorts and nobler deeds, 
^~^-''' iiiay be mentioned this gentleman, a prom- 
inent resident of .Vllegan County, and a i)rogrcs- 
sive farmer of Watson Township. He was born in 
Dutchess County, N,Y., March 31,183.5, and is the 
son of Daniel and Maria (Peters) Albertson. the 
former born in IXOCt and the latter in 180.5, m 
Dutchess County. The iiateriial grandfather of 
our subject, .Tosepii. was born in New York, of 
Dutch parentage, while on his mother's side, he is 
the grandson of Sniitii Peters, a resident of the 
Empire State. 

The parents of our subject had a family of five 
children, one daugliter and four sons, all of whom 
grew to years of mat\u-ity. The father pursued 
the calling of a farmer in his native State, and 
also in Kalamazoo County, Mich., where he located 
in 1854. His death, in 1876, was a loss to the 
community in which he resided for more than 
twenty years and where he had gained an enviable 
rc|)utatlon >as an upright and Industrious man. Tin' 
subject of this biographical notice accompanied 
his father to Michigan at the age of nineteen 
years, and about the sanu' time was married, April 
25, 185t, to Miss Mary .\ngevine, the daughter of 
Bartholomew and Sarah (T'etcre) Peters. 

A native of New Voik, Jlrs. Alljertson was born 
In Colunibia County, May 22, 1H37, and was the 
youngest chlhl In the family circle. Her mother 
died when she was only four years old, and, in 
185 1. she came witii her father to MIchlg.-in. .\fler 
tlieir inairi:ii;e. oui- >iilijerl and his wife loealed 
lirst In Cooper Tinvn^liili, K:ilania/.oo County, on 
a routed farm, but one year later removed lo 



698 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Prairieville Township, Bairv County, where an- 
other twelvemonth was passed on a rented farm. 
Afterward Mr. Albertson liought a farm and for 
three years was engaged in its imiirovenienl. Tlien 
selling out, he removed to Otsego Townshii), Alle- 
gan County, aiKJ after renting there for one .year, 
purchased the place which he still owns and which 
is plcasantl_^■ located on section 27, Watson Town- 
ship. Its eight_v acres have been brought to a high 
state of cultivation and various needed Iniildings 
have been erected from time to time, until now 
the farm is one of the liest in tlic community. 

Mr. and Mrs. All)ertson are the parents of one 
child, a daughter, I lattie, now the wife of Aaron 
Treece. In iiis political affiliations, Mr. Albertson 
was, prior to 18S1, a stanch Democrat, l)ut since 
that year has used his inrtuence in behalf of the 
principles of Prohibition, lie has served, with 
credit to himself and to the general satisfaction, in 
various official capacities. In l^i84, he was Super- 
visor of Watson Townshiii; he has also served as 
School Inspector, and in the school offices, and at 
present is Notary Pulilic. Socially, he is connected 
with llie ( iiaiigi'. and in the various measures for 
the lienelit of the |ieo|)le. takes great interest. His 
life demonstrates the fact tiiat energy and integrity 
will lead to success in any honorable vocation, and 
his wide-awake and generous jjublic spirit has 
helped the community along the lines of education 
and i)hilantliropy. 



^Tf RCHIBALD M A T II E W S . Witliin the 
( @/L-i limits of Allegan County it would be 
Iji !i difficult to find a more highh\' cultivated 
(^ estate than that owned and 0|)erated by 

Mr. Mathews. It comi)rises one hundred and 
sixty acres, pleasantly located on section 20, Jlar- 
lin Township, and, with the exception of eight 
acres, the entire jjlace has been finely improved. 
The residence is one of the most attractive in the 
townshii) and was erected at a cost of §2,((0(), 
while the outbuildings correspond in every respect 
with the general air of thriflapparent. .\mong the 
farm buildings is a substantial barn, lUUx3G lectin 



dimensions, a shed, 40x22. tool-house, 30x30, be- 
sides other convenient Iniildings. 

At a very early day, the paternal grandfather of 
our subject emigrated from Ireland to the United 
States, and here his death occurred when his son 
John was a small boy. The latter, who was born 
in Westmoreland County. Pa., was reared in his 
native place and was there married to Jliss Agnes 
Trimble. The young coui)le located on a farm, 
where they sojourned until 1811, removing at that 
time to Summit County, Ohio, and there engaging 
in agricultural pursuits, near Northfield. From 
that [ilace, in 1852, they came direct to Michigan, 
locating in Martin Townshii), Allegan County, 
there passing their declining years. t)n the home- 
stead wliicli they there estaljlished, the father 
died when sixty-two and the mother when aliout 
lift_\-two years old. 

Seven children comprised the family of John 
and Agnes Mathews, all of whom grew to man- 
hood and womanhood, l)Ut only three now survive, 
namely: Archie, Jemima and James. Our subject 
was born near Ligonier, Westmoreland County, 
I'a., February 23, 1833, and was eight years old 
when he accompanied his parents to Ohio, where 
his I)oyliood dajs were passed. His education, 
which was somewhat meager, was ol)tained in the 
district schools of the Buckeye State, and the wide 
information, which he now possesses, has Ijeen 
gained l)y constant study and observation. He 
came to Michigan with his parents when he was 
nineteen, and two years later started out in the 
world for himself, with no nujiieyed capital, but 
possessing good haljits and indefatigable industry. 

September 18, 18(il, IMr. Mathews was married 
to Margaret Redpath, a sister of (ieorgc Kedpath, 
whose sketch appears elsewhere in this viilume. 
Mrs. iMathcws was born in New York, July 22, 
1837, and became the mother of two children: 
John, who resides at home, and Willie, who died 
at the age of thiee years. When he first started 
out for himself, Mr. Mathews purchased the place 
on which he now resides und which then had no 
improvements When he lirst settled here. In- 
built ;i small house, which remained his home 
until lie erected his pres<'nt elegant residence. 
He also has a good house and burn on the north- 



H 



KjRTRAIT and llIOORAPinCAL RECORD. 



fio;* 



erii pari of tlio f.irin. and, in connoplion with gen- 
eral fHririmyj.olM'nilt's willi ^.ll(•(•t•ss as a slnck-raiser. 
I'oliticall.v. Ill- is a Kcpiililicaii, aiic) ii'Iiuiously, a 
int'inln'r of the I'leslivlci'ian Climvli. wliili' his life, 
liy it.-- integrity and npriglitnoss, lias won foi' liini 
a IlijsI I if warm |icrsiiiial fiii'iMN. 



•>»»T>»>*>- 



» I ' I ' .^1 




DAM \V. Mi l.l.i;i;. riic i.ioik.t lalM.is 
( C^y/-) || resulting in tlif <U'vel(>piiiciii ^>( Allegan 
County were largely participated in liy 
this gentleman, whose tillraetive home is 
on SPetion 7, Martin Township. A native of New 
Yiu'k. lie was lioi-n in Owasco Townshii), Cayuga 
County. Feliruary 12, 1810, and is a son of Isaac 
and Klizaheth C. (Welly) Miller, natives of Cayuga 
County. N. Y.. and 1'ennsylvania. respectively. His 
father, who was a farmerby occupation, resi<led for 
a time after his marriage in Cayuga County, whence 
he removed to 'Williamson Township, Wayne 
County, N. Y., and from there to ^Marion Township, 
the same county, where he died when only lliirty- 
six. His wife survived \nilil forty-live years old. 

The paternal grandfather of our suhjeet. Simeon 
Miller, was a native of New -lersey. whence he re- 
niovetl to New York in an early da\'. Iiecoming 
(jne of the early settlers of the State, and s|iending 
the remainder of his life there. The maternal 
grandfather. Adam Welly. w:is horn in (lermany. 
and, when a small child, emigrated to the Cniled 
suites with his parents and was reared to manhood 
in Pennsylvania. He was a soldier in the Revolu- 
tionary War, anil an ui)right. honoralile man. Of 
the seven children comprising the family of Isa.ac 
and Klizalieth Miller.all hut one grew to manhood 
and womaidiood. Our suhjeet w.as the eldest in 
the family; Simeon. Phili[) and Kli/.ahcth are de- 
ceased; .\lfred is a coo|)er in Kalama/oo County; 
Cornelia is the wife of Cyrenius Kddv.of William- 
son, N. Y. 

The childhoo<l tlays of our suhjeet were |).a.ssed 
in Williamson and Marion Townships. Wayne 
County. N. Y., and after the death of his father, 
he remained at home with his mother until he was 
twenty-two. He then liegan to earn his livelihood 
l>y any liOnestfK'Cupation.and. returning to Owasco. 



N. Y., his native place, worked by the month on a 
farm for aliout six years. He was married, April 
2!), 18:38, to Miss Sarah Ann Harton, the daughter 
of Silas and Isahel (Stewart) Barton, natives of 
New York and Massachusetts, respectively. The 
maiden name of the grandmother of Mrs. Miller 
was llaiic<ick, and she was related to .lohn Han- 
cock, of historic fame. Mr. r..-irlon followed the 
IradeOf a shoemaker niul died at the age of sev- 
enty-two. He served in the War of 1812. in the 
Ontario Regiment. The mother survived until 
four-score and four. 

Mrs. .Miller is one of seven children, all Imt one 
of whom survived to maturity, .as follows: William 
11. II.. Sarah Ann; Lucy M.. deee.a.sed; Lama H.. 
the widow of Kleazer Finley, of .I.ackson. ^^ell.; 
Charles S. and .Mlcii Fayette, deee.ased. The na- 
tive home of .Mrs. Miller is AValworth, Wayne 
County. N. Y., and the date of her hirth. May ."51. 
1818. A short time after their marriage, our suh- 
ject and his wife came to .Michigan, arriving in 
Martin Township. Allegan County. Octol)er 1. 18,SK. 
and at once located on the place which still re- 
mains their home. Mr. Miller soon huilt a small 
log house, 18x20. cutting the logs for the cabin in 
which he and hi- wife hcgan housekeeping. At 
that early day, no roads hail lieen oiiened and 
travelers used marked trees for guides. Indiana 
and wild animals aliounded, liut white settler* 
were few. 

The eldest child of Mr. and Mrs. Miller was 
Mary .lane, who married Sidney .Jenkins, and he- 
came the mother of two children: Alice and Emma 
W. Alice, who married (ieorge N'reeland, is now 
deceased, while Emma is the wife of Reuben Rage, 
of Martin. Philip A. was born Seiitember 28. 1818, 
in Martin Township, and married Caroline Hatch- 
elder, bv whom he became the father of two chil- 
dren: Lucia 15. and Willis 15. He resides on the 
old homestead with our subject. Isaliel E. is the 
wife of .lohn Moore, of Wayland Township. Alle- 
iran County, this Stale, and they have five chil- 
dren: Harry. Allen P., .lennie, Fred .\.. and one 
deceased. Mr. Miller is also a great-grandfather, 
his descendant.- in the third generation being Roy 
E. and liessie. the children of Mrs. Emma Page. 
The homestead where Mr. Miller is happily and 



700 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in contentment passing liis old age, comprises one 
bundled and sixt3'-one and one-half acres, most of 
which is under cultivation. lie has ceased from 
active w<irk and tlie farm is under the supervision 
of his son. ill IS;5I lie cast liis liallut for the Anti- 
Masons, afterward liecaiiie a Whig and still later a 
Republican, hut is now a firm adiierentof the Pro- 
liibition party. Since he came to tliis Slate, in 
18.38, he has never failed to vote when opportuii- 
it}' w.as offered, lias never lieen aljsent from a town 
meeting, and lias voted at every Presidential elec- 
tion, save one. For many years he served as As- 
sessor and also filled other olHcial positions witli 
marked aliility. 

In 1888, Mr. ^liller and his good wife celebrated 
tlieir golden wedding, on which important occa- 
sion their children and friends gathered to con- 
gratulate them and wisli them many returns of tlie 
ha[>p3- day. This worthy couple are devoted inem- 
liers of tlie Methodist Episco|ial Church, of Martin, 
of whicli lie is now Trustee and was for many 
years Steward. For tiiirty-livc years he was chor- 
ister and lias in every possible way taken a promi- 
nent i>art in church work. Iiv his generous con- 
tributions, he lias aided in erecting churches, and 
duiiiig the earl.\' days of the county used to walk 
witli his wife four miles to attend the services of 
his church. 



ONHAI) WALTER. Wiiile this gentleman 
is known as a practical farmer, he has at- 
tained liis greatest success and is most 
widely known as a fruit-grower. He resides upon 
a fine farm, comprising one hundred acres on sec- 
tion 8, Watson Township, Allegan County, and is 
also the owner ()f forty acres on section 17. From 
his orchard of one hundred and seventy bearing 
apple trees, he secures each season more than four 
hundred barrels of apiiles, while his peach orchard 
of twenty acres contains about three thousand 
trees, from two acres of which he has cleared as 
much as ^400 per year. He uses great skill and 
excellent judgment in selecting varieties of fruits, 
grafting and caring for trees, and consequentl_y 
lias made of his business a financial success. 




An extended account of the parentage of Mr. 
Walter may be found in the sketch of his brother 
.Teremiali, which appears in another portion of this 
volume. He w-as born in Dauphin County, Pa., 
January 7, 1836, and when three years old was 
taken by his parents to Wayne County, Ohio, 
where he remained for ten years. His school edu- 
cation, which was commenced in the Buckeye State, 
was completed in Monroe County Mich., whither 
he came at the age of thirteen. He commenced 

J life for himself when eighteen years of age, coming 
to Watson Township, Allegan County, and for 
two years was employed in digging wells. Upon 
his return to Monroe County, he worked for his 
uncle, Michael Fishborn, during one season. 

November 29, 1857, Mr. AValter was married in 

j Monroe Count}-, to Elizabeth D., daughter of 

I Thomas and Mary (Bingins) Clark. Her parents, 
who were natives of Ireland, emigrated to America 
about 1833, first settling in Quebec, Canada, and 
from there removing to Vermont, thence to Mich- 
igan, where Mr. Clark followed his occupation of 

I a blacksmith in Monroe. During their residence 
on a farm in La Salle Township, Monroe County, 

; their daughter Elizabeth was born, October 8, 1839, 
and in that home three years later the eyes of her 
father closed in death. Mrs. Clark died when fifty- 
two years old. Of their ten children, all but three 
attained to maturit}-. 

After his marriage, Jlr. Walter resided for one 
year with the relatives of his wife, in Monroe 
County, whence he removed to AVatson Township, 
Allegan County, and located on section 7. During 
his short sojourn on that place, he erected a log 
house, 18x20 feet, and improved the land, which 
he sold at a good advance. Then returning to 
Monroe Count}', he worked for two years on 
shares, and upon his second removal to AVatson 
Township, in 1861, located on a rented farm and 
continued to operate as a renter for about six 
years, buying, in 1867, the place where he now re- 
sides. Politically, he is a Rejniblican and has 
served as School Treasurer and Pathmaster. For 
more than thirty yeare, he and his wife have been 
devoted members of tiie Seventh-day Advent 
Church, and are earnest and consistent Christians. 
Mr. and Mrs. Walter are the parents of ten chil- 



l^RTRAir AM) r.IOr.UAPIIICAL RKCOUIJ 



7(11 



ciii'ii. ii;iTiU'l\ : Siisiui I,.. v,\U' uT .l.-u-oli N;isli. ;in<l 
inolliiM- iif four cliililion; Yiilicita. wlio \v:>s imilcil 
lo l)ui:i Nash; l,aw.s()n C, who inai'iied llatlie 
Fancier ami lias one (laiiglitiM', Adelia I,.; l-illif 
Adclia. till' wife of C'lavonce Nash, of ()l,so!io; 
Mimiif l-',.,a giadualc of the State Normal at Ypsi- 
laiiti. ami now a teaelic-r at St Joe, this Stale; 
Anna A., who is followini> the profession of a 
teachei- in (llseiin rowiishi[), Alleyan Coiinly; 
Aaiipii and llaiinali Maydora, wlio are at home; 
.Moses and a rliild iinnanied dieit in infancw 



*^E*E 



_y 



ellAKLI'.S i;. r.liOWN, one of the indus- 
trious and eutorprising farmers of Way- 
land Township, Allegan County, is a na- 
tive of the old IJay State, his liirtli having taken 
plaee in Brimfield Township, Hampton County. 
.^^ass., .lanuary 10, 1814. His parents, Dauphin 
and Alibic 15. (Nutting) Brown, were natives of 
the same State, his father being born within one 
mile of our suljjeet's birthplace. The father was 
by occupation a farmer, and for nearly a lifetime 
a Deacon of the Congregational Church, at Hrim- 
field. His grandfather IJrown came to Kalamazoo 
County, this State, in 1832, and was one of the 
earliest settlers of the county, there being but one 
farmhouse in the county at the time when he lo- 
cated there. 

Our subject enjoyed the advant.ages of a dis- 
trict-school education until he was fifteen years 
f>ld, after that attending school for a time at IJriin- 
licld. When he was only seventeen years of age, 
the Civil War having broken out, he enlisted in 
Company (;. Forty-sixth Massachusetts Infanliy. 
his company being composed of men frt)ni the 
four neighboring townships. The regiment was 
sent to Newbern, N. C, and formed a part of the 
Kighteenth Army Corps under Gen. Foster. He 
was in the engagements at Kingston, Whitehall. 
( lohlsboro. and I'lymouth, N. C. He passed sue- 
i-essfully through all these battles without meet- 
ing with any injury, and was honorably disi'liarged 
in May, l.St;;j. He returned to his old homo and 
the next spring came to Jlichigan and located at 



Uichlaml. in Kahinia/oo (duiily. where he re- 
mained for two years, lie then went back to 
.Massachusetts, where he remained for awhile, le- 
tnniing again to Itlchland, where he was mairicil. 
November lit. 18(!;i, to Miss Mary K. Smith, of 
that i>laee. Of this union five children have been 
born, all boys, namely: Ira I).. Kdgar S.. Carl 15., 
Oeorge Keezler and Fi-ank F. 

In the spring of 1870, .Mr. Ilrown located on a 
I'arni in Pavilion Township, Kalamazoo Comity, 
where he lived for live years. Ih; then sold out 
his inteiest, ami in IS"') came to Allegan County, 
where he took charge of the place on which he at 
present resides, the property being his wife "s. It 
was for the most part unimproved, and he h.as by his 
own exertions brought it up to its present slate of 
high cultivation and attractive ap])earance. The 
house has been remodeled, and is now a comfort- 
able and convenient residence. 

In politics, Mr. I5rown is a Kepublican, and 
takes enough interest in political affairs lo cast 
his vote on the side of right and progress, but has 
never been a candidate for an ollice of any kind. 
As will be supposed from his record as a soldier, 
he is a member of the (uiiiid .Viniyof the Ue- 
piiblic. He is warmly interested in educational 
matters, and has been a School Director most of 
the time since his residence in this count\'. His 
oldest son, Ira D.. is a telegraph operator at W.ay- 
land. The family are well known and highly re- 
spected, and are among the best citizens of Way- 
land Township. 



-y-^m>^<B 



ay- 



^- 4- 



\|/_^ r.MlMIRKV (;AKDNFI{ has f,,,- many years 
been a prominent resident of Wayland 
)^^ Township, Allegan County, where he owns 
a large tract of land. He was born in 
Wyoming County. N. \.. his birth taking i)laee in 
Attica Township. December 27, IS 19. He was 
the son of Daniel and Lorena (F.nsign) (lardner, 
his father being born and reared in 15riinlield, 
Mass., while his mother w.as a native of New York. 
His father was a farmer by occui)ation, and oui- 
subject was reared upijii a farm. He received the 
ailvantages of a coinnion-scliool education until he 



702 



portrtut and biographical record. 



was fifteen years of aop. His fathei- liavin<j rlied 
when lie was but five years old, be was early 
taught to look out for himself, and when nine- 
teen years of age went to Kane County, 111., 
where he remained eight years. When twenty- 
seven years of age, he came to Allegan County, 
Mich., where he has since resided. 

At the time of bis removal to this St.ate, our 
subject located in the town of AVayland, whicb 
was then a part of Martin, and w.is set off soon 
after his arrival in tlie pl.ace. He here bought a 
tract of land from the Government, whicb at that 
time was new land, entirely without improvements, 
and he has himself placed upon it all the im- 
provements whicb now make it one of the most 
fertile and best managed estates in the county. 
In September, 1844, Mr. Gardner established a 
home of his own, taking for his wife Miss Mary 
Brown, of Kane County, 111., who became the 
mother of two children: Florence and Loren, 
both now deceased. 

After the death of his first wife, Mr. Gardner was 
again married, October 24, 1866, this time to Miss 
Sylvia Brown, in McLean County, 111. Of this 
marriage three children have been born: Olive, 
Humphrey and Clay, the eldest being deceased 
and the others residing at home. Mr. Gardner's 
fine place consists of four hundred and ninety 
acres, of whicli he still retains the supervision, 
but on whicli he does but little active work. In 
addition to fanning, he lias been a very successful 
stock-raiser, owning many fine graded animals. 

Mr. Gardner was originally a Whig, but when 
that party was merged into the Republican party, 
he joined it* ranlis and has t.aken a lively inter- 
est in everything that pertains to the best interests 
of his State and county. He has always held a 
high place in the estimation of his fellow-citizens, 
as is evinced by the fact that he has hold the 
office of Township Treasurer for about twenty 
years. He is a friend of education and has al- 
waj'S been in favor of giving the best advantages 
in that line to the children of his township and 
count}'. He has watched with great interest the 
growth of this State from its infancy, and its 
progress from an untraveled wilderness to a well- 
cultivated and prosperous section of the country 



.and an influential member of the sisterhood of 
States. He has traveled quite extensively through 
AVisconsin, Kansas and Iowa, but thinks that 
Michigan is the Banner State of the Union. 



^<^^^^4 



^♦♦♦♦i- 



'•i-***'^^ •{••i-'M-F 



OHN A. BAIRD is profitably cultivating 
the soil on section 15, Hopkins Township, 
Allegan County. His father was Robert H. 

Baird, a native of Massachusetts. He died 

in 1846 when fifty- two years of age. His mother 
bore tbe maiden name of Thankful Streeter and 
was born in Chester, Mass., in 1795; she died in 
1876. Tlie parents were married in the Bay State 
and came West to Ohio in 1842 where they located 
on a farm in Portage Count}-. Their familj' in- 
cluded nine children, five of whom are now living. 

Our subject was born October 14, 1827, in 
Massachusetts and was fourteen years of age when 
his parents removed to the Buckej^e State. He re- 
ceived a- good education and remained at home 
until reaching his majority. For six years he was 
traveling salesman for Baird & Dewej' and in the 
spring of 1856 came to Michigan in company with 
his brother Robert A. and E. II. Waite, Ijoth of 
whom are deceased. 

John A Baird was married in February, 1849, to 
Mary, daughter of .Jared and Sarah (Alderman) 
Atwater. both of whom were natives of Connecti- 
cut and who moved to Ohio in 1837. They came 
to Kalamazoo County in the fall of 1856 and soon 
after removed to Hopkins Township, where tbey 
located on a farm on section 23. There the father 
died in IMarcb, 1873, and the mother in March, 
1876. They were the parents of four children, two 
of whom arc living. Mrs. Baird was bom October 
16, 1828, in New Haven, Conn., and received a 
good education. 

Our subject and his wife have been granted three 
children: Robert H., who married Lizzie Fossy, 
lives in Hopkins Township, and has one child, 
Fremont L. Baird; Jared Alraon married Lydia 
Beaman and also resides in Hopkins Township; 
Bertha Z. remains at home with her parents. When 
our subject first came to Michigan, he was employed 
in a sawmill erected by the two men who accom- 




41 




^A/ 



<5i6'^f-*-»'T— - 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



707 



paiiied liiin liillior, und wliich was tlie first steam 
sawmill in tiio tuwiisliip. At the end of that time, 
he located uixm liis present farm, which was then 
littU' more than a wikieniess. Ilis estate includes 
ciffhty acres, upon wliich he has erected all the 
necessary buildings wiiicii make of it a fii-st-class 
farm. lie gives his attention to general farming. 
Mrs. Baird was a member of the First Congre- 
gational Church. Mv. Baii-d has been much inter- 
ested in educ.'itional affairs and has been on the 
School Board for a number of years. In politics, 
he is independent, reserving the right to vote for 
t lie best man. Mrs. Baird died August 21, 1891. 
and her loss has been dcepl} felt in her commu- 
nity. Our subject has one brother, Piiilander O., 
who is living in Hopkins Township. 




ON. GAYLORD M. BALDWIN. This 

i well-known and res|)ected citizen of Alle- 



gan Clounty is now engaged in farming on 
section 27, Hopkins Township. His father 
was James M. Baldwin, a native of Aurora, Ohio, 
where he was Iwrn in 1810; his mother was Jane 
F.issell in her maiden da3-s, and a native of Aurora, 
Ohio, born in 1813. They were married in Ohio, 
in 1833. The grandfather, Caleb, of Connecticut, 
wa.s a soldier in the War of 1812, and died while 
at home on a furlough. The grandmother, BlKcbe 
(Gaylord) Baldwin lived at Cleveland, Ohio, when 
a j'oung girl of about ten 3-cars, and but one log 
house, a trading post, was there at that time. She 
was a pioneer of the Western Reserve, and traveled 
the greater portion of the journey hither on foot, 
driving cattle. The Baldwin family wei'e also 
early settlers of the Western Reserve. The mater- 
nal grandfather of our subject, Justus Bissell, a 
native of Massachusetts and a soldier of the War 
of 1812, moved to Ohio about 1804. 

The parents of our subject, after their marriage, 
settled on a farm in the wilderness of liainbridge, 
(Jeauga County, Ohio. He there cleared uj) a farm, 
later learned the trade of a blacksmith, then stud- 
ied medicine at the Homeopathic College at Cleve- 
land, and graduated in IH.Ol. He at once began 
32 A 



practice at Sc>lon, Ohio, but two years later came to 
Michigan and .settled on a farm. It was then all 
wild, with no roads opened, and crtily about eight- 
een families lived in Hopkins Township, lie 
served as Supervisor and Township Clerk, Justice 
of the Peace and Highway Commissioner, with sat- 
isfaction to nil. 

In 1858, James M. Baldwin was elected to the 
Legislature of Michigan, of wliich he was an active 
member. He held various local oflices in Ohio, 
such as Justice of the Peace and Trustee, and was 
a strong anti-slavery man and Republican. He was 
much afflicted during his life with sickness, and 
died in 1878. His good wife still survives, but has 
been blind for twenty years. She makes her home 
with our subject. She is a member of the Christian 
Church and the mother of three children, two now 
living. J. Herman is engaged in real estate at In- 
dianapolis, Ind., where he has resided for thirty- 
five years, having been engaged in the mercantile 
business, but is now retired. His wife is Mar- 
tha R. (Ilarpliam) Baldwin and the mother of 
five children. 

The subject of this record was born December 
15, 1836, in Bainbridge, Ohio, and was there reared 
and educated. He always lived at home and 
helped his father clear his farm, and came to Mich- 
igan with him. After the death f)f his father, he 
took sole charge of the homestead. On November 
7, 1858, he was married to Miss Marj' E. Ingerson, 
a daughter of William R. and Betse3' (Noyes) 
Ingerson, both natives of Vermont. The mother 
died in 1845. Six children were born to them, 
but the^- were scattered and have never met. The 
father married twice afterward, came to Michigan 
in 1849, and settled on a farm in this townshi]). 
He was Highway Commissioner, Constable and 
Drain Commissioner of Hopkins Township, and 
died in 1884, at the age of sevent3- j-ears. His 
widow still resides on the old homestead. Mrs. 
Baldwin was born Ma^- 2, 1838, in Vermont, and 
came to Michigan in 1857. 

Mr. and Mre. Baldwin have three children. 
Martha J., the wife of Willis A. Buck, resides in 
this township, and has four children. She attendid 
school at Indiaiiaii()lis and also at Valparaiso. 
Lottie A. and A. Blanche have also received good 



708 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



educations, lie lias two liiniflred acres of land, 
one hundred and sixty of which are under culti- 
vation. The family residence, erected in ISfil, was 
the largest and best iu the township, and is hand- 
somely furnisiied. He carries on general farming, 
and has been extensively engaged in the daii'y 
business. 

Mr. Baldwin has been quite a prominent man, 
both politically and socially, being a member of 
the Knights of the Maccabees, and Master, Lecturer, 
Secretary and Treasurer of the Grange, of which 
his wife was Lady Assistant and Steward. He h.as 
held all the school offices and at jiresent is Moder- 
ator of District No. 3. In politics, he is a stalwart 
Bopublicau and is serving his ninth term as Super- 
visor of Hopkins Township, which exceeds the 
term of an}' other one man in that oltice for this 
township. Mr. Baldwin was elected to the Mich- 
igan State Legislature in 1888, and w.as a very 
active member of the House. He served on the 
Committee on Roads and Bridges, Drains, and 
Criminal Insane, and w.as Chairman of the first- 
mentioned committee. 

The lithographic portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Bald- 
win accompany this sketch. 



OLIVER VAN KEUREN. Although not one 
of the earliest settlers of Allegan County 
our subject is entitled to an honoi'able place 
among the pioneers, whose unremitting and ener- 
getic toil redeemed it from the wilderness, and 
contributed in no small degree to make it what it 
is to-day, one of the richest and best developed 
agricultural centres of Southern Michigan. Our 
subject's farm on section 13, Allegan Township, 
was a tract of forest land when it came into his 
possession more than forty years ago, and he has 
made of it a beautiful home, ivith neat and at- 
tractive surroundings. 

In the township of Crawford, Orange County, 
N. Y., Mr. Van Keuren first opened his eyes to 
the world, August 3, 1823, being the son of 
Jacobus H. and Phebe (Rumsey) Van Keuren, who 
reared a family of nine children, of whom these 
five are living yet: Morris; Rachel, Mrs. Smith; 



Oliver; Julia, Mrs. Barnes; and Jennie, Mrs. Van 
Steenburgh. The parents of our subject were life- 
long residents of the Empire State. His [lateinal 
grandfather was Hazael A'an Keuren, who was a 
farmer of Ulster County, N. Y., of which he was a na- 
tive. He and his wife had a family of nine children. 
He was a Democrat in politics, and he was a true 
Christian gentleman. The father of our subject 
was a man of prominence in the church, and in 
the public life of the township of Crawford, of 
which he was Assessor a number of times. He was 
a thorough Democrat in his political views, and 
was very public-spirited, all schemes for the ad- 
vancement of his township meeting with his ready 
encour.agement and material help. 

Our subject received a very good education in 
the schools of Crawford, and was well drilled in 
all that appertains to carrying on a farm. At the 
age of eighteen, he left the parental home for the 
l)urpose of learning the trade of a carpenter, and he 
was engaged at that occu[)ation in his native State 
until he came to Michigan in 1848. Here he im- 
mediately entered upon his successful career as a 
farmer. He had to begin at the very foundation, 
for his present farm, which he purch.ased at that 
time, then formed a part of the primeval forests 
that once [jievailed in this region, and he had to 
fell the timber and remove the stumps before he 
could till the soil. His farm of one hundred and 
three acres of finely' cultivated land presents a 
very different appear.ance from what it did previ- 
ous to his commencing to clear it. A h.andsome 
and well-arranged set of buildings adorns the [jlace, 
and everything about it is indicative of the best 
of care, and shows that our subject is an en- 
lightened farmer, who has a full understanding of 
his calling. 

Much of the comfort and happiness of our sub- 
ject h.as come to him through his ple.asant domestic 
life, upon which he entered in 185.'), with Miss 
Sarah E. Pullen .as his bride. Mrs. Van Keuren is 
a native of Allegan Township, and is a daughter 
of William and Nancy (Field) Pullen, who came 
here from New York, their native State, in 183G, 
.and were among the first to settle in Allegan 
Township. Mr. Pullen purchased a tract of tim- 
ber land on section 24, Allegan Township, and 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



709 



did some spliMidid jMonoor work in evolving tliore- 
fi'om .1 good fiuin. The latter part of his life, he 
lived retired in tlu' village of Allegan. lie and 
his wife had a family of nine children, of whom 
seven arc living: Mrs. A'an Keuren: William \V.; 
Phebe, now Mrs. Priest; Mrs. Cornelia Ely; Mrs. 
Ellen I>onslnirv; Mrs. .\nnie .S. Warner; and .Tolin 
W. These are the live living cliildren of our sub- 
ject and his wife: Sarah J., now Mrs. .Shumaker, 
who is the mother of three cliildren: John, !Mary 
and Lizzie; William L., who married Miss Carrie 
Davis; Harry E., who married Mrs. Zilpha Z. Mar- 
tin, by whom he has one child, Lora; Charles F.; 
and Mary E., now Mrs. Pond, who hiis one son, 
Cla\ ton. The second child of Mr. and Mrs. Van 
Keuren, Jlrs. Alice Hargie, died December .5, 1888, 
leaving one child, James A. 

Our subject is well endowed mentally, is a man 
of strict moral rectitude, and is implicitly trusted by 
all who know him, and he has an extensive ac- 
(luaintance, having lived in this county the best 
part of his life. He has held the ollice of Modera- 
tor of his District, has been Road M.ister, and has 
served his township in various ways, always mani- 
festing a commendable public spirit in matters 
concerning the well-being of the community. He 
h.as strong temperance princii)Ies, and is an out- 
spi>ken Prohibitionist. In his religious belief, he 
is a Wesleyan Methodist, and, with his wife and 
:ind children, is a member of that church. 



•s^®- 

^^%- 



OHN TRUAX, one of the highly respected 
citizens of .Mlegan County, has Ijeen en- 
^^1 gaged in gencial farming on section 12, 
\^y I bipkins Township, for about a quarter of a 
century, and has been prominently identified with 
the history of this community. He comes of one 
of the old New lOngland families. Ilis father, 
.\iidrew Truax, was a farmei-. and a native of .\ew 
York. He married S.-ilIie Welch, a native of the 
old (Jranite State, and a daughter of Benjamin 
Welch, one of the Revolutionary heroes who 
served under Gen. Anthony Wayne against the 
Indians and died at the age of four-score years. Ilis 
wife reached the advanced age of ninety-six years 



an<l a paternal uiutle'of our subject, Elias Truax, 
died in Franklin, Vt.. at the .age of one hinidred 
and three. Andrew Truax was called to his final 
rest in 1870, and his wife passed aw.a}- in 1873. 

Our subject was one of ten children, but onl}^ 
two are now living. He was torn upon his father's 
farm in Canada, July 17, 1817, and there grew to 
manhood, no event of special importance occurring 
to vary the monotony of farm life. At the age 
of twenty-two. he bade good-hy to his old home, 
came to Michigan in 1839, and worked in a wagon 
shop in Otsego for Mr. Mansfield. Possessing 
some natural mechanical ability, he w.as not long 
in acquiring a dexterous use of tools and for two 
years continued his labors in the w.agon shop. He 
then returned to liis native hind. 

The purpose of this trip was seen when in 1842, 
Mr. Truax led to the marriage altar Miss Agnes 
Johnson, who was born in Scotland in 1H22, and 
crossed the Atlantic to Can.ada when a maiden of 
eighteen j-ears. Our subject there built a wagon 
shop and carried on business for himself for four 
years, when he again came to Michigan, locating on 
a wild farm in Cooper Township, Kalamazoo 
County. Three years later he sold out and came 
to Allegan County, purch.i.sing a tract of wild 
land on section 3, Hopkins Township, where he 
madehis home for ten years. Having cleared thiitj- 
acres he then again sold, afterward purchasing a 
forty -.acre tract which constitutes his present farm. 
The entire amount is now under cultivation and 
yields a golden tribute in return for the care and 
labor bestowed upon it. He abandoned the plow, 
however, during the late war to join Company C, 
of the Seventeenth Michigan Regiment. The most 
important battles in which he participated were 
those of South MounUiin and Antietam. When 
the war was over, he wius honorably discharged and 
returned to his home. 

In 188(5, Mr. Truax was called upon to mourn 
the loss of his wife, who died on the 1st of June. 
She was a member of the Presbyterian Church and 
a lady whose many excellencies of character won 
her the love of all who knew her. Of their children, 
these have grown to mature yeai-s: Mary, wife of 
T. B.Garrett, of W.iyland Township, by whom she 
has five children; Andrew, a farmer of Dorr Town- 



710 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX'ORD. 



sliij). will) maii-ied Sylvia Perkins, and li:is seven 
eliildren; Leonard, wliu married and lias six cliil- 
dren; William, uf Hopkins Townsliii), who wedded 
Georgijiua Geer, by wliom lie has one child; and 
James, who follows fanning in Dorr Township. He 
married Lenora Van Patten, and their union has 
been blessed with five children. 

The first school held in this neighborhood met 
in the log house of jMr. Traux. He has lieliied to 
build three schoolliouses in the township, has 
served as School Director, and has been Treasurer 
of the school district at different times. He held 
the office of Highway Commissioner, and was Jus- 
tice of the Peace for one term. In politics, lie is 
a supporter of the Democracy. He still resides 
upon the old homestead, his granddaughter being 
his liousekeeper. In liis life he has met with ad- 
versity-, yet on the whole his career has been a 
prosperous one, and he has nfiw a comfortable 
competence. 



"S'EREMIAH L. HUMPHRY, a representative 
farmer residing on section 14, Hopkins ' 
Township, Allegan Count3-, is a native-born 
/ citizen of this count^', having had his birth 
in Montere_v Township. His father was Sylsbre R. 
Rumery, a native of Lockport, N. Y., where he was 
born in 1820. The mother was Betsey Jane Lay 
in her maidenhood, a native of Schoharie Count}-, 
N. Y., bom in 1826. They were married in 
1847, and settled on a farm. The father was a 
member of the New York Militia. Mr. Rumery 
came to Michigan in 1839 and worked for a rela- 
tive in Calhoun County one year for eighty acres 
of timliered land, located in Monterey Township, 
Allegan County, on section 26. He settled in the 
dense forest, during the winter 1843-4, and has 
since added to his land until he now is the posses- 
sor of two hundred and fort}- acres. He cleared 
two hundred acres and improved it, erecting good 
buildings thereon, and carried on farming until 
his death, August 23, 1884. He also sold agricul- 
tural implements in connection with his farming, 
and bought about the first chilled iilow in the 



county. He suggested tlie name of Monterey for 
the township, just after the battle of Monterey in 
the Mexican War. In politics, he w-asa Whig and 
later a Republican and Almlitionist. and still later a 
Democrat. He has held the otiice of Highway Com- 
missioner. The father w-as twice married, the 
second union lieing with a sister of his first wife. 
There were three children by the first marriage, 
tw-o now living, our subject and Amantns B. 
The second marriage w.os fruitful of three children, 
two of whom are living. Horatio L. and Lee W., 
both of whom are married and reside in this 
county; Maria M. married Frank C. Ingham and 
left one child at her death. The parents w-eie 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
in 1856 became Seventh-day Adventists. Mr. 
Sylsbre Rumery was one of the first meml)ers of the 
Gr.ange in Monterey Township, and assisted to 
build the Grange Hall m that Township. 

Our subject had his birth November 8, 1844, .and 
was reared and educated on the farm and in the 
schools of his townsliip and later attended the 
High School at Battle Creek. He remained at 
home until reaching his majority, and has always 
been a farmer, with the exception of two years en- 
gaged in manufacturing rubber stamps at Allegan, 
He was married, March 22, 1868, to Harriet K. Buck, 
a daughter of Harry G.and Jane E. (Butler) Buck, 
both natives of St. Lawrence County, N. Y. When 
a .young man, Mr. Buck learned the trade of a cur- 
rier and tanner, also that of a shoemaker, and 
about 1840, he began pre.acliing in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. He and his w-ife still survive 
in Montere}' Township, on section 33, at the ages 
of sixty-nine and sixty -eight, respectivel}-. They 
are the parents of three children, tw-o now living, 
Mrs. Rumery being the oldest child, having been 
born October 10, 1847, in Franklin County, N. Y. 
She is well educated, having attended the High 
School at Battle Creek and the seminary at Allegan, 
and has also taught seven terms of school. John 11. 
is a traveling man, engaged with the Michigan 
Stamp Works. Mr. and Mrs. Rumery are the par- 
ents of four children, Mina ISL, .Vlonsa J., Alfred 
Sib, and Katie lone. Mina was graduated from the 
Allegan Seminary in ISfll.and is now- a te.acher in 
Wayland Township. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 



1 1 



After his marriage,our subject lived in Fredonia 
Township, t'ullioun County-, one year, and tlien 
came to Allpyan County, and lived in Jlonterey 
Townsliip until IMSO, wiicn lie came to Allegan 
Township, anil, ill the spring of 1891, settled on his 
l)ri'sent farm of one hundred and twenty acres, all 
linely impnived. lie is engaged in general farm- 
iiii; and (lie dairy business. He and his family are 
all nu'mliors of llie Seventh-day Adventist Church, 
an<l .Mr. Rumery h.as superintended the .Sabbath- 
school for several years. He li.as been local Elder 
of the Monterey and Allegan Churches, and 
also Clerk and Treasurer of his church. lie 
and his wife have organized Sund.ay-schools in 
the country, of which he was Sui)erintendent, and 
have been and alwa\s are .nctive in all matters of 
this kind. In politics, Jlr. Rumcry is a Republican 
;ind a teetotaler all his life and a friend totemi)er- 
ance. 

In the early days he bad to go to Otsego Iv mill 
with a wagon and a yoke of oxen. One time he 
started to mill with no grease to use on his wagon. 
He went as far as Allegan, where he got some soft 
st)apaiid used that. But this dried up and he had 
to stop all night on the ro.ad. He fortunately 
killed a coon and so obtained grease for his wajjon. 



Al.TKH W. WOODHAMS, who is con- 
<lucting a general st(jre in IMainwell, is an 
^^ enterprising citizen, whose father is well 
known as a pioneer of this section of country. 
The subject of this sketch was l)0rn in London, 
England, November 27, 1842. His parents, Will- 
i.'iiii 11. and Elizabeth (Clark) Woodhams, were 
born in Kent, England. The father owned a small 
tract of land near Limilon. wliciv be followed 
gardening for a number of 3eai-s. In 18tfi, he 
enugrated with his family to America, five weeks 
being occupied in the vo^-age. They landed at 
, New York, and came directly to Michigan, settling 
in (inn Plain Township. Allegan County, where 
lie had purchased land l)efore leaving England. 
His family consisted of a wife and eight children, 
and they look up their residence in a log house 
which had liccii liuilt souie lime before. Mr. 




Woodhams had learned the milling business in 
England, while he was occupied .as a gardener, and 
he was desirous to build a mill in the new country. 
His farm w.os located on the river where Plainwcll 
now stands, and a few years after his arrival he 
became one of a company whic'h built a mill race 
and erected a large mill. He devoted the principal 
part of his time, however, to the clearing and im- 
proving of his land, and liroke the ground on 
which the town now stands with three yoke of 
oxen. 

At that time Indians were plentiful in the vicin- 
ity and a large number were camped on the oppo- 
site side of the river. They would frecjuently 
come over to visit their new neighbors. |)eering 
into the doors and windows at night, but never 
attempting to do any harm. Deer were plentiful 
and all kinds of wild game. Mr. Woodhams sold 
the land on which the first house in Plainwcll wjis 
built. He afterward platted sixty-three acres of 
land for a town, which was named Woodhams, after 
its founder. He sold lots with the stipulation that 
the houses built on them should be kept well 
painted. Ilis original farm, with the exception of 
about ten acres, is now covered by the town. This 
worthy pioneer died in 1888, when eighty -seven 
years old. He was a member of the Haptist Church, 
and was verj- successful tinancially, being a money- 
loaner almost from the time of his settlement 
here. His wife, who was also a member of the 
Baptist Church and an exemplary woman, died in 
1878, when sixty-eight years old. 

Walter W. Woodhams was one of a family of 
eight children, all but one of whom are living, he 
being next to the youngest in order of birth. He 
gained his early education in the district schools, 
afterward spending a year in Kalamazoo College 
and the same length of time in Olivet College. In 
1K()0, he started out in life for himself, becoming 
a clerk in the store of William H. Clark. .\ yejir 
later he entcu'ed the office of the Kalamazoo TV-/*'- 
;/(•«]>/«, where he learned the printer's trade. In 
the fall of IHfi;?, he went to Virginia City. Nev., 
and was eni|iloyed in the /Jaily Union office, of 
which paper Mark Twain was editor at the time. 
Remaining there for about two years, Mr. WimhI- 
liains next traveled into Idaho, along the Snake 



712 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



River, and followed mining for two years in the 
Jordan Creek diggings. Indians were troublesome 
at this place, stealing their horses and otherwise 
annoying them, and they had several skirmishes 
with the savages. 

Mr. Woodhams returned home in 1866, and en- 
gaged in farming for a short time. He then went 
into the grocery business in Plainwellin partner- 
ship with C. O. Gilkey. A year later he purchased 
tlie interest of his partner and has since carried 
on the business alone. 

Me has a general store, dealing in dr3'-goods, etc., 
and also has a storehouse which he purchased about 
fifteen years ago, and in which he carries a stock 
of seeds and grain of all kinds, with tlie exception 
of wheat. 

Mr. Woodhams was married, in 1873, to Miss 
Mary Copp, a native of Cattaraugus County, 
N. Y. They are the parents of two children, Flor- 
ence and Mabel. Mr. Woodhams is a Republican 
in politics, and a member of the Baptist Church, 
while his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. Tliey occupy a very handsome residence 
wliich has been recentlj^ erected and the family is 
one of the most popular and prominent in Plain- 
well. In addition to his other propert3', Mr. 
Woodhams owns a farm near the town. 

^^ERKIT II. NYKERK. This progressive and 
III (— - intelligent citizen of Allegan County en- 
^:^l joys the confidence of the business com- 
munity of Overiscl, where he is carrying on a 
thriving boot, shoe and furniture business. He is 
a native of this county, having been born in 
Overisel Township, December 22, 1851. His fa- 
ther, Gerrit J. Nykerk, was born in Holland, Janu- 
ary, 1821. He remained in his native country until 
1849, when, desiring to know something more aliout 
the New World, he emigrated to America, coming 
directly to Michigan where he was among the very 
earliest settlers in Allegan County. 

The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
was Johanna B. Ijankheet, a native of Holland. 
She was a daughter (jf Ilendrikus J. I.anklieet who 
came to the United btalcs and made settlement iu 



this county as early as 1848, at a time when there 
were very few white settlers in this region. The 
parental family included three sons and two daugh- 
ters. On locating here, the father purchased a tract 
of sixtj^ acres, which he brought to a good state of 
cultivation and later added forty acres more, until 
now his estate comprises one hundred acres of ex- 
cellent land, located on sections 19 and 31, Overisel 
Township. Mr. Nykerk served three years in the 
standing army in Holland and on coming to this 
count}^ became identified with the Reformed 
Church of America, in which denomination he has 
been a minister for the past thirty-five years. He 
is now living in retirement on his beautiful farm, 
fully enjoying the rest which he has so well earned. 
His wife died in September, 1861, and he was again 
married to Gerretdiena Schipper, who was born in 
Holland and to them have come a family of three 
sous and tliree daughters. 

The gentleman of whom this sketch is written 
was reared in Overisel Township where he attended 
the common schools. He later entered the pre- 
paratory department of Hope College, at Holland 
this State, from which he was graduated in 1870. 
After closing his school life, our subject taught for 
two j'ears, when he purchased a farm and engaged 
in cultivating the soil until 1890, at which date he 
came to Overisel and launched out into the boot 
and shoe business in partnership with Mr. D. Kor- 
tering. Mr. Nykerk is a pleasant gentleman, 
thoroughlj' reliable in every way, and is meeting 
with the success which he so justly merits. In ad- 
dition to his business in Overisel, he also owns 
twenty acres of land in Overisel Township, which 
brings him in a comfortable income. 

Mr. Nykerk has been honored by the Republican 
party in having been elected Townshij) Treasurer, 
an olHce which Jie held for four years. He was 
State Census-taker for his township iu 1882 and 
has lieen Supervisor for se^en years in succession. 
In all })ositious of trust to wliich he has been 
elected, he has given the most perfect satisfaction, 
being a man of honar and integrity who performs 
conscientiously every dut}' imposed upon him. 

Miss Mary Hulsman became the wife of our sub- 
ject Xovcmlier 22, 187li. She w;is born May 1", 
1807, iu Overiscl Township and is the daughter of 



PORTRAIT AND KIOGRAPFHCAL RECORD. 



713 



Maiinos aii<l Teiintje (Scliipper) Ilulsmaii, natives 
of Ilollaiul. who came at an early day to Mioliitian, 
locating in the al)ove-naine(l township, where 
tliey still make their home, being well-to-do farm- 
ers. 

Mr. and .Mrs. XyUerk, of wlioni we give this brief 
sketch, are the [larents of live children, one of 
whom <lic<I in infancy. .lohanna 15. is also deceased. 
'JMie remainder of the family are Gerrit J., Minnie, 
.]oli!inna H.. and Trudie. 



^ 




I.ONZO C. HIRNIIAM. Many of the re- 
v ^"/ I, sidents of -Vllegan County have become 
li ■vvcll-do-to while following the calling of 
general farmers and stock-raisers, and in 
that chuss ctinsi)icnoiis mention justly belongs to 
Mr. Buniham, who owns and operates a farm of 
one hundred and fifty acres on section 7, Watson 
Townslii|). He make a specialtj' of .Short-horn 
cattle, in which he has been successful, as he has 
also l)een in his farming operations. In former 
years a Republican, but now a Prohibitionist, he 
has always been alike prominent in both parties, 
and has served as Highway Commissioner and 
School Director, holding the latter po.sition for 
nine years. Socially, he is a meml)er of Watson 
Lodge, No. 266, I. O. (). K.. and the C. .T. Bassett 
Post. C. A. R., of Allegan. 

Ohio is the native .State of Mr. Uiuiiiiain, who 
was horn in Ilartland Township. Huron County, 
March 14, 1811. The lii-st represenUitives of the 
liurnham family in America emigrated hither from 
Kngland in ICOO, when three brothers of that 
name cros.sed the .\tlantic to make settlement in 
the I'nitcd States. The grandfather of our sub- 
ject, Sylvanus H. Burnham. a native of New York, 
followed farming operations, and died in Ohio at 
a good old age. George W., father of our subject, 
was l>orn in Wayne County, N. Y., in 1816, and 
followed the trade of a cooper both in his native 
State and in Huron County, Ohio, whither he 
moved in 1810. 

The Rnckoye State was not the permanent hfinie 
of (ieorge W. liurnham. who remf>ved thence to 
Michigan, stopping iluiiiig one simiiiicr in Hills- 



dale County and coming from there to Watson 
Township, Allegan County, where he purch.t.sed 
an eighth-acre farm on sections 8 and 9. He 
erected a log house, 18x24 feet in dimensions, ancl 
cleared the farm, which remained his home until 
he removed to Otsego Township, and on the place 
which he there bought, he passed away at the age 
of seventy-four years. He was a Republican and 
an active worker in the Advent Church, in which 
he held various official positions. The mother of 
our subject, whose maiden name was Elizabeth 
Carter, was born in New York in 1818 and still 
survives at the age of seventy-three years, lier 
home being in Otsego. Her father, who was 
descended from Scotch ancestors, was a native of 
New York and a soldier in the War of 1812. 

The union of the parents our subject, which 
took place in Wa\ne County, N. Y., in 1836, 
brought to them twelve children, all of whom, with 
one exce[)tion, attained to mature years, but at 
present onh' four are living, namely: Lovina, the 
wife of Joseph W. Pearce, of Martin Township; 
Alonzo C, our subject; Eunice, who is married and 
makes her home in .Muskegon County-, and Laf.ay- 
ette W,, who is a resident of Battle Creek, Jlicli. 
Our subject was reared in Huron County, Ohio, 
until he was thirteen, when he came to this State 
with his parents. His education, which was com- 
menced in Ohio, was completed in Watson Town- 
ship, at least so far as school advantages were con- 
cerned. In 1862, Mr. Burnham enlisted in Com- 
pany L, Fourth Michigan Cavalry, at Detroit, and 
accom[)anied his regiment to .leffersonville, Ind., 
then .across the Ohio River at Louisville, whence 
he fought his way to Nashville and followed Mor- 
gan on his raid. The regiment participated in 
more than one hundred engagements, the most im- 
pf)rtant being at Stone River, Chickamauga, and 
the siege of .Atlanta. They afterward captured .lefT- 
ei-son Davis, whom they escorted to Fortre.ss 
Monroe. Mr. Burnham has in his pos.session a 
sabre which was t;iken from a b.iggage wagon in 
the possession of the Confederate President. rp(»n 
receiving his discharge in .Iiily, 186.5, at Nashvillr, 
Tenn., our subject returned to .Vllegan County. 

The marriage of Mr. Burnham to Miss Mary E. 
Beats w;is celebrated in Kalamazoo. Eebruarx 11. 



714 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1867. Mrs. Burnbam was bom in Norfolk Town- 
ship, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., .January 11, 
1849, and is the oldest daughter of Arteraus W. 
and Lucretia (Bloss) Reals, natives of New York 
and Vermont, respectivelj-. Her parents came to 
Allegan County in 1836 and settled in "Watson 
Township, but after a sojourn here of only a few 
years, removed to California, where they remained 
five 3'ears. Later tliey resided in New York for a 
short time and from there came to Michigan, where 
the father died in Watson Township, in 1880. The 
mother is still living and makes her home in Trow- 
bridge Township. 

Mrs. Burnham is one of four cliildren, the others 
being: Ruth E., who is married and resides in 
Fairi>ort, N. Y.; Bliss F., whose home is in Trow- 
bridge Township, and Nathaniel, who died in Cali- 
fornia. After his marriage, our subject located on 
section 4, Watson Township, building a log house 
on his unimproved farm and devoting his atten- 
tion to clearing the place until .January 17, 1881, 
when he sold and purchased a farm on section 1 8. 
One year later he l)0ught his present place, lie 
and his wife are the parents of five children, 
namel}': Florence I., the wife of John Wall, of 
Allegan County; Edith M., Nellie 0., Lillie R. and 
Arietta M., who are at home. 

Mrs. Burnham and iier two daughters belong to 
Watson Grange, No. 154, P. of H. She is holding 
the office of Master and her daughter Edith M. 
holds the office of Lady Assistant Steward. 



I LI H. PAGE. This respected farmer of Al- 
egan County is engaged in cultivating the 
soil of section 10, Hopkins Township. His 
parents wereEnos and Cinderilla (Baldwin) Page, 
the father born in 1806, in Connecticut, and the 
mother born in 1813 in the same State. They 
moved to Portage County, Ohio, in their youth 
where they were married and located upon a farm 
for which the father paid $2 per acre. He died 
August 5, 1885; the mother still survives and 
makes her home in Ohio. They became the par- 
ents of five children, three of wliom are now liv- 
ing. They were members of the Close Com- 




munion Baptist Church, in which body Mr. Page 
was a Deacon. He took an active part in poli- 
tics, was first a Whig, then a Free Soldier, and later 
a Republican. He served his township as School 
Director and was frequently called upon to act as 
a juryman. 

Mr. Page was born March 13, 1838, in Portage 
County, Ohio, where he remained upon his father's 
farm until reaching his m.ajority. He then learned 
the trade of a wagonmaker in which undertaking 
he was quite successful. During the late war he 
was emplo^^ed in the Quartermaster's Department 
under Gen. Geoige H. Thomas, at Nashville, Tenn. 
He also served in the corps of ''.Squirrel Hunters" 
and hiis a discharge issued by Gov. Todd of Ohio 
and which bears the date of September, 1862. 

March 13, 1861, our subject and Miss Amelia A., 
the adopted daughter of Elisha and Lucy M. (Holt) 
Lane, were united in marriage. Her jjarents were 
natives of Connecticut and early settlers of Sum- 
mitt County, Ohio, where they carried on farming. 
They are both now deceased and were members of 
the Presb3'terian Church. Mr. Lane was a AVhig 
and later a Republican in politics. Mrs. Page was 
born .January 11, 1842, in Cliester Ohio. She was 
adopted into the family of Mr. Lane when only 
four years of age, where she received a good edu- 
cation and careful training. 

After their marriage, our subject and his wife 
made their home for a time in Portage County and 
later lived in Summit County. In the fall of 
1864, Mr. Page came to Michigan and settled on 
his present farm which was then nothing but a 
dense wilderness. It originally- included one hun- 
dred and sixty acres, but he has disposed of a por- 
tion of his estate, and now reserves for himself 
one hundred acres. Seventy acres are under cuUi- 
vatioii and the remaining thirty are devoted to a 
sugar bush. The pleasant residence of ilr. Page 
was erected in 1886 and cost *2,.")()0. His farm is 
embellished with all necessary outbuilding and he 
does a general farming and dairy business. 

Mr. and Mrs. Page of this sketch have had three 
children, two of whom are deceased. Olie B. is the 
wife of Benjamin S. Foote and makes her home 
ill Hopkins Township; she has one child, Ina May. 
Mr. Page has been on the School Board for twenty- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



715 




fivej'eare. He is a member of tlie Patrons of In- 
dustry and has been Guide in that order three 
terms. He lias represented the Repulilican party 
as a delegate to county conventions but is now in- 
dependent in politics. He is connected with the 
(Irand Army of tlie Repulilic and Mrs. Page is a 
member of the Women's Relief Cor|)s. Oursul)ject 
is a deinitted member of tlie Masonic Order and lias 
held the offices of Ro.ad Overseer of his townsliip 
and Constalile, and was once a member of the 
Hoard of Review. He is at present County Treas- 
urer of the Patrons of Industry, to which [losition 
he was elected in January, 18U2. 

iiHOMAS II. LITTLE, a resident of Leigh ton 
Townshii), Allegan Coiinly, is a loyal citi- 
zen of his adopted country, liis devotion to 
whose interests he lias proved by taking part in the 
War of the Reliellioii on the side of tlie Union. 
He was born in England, in Lincolnshire, October 
18, 1843. and is the son of Holicrt and Mary Ann 
(Spenceley) Little. His parents were natives of 
tiie same shire as himself, and emigrated to Amer- 
ica when their son was liutfive j-ears old, locating 
in Canada. His father wa.s a farmer by occupation, 
and our subject was given the advantages of a 
common-school education. ^Vllen he was twelve 
vears old, his |)arents removed to Yates County, 
X. Y., where his father carried on farming and the 
son assisted him in tlic various duties connected 
tiierewith. 

At tlie early age of eighteen years, soon after 
tile Civil War broke out, our subject fell called 
upon to give iiis aid in the juitling down of the 
RelK'llion, and coiise(pieiitly on .Vugiisl II, 18G2, 1 
he enlisted in Company U, Une Hundred and For- | 
ty-eighlli New York Inraiilry, his regiment being 
.as.signed to the Army of the .lames, in \'iigiiiia, un- 
der (ieii. IJeiijamln lUiller. He was in a number 
of iiiipoitaiil engagi'iiieiils, among tlieiii being 
those of Cold Harbor, I'eteisbiiig and others. He, 
however, was too young to stand the severe hard- 
ships of war, -and spent much of his liiiu> in the 
hospitals, being in the one at Portsmouth for 
ulevuu mouths He wa;> discharged at UicUmoud, 



January 22, 1865. returning to New York and be- 
ing engaged there in farming for eight yeai-s. A 
portion of this time he also worked in a sawmill. 
In 187.3, he eaine to Michigan, locating in Allegan 
County and township. Here he resided the next 
nine years, until 1882. when he purchased Ins pres- 
ent place, in I-eighlon Township, whit'h he li.is oc- 
cupied ever since. 

Mr. Little was married in New York, December 
30, 1869, to Hannah M. Covert, of .Steuben County, 
that State, and they are the parents of eight chil- 
dren, as follows: Anna, Arthur, Lizzie, Perry, 
(ileun, Laverne Irving, Stanley and (irace Bell, 
all residing at home with their parents. Mr. Little 
is an earnest Rcimblican and takes great interest 
in political affairs. His first Presidential vote was 
cast for Lincoln. In religion, his views coincide 
with those of the Second Adventists. His daugh- 
ters, Lizzie and Anna, are membersof the (irange. 
Mr. Little receives a small pension from the fiov- 
ernment. in recognition of his services during the 
war. He is c(mnected with Sterling Post, No. 2'J, 
G. A. K.. at Waylaiid. 



AMES B. STREETEH, 1). 1). S. This gen- 
tleman, who is a large Landed proprietor in 
Allegan County, where lie deals extensively 
in real estate, has done much toward its de- 
velopment and iiiiproveineiil and has also aided 
matorially in the building up of the town of .\lle- 
gan, where he resides and where he h;is erected 
many dwelling houses. He is also engaged iu the 
manufacture of lumlier. .is well asthatof paper.and 
is one of the most enterprising and public-spirited 
business men of Allegan. 

Dr. Slreeter isa native of Rochester, N. Y., his 
birth t:iking place .luly 1, I82'.l. His parents were 
Elias and Julia .\. (Bowen) Slreeter. His father 
was one of the earliest piimeers t)f this village, 
having come herein 183."). when there was but one 
log bouse in the place, and no man w:is more inti- 
mately identilied with the growth and development 
of this town than he. Trior locoliiilig to this State, 
Mi'. Stieeter was assoviated iu Rochester, N. Y., with 



716 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 



the family of Alexander Eli in the lumbering busi- 
ness and was easily persuaded to follow their fort- 
unes when they came West. He settled in the wilder- 
ness and turned his attention to lumbering, ijeing 
also actively engaged in building, and was em- 
ployed by the Boston Company in furthering the 
interests of the new village, which has since be- 
come the thriving town of Allegan. Mr. Streeter 
was a native of Phelps Township, N. Y., where 
his parents, Thomas and Ruth Streeter, resided at 
his birth. He had most excellent home training, 
which in after years showed its results in his bus- 
iness capacity. He was a man who was loved and 
respected for his great worth and died in July, 1868 
in Ids seventieth 3'ear. To him and his wife were 
born ten children, of whom seven arc living, as 
follows: Allen L., James B., Thomas E., Harriet, 
the wife of Mr. Conklin, editor of the Independent 
at St. Cliarles, Mich., Jennie Vj. (Mrs. Marsh), Mar}' 
(Mrs. Fosdick) and Nellie. 

The subject of tliis sketch received his early ed- 
ucation in the district schools at Allegan, and at 
the early age of sixteen began the study of med- 
icine with Dr. Calkins, continuing the same until 
twenty-one years of age. He then studied with 
Frederick Avery, a dental surgeon, for one year, 
attlie end of which time he opened an office and 
continued practice for sixteen years, having a 
branch office in Chicago, and practicing at otiier 
places in this State. He was the lirst one in tliis 
part of Michigan to administer chloroform and was 
very successful during all his years of jiractice. He 
abandoned his profession at tlie close of the war, 
in 1865, and engaged in the lumber business, in 
which he lias continued ever since. He commenced 
the paper business in 1882 and carries it on to a 
large extent, emi)loying from thirty to forty hands. 
He is also interested in the Allegan Oil and Min- 
ing Compan}'. Dr. Streeter was married in June, 
1865 to Miss Carrie R. Currey, a native of Canada 
and a daughter of the Rev. Thomas Currey. Two 
children have been born of tliis union: James B., 
Cashier of the First National Bank at Larimore, N. 
Dak. He received his business education at Bryant 
& Stratton's Business College, Chicago. Hiram C, 
who was a student in tiie Valley City Conniiercial 
Business College, is now a clerk and liookkeeper 



I 




for the firm of Streeter & Son. Dr. Streeter was 
for a number of years in company with II. B. Peck, 
now a resident of Kalamazoo, under the firm name 
of Peck lir Streeter, in tiie lumber business. They 
built a large sawmill and shingle mill, which was 
burned down in 1880. Mr. Peck was for a time 
also connected witli tiie paper mill, Dr. Streeter 
subsequently purchasing his interest in tiie same. 
The Doctor has been for a number of years inter- 
ested in the real-estate and loan business and is 
connected with several insurance companies. In 
jiolitics, Dr. Streeter is a Democrat and socially be- 
longs to the Masons and Knights of Pytliias. 

ENRY CONRAD. Tliis gentleman is an old 
resident of Leighton Townshii), Allegan 
County, liaving owned and occupied the 

(($)) farm on which he resides for over thirty- 
live years. He was born in Cattaraugus Count}-, 
N. Y., November 26, 1831. He conies of good old 
Vermont stock, his parents, Joseph and Lucy 
(Thatcher) Conrad, being natives of the Green 
Mountain State. His father died wlien he wa.s 
about five years old, and his niolhcr, who was liorn 
Marcii 10, 1802, and will be ninety j-ears old her 
next birthday, is now residing with her son. 

Mr. Conrad liad but few educational advantages 
when a boy and was reared to farm work. Some- 
time after the death of liis fatlier, his mother was 
married to Ricliard Freer, and the family removed 
to Seneca Count}*, Ohio. From the age of eight 
years, our subject had lived with an aunt, Mrs. 
Lake. AVhcn twenty-one years of .age, he came to 
Michigan, where he began life for himself as a 
lumberman. He also took up one hundred and 
sixty acres of land in Allegan County, which was 
at that lime in the wilderness. On tliis lie made 
all tlie necessary improvements, doing tlie work 
himself, and began its cultivation, at the same time 
working as a hand in a sawmill. This busy life he 
continued for two or three years. 

]Mr. Conrad was married, in 1857, to Phebc A. 
Lester, who was a native of Seneca Count}', Ohio. 
They were the i)arents of four children, of whom 
one, Olie, is deceased. Those living are Seth, Sid L. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RPX'ORL*. 



and Nettie, all of whom are married; the latter 
is teacliing school at Martin's Corner. Tiic mother 
of tliesc children died in 18(55, and, a few j'cars 
afterward, Mr. Conrad wa.s iiniled to AIniira Les- 
ter, a sister of his first wife. 15y this_ union one 
child, I/O, lias heen liorn. lie. also, is married. 

Mr. Conrad has been successful in his farming 
operations, having his place well improved with 
all necessary conveniences and carries S(jine good 
grade of stock, lie does not take much interest in 
politics, but votes with the Democratic party and 
has held some of the minor i)(lices. 



t=r\ 



^+ 



"S) 



JKRK.MIAU \N ALTER. The farm owned 
and operated by this gentleman is, although 
of small e.Ktent, one of the best in Allegan 
County, and is pleasantly located on section 
4, Watson Township. Here he has resided since 
1868, busily engaged in tilling tlie soil. He was 
born in Ilarrishurg, I'a., August 11, 1828, and is the 
son of .lacoband Margaret (Griner) Walter, natives, 
respectively, of Lancaster and Dauphin Counties, 
Pa. The father, who was a tanner and blacksmith 
by trade, came to Michigan in 1848, locating in 
l^lonroe County, and from there removing to St. 
.Io.scph County, where he resided many years. His 
last days were spent with our subject, until his 
death at the age of seventy-twf>. 

The i)atcrnal grandfather of our subject, Jacob 
Walter, Sr., was probably a native of Germany, 
whence he emigrated to America and followed his 
trade of a wagon and [)low maker until his death, 
at the age of eighty years. I'iiilip (Jriner, our 
subject's maternal grandfather, w.as a native of the 
Keystone SUile. and a farmer by occupation. .lacob 
and Margaret Griner were the parent* of fifteen 
children, of whom tiiiileeii grew to nianiiood and 
womanhood, and eight are now living. Our sub- 
ject, who was the eldest in the family, was nine 
year.'" old when he went lo Ohio with his parent-s, 
and for the ten ensuing years he made his home in 
the lJucke\e Stflte. 

W'iien nineteen years old, our subject came West 
to Michigan, where he worked out by the month 
in Monroe County. At the tiuie of his aettlciueul 



in Ohio, he had been hired out by his father for 
^2.50 per month, and from the age of nine ^ears 
until the date of his m.arriage, all his wages were 
contributed to the supiwrt of the family. In De- 
cember, 1848, he was married to Miss Amy K. Kel- 
le3% who was born in Dauphin County-, Pa., Feb- 
ruary 8, 1826. The young couple located on a 
rented farm in Monroe Township, Monroe County, 
and one year later bought an eighty-acre farm in 
the same county. The place was entirely unim- 
proved, but through the efforts of Mr. Walter, a 
small house was built and the land cleared. 

In 1852, leaving his wife and children with his 
father-in-law, Mr. Walter made an overland trip 
to California, arriving in Placerville six months 
after he left his home, and working in the mines 
about six months. For a time he was engaged in 
his trade of a car[)cnlcr, and was successful in his 
enterprises. He remained on the Pacific .Slope 
about eighteen months, and came home via the 
Isthmus of Panama and New York Cit\-. Soon 
after his return, he purchased one hundred and 
sixty acres on section 7, Watson Township, Alle- 
gan County, where he built a log siianty and re- 
mained about three years. Next he bought a farm 
of twenty acres in Monterey Township, which he 
soon sold at a good advance, and then purchased 
forty-four acres on section 8, Watson Township, 
making that his home until the war. 

In August, 1864, JNIr. Walter enlisted in Com- 
pany E, Twenty-eighth Michigan Infantry, and, 
with his regiment, inarched to Louisville, Ky., 
Nashville, Tenn., Jlorehead City and New lierne, 
N. C. Prom the last-named pl.ace he went to the 
front, participating in the battle of New Salem, and 
receiving his di.'"cliarge in Raleigh, N. C, Novem- 
l)er 1, 1865. After the war closed, he returned lo 
Michigan, and made his home in Cass County for 
I two years, removing from there t(j his present 
' farm in 1868. When he located here, the place 
was in alino.st its |)rimeval condition, but through 
his tireless exertions he has brought it to a high 
stale of cultivation. Having recently sold forty 
acres, he now owns only the same amount. 

Mr. Walter biTarne the father, by his first m:ir- 
riage, of ten cliiMrcn, six of whom :(ll:iine<) to ma- 
turity, us follows: Subou E., now Mi's. Jacob liautz; 



718 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Jacob, whose home is in Missouri; William, John 
A.; Alice, wife of Myron Baker; and Caroline, 
who married Harry Barniim. With the exception 
of Jacob, the children reside in Hopkins Township. 
The second marriage of Mr. AValter took place in 
1885, when Miss Abbie Bentley became his wife. 
Slie was born in Monroe Township, IMonroe County, 
this State, September 20, 1841, and at the age of 
ten years accompanied her parents to Watson 
Townshi)), Allegan Count}-. Her father, Samuel 
A. Bentley, was born in Monroe County in 1819, 
and is. therefore at tlie present time seventy-two 
years old. Her mother. Electa (Baird) Bentlej', 
was born in Wa3'ne County, Ohio, in 1822, and 
came to this State when a child, remaining here 
until called hence by death, September 15, 1862. 
They were the parents of eleven children, three of 
whom died in ciiildhood. 

In his political views, our subject is a Prohibi- 
tionist. For years he has been a member of tlie 
Wesleyan IMetliodist Church, of Hopkins, in the 
worlcof which he has taken an active part, and oc- 
casionally is called upon to preach. A sincere 
Chiistian, he carries his religion into his practical 
everyday life, and ministers to the poor and desti- 
tute. He is higlily esteemed, and his family shares 
witli him the respect of the community. 



•5•^•^s 



_/ 



IKRRIT 11. SLOTMAN. The owner and 
III I——, resident of the line farm located on sec- 
^ii:^ tion 21, Overisel Township, is a native of 
Holland, where his Ijirtii occurred August 9, 1835. 
He is the sun of Levi and Johanna Slotman, also 
natives of Holland, wliere they reared their family 
of eight children. The parents emigrated to 
America and located in Syracuse, N. Y., where the 
falher's death occurred \\\ 1848. The motiier 
Hi.'uried a ^\x. Oolbekking and by that marriage 
became the mother of live sons and two daughters; 
she died in 1887. 

Tlie suljjcct of this sketch was a lad of twelve 
years when he accompanied liis jiarents to Amer- 
ica and with them locate<l in Syracuse, N. Y., 
tlienct^ to Overisel Tuwnshii) with his mother, 



where he has continued to reside since his advent 
here, with the exception of the period he spent 
in fighting for the Union. He enlisted in 1861 in 
Company I, Thirteenth Michigan Infantry, and 
with his companj- participated in the following 
battles: Shiloli; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Chickamauga, 
and numerous skirmishes. At the latter-named 
place he was taken prisoner and sent to Belle 
Island, where he was kept for two weeks and then 
taken to that vile den — Libby Prison — where he 
was held for three months, when he was sent to 
Danville and after remaining there for three months 
more was sent to Audersonville. He remained in 
that foulest of all foul [jrisons for six long months 
and was then sent to Charleston where he was 
held for two months; last of all he was sent to 
Florence, N. C, where he was held in captivity for 
four mouths and as the war was then ended, he 
was jiaroled and returned home, having served 
during the entire period of the war. 

Mr. Slotman was married October 1, 1865, to 
Ilendrika Dangremond, also a native of Holland, 
and to them was granted a family of ten children, 
viz: Levinius, Lucas D., William, IMinnic; Gar- 
rit, deceased; Johanna, Hattie, Julia, Gerrit H. 
and Lillie. The original of this .sketch is the 
owner of eighty acres of land which, at the time of 
his purchase, was in its primeval state, but by a 
thorough course of cultivation, it has been made to 
yield handsome returns. At tlie time of his lo- 
cation here, he was among the very earliest settlers 
of this section and thus has l)een an eye-witness 
to the marvelous growth and development of the 
county. He is a Rei)ublican in his political l»- 
lief and has always voted with that party. 



>^^ AMUEL FISK. There are doubtless few 
'^^ more attractive homesteads in Allegan 
County than that which is pleasantly lo- 
cated on section 22, Watson Township, and 
which is the property of the gentleman aliovc- 
namcd. The attention of the visitor is first 
directed to the lieautiful residence, whie-h was 
erected in 1879 at a cost of |il.8()0and contains 
thirteen rooms, tastefully and comfortably furn- 



PORTKATI' AM) I'.inflTJArillCAL RECORD. 



Tl!> 



islicil. Till' <liiiu'ii.si<iiis of tin' inaiii liiiil<liii<r aro 
2(;x2(i. whilo tin; two 1/s are 1 Ix2(; and 14x30 
foot in (linionsions, resi)cc'tivcly. In the rear may 
he soon a fino wiiuhnill. anil snlwlanlial harn 
•inxCH, with an addition 18x10, and a tool i-hed 
2(tx30 foot. Tho air of tlnift ahoul llio farm in- 
dioato.s that the proprietor is an enersrctic and 
ontorprising man. who uses oxcoilont judifinont 
in the ciillivalion of tlio soil. 

Nelson Fisk, father of our sulijeet, was horn in 
ISIO. in Ot.sego County, X. Y., of which Ids father, 
David, was one of the earliest settlers. In 1K31 
ho was married to jMargaret Hieok, who was born 
in Otsego County, in 1813. After their union 
the young couple located in Tcnn.sylvanin, whence 
they removed .about 1836 to Niagara County, N. Y. 
In 1840 they came to Allcg.in County, locating on 
section 21, Watson Township, and removing in 
18fi3 to section !>, of the same township. In 1877 
they located on section 22, where the mother still 
resides, hut tho father has p.a.ssed away, his death 
occurring in 1887. Politically, he was first a Re- 
publican but latterly a Prohibitionist. He served 
one year as Township Clerk, and was Deacon in 
the Christian Church from the time of its organi- 
zation until his death, being a prominent member 
and a liberal contributor to its support. 

The family to which our subject belongs com- 
prised five children, namely: .Teanotte, wife of 
Noah Ilouscr, of Watson Township; Samuel, of 
thisskotch; Livonia, the widow of Morgan May- 
bee, now a resident of .'^outh Ilavon; David D., 
who died in 18C2, while in the service of his 
country, and Caroline, the wife of Samuel Martin, 
and a resident of Watson Township. Our subject 
w.as only two years old when his parents reinovoil 
to Niagara County, N. Y., from Krie County, Pa., 
whore his birth occurred January 27, 1834. At 
the .igo of sixteen vears. he .accompanied his [lar- 
onts to this State, and two yoai-s later engaged as a 
school te.acher in Allegan Township, continuing 
in that way for seven terms. 

April 10, 1860, Mr. Fisk w.as married to Maria, 
the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Taylf)r) Harris. 
Mrs. Fisk w.a.s Iwrn in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., 
January 26, 1830, and came of Knglish parenUige. 
Her father, who was a farmer, dieil in Now York. 



her mothei' dird .Ian nary 2'.l, 18".t2, aged oighty- 
thrco years and six nioiiths in Cul>a, N. Y. Aftei' 
his marriage. Air. Fi>k located on section 16, Watson 
Township, on :i farm which he had previously 
purcha.-iod. and there he remained until 1864. lb- 
was enrolled in Com|)any C, Ninth Michigan In- 
fantry, and servc(l until the close of the war, 
receiving an houoralilc discliargo at Nashville, 
Tenn., June 20. 186."). and retiu'ning to his North- 
ern home. 

Tho farm which .Mr. Fisk now owns and oper- 
ates was purchased by him in 186"), and comprises 
ninety acres of tinely im|)roved land. I'olitically, 
he is a Prf)hibitionist, and h.as .served as Township 
Clerk, Sc1k)oI Inspector and Supervisor, being ap- 
pointed to the latter position in order to till a 
v.acancy. He is a member of the Wheeler Post. 
Grand Army of the Republic, of Martin, and is 
Trustee in the Christian Church at Watson, of 
which he and his wife arc charter members. A 
devoted Christian, Mr. Fisk hasalw.ays been char- 
acterized in every action l\v a spirit of earnestness 
consistoiuy and charity, and with his wife h.is 
aided in elevating the moral and religious status 
of the comniunitv. 



-i- 



^>^M^; 



i£S-^ 



I 



SAAC F. AUSTIN. This enterprising citizen 
of Allegan is tho proprietor of the Oil City 
Livery and 'Bus Line. He purch.oscd his liv- 
ery stable in 18!)1 and koei)s on hand a variety of 
vehicles which will best >upiily the wants of tho 
traveling public. Mr. Austin is a native of Alle- 
gan County, having been born in Watson Town 
ship, in 18.")0. His parents were Lloyd and Sarah 
(Nichols) Austin, natives of Wayne County, N. Y. 
The father of our subject was a farmer and came 
to Michigan in an early d;iy. Ho well romemboi-s 
helping to cut the timber from the i)rescnt site of 
tho courthou.so. and otherwise aided greatly in the 
de\elopnient of this county. On hK'ating hero, ho 
commenced in the now .State by working for .lud- 
.s))! Ely. Later, however, he purch.asod a trad of 
wild land in Watson Township, upon which he 
erected a log house, and commenced tho work of 
improvement. He cleared one hundred aoi-es, on 



720 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



wliic'li lie resided until his death, in llST'.t. His 
wife survived liirn ten _yc.'irs, d>iug iu 1889. The 
elder Mr. Austin was ver}- prominent in loeal af- 
fairs and held the office of Su|)ervisor for ten jears. 
He was also Township Treasurer, Justice of the 
Peace, and held many of the minor offices. In 
politics, he was a stanch Democrat. 

Isaac F. Austin has a brother, Xathan L., in Han- 
cock County, Oliio, they two being the only mem- 
bers of the parental family of four living. William 
D. Austin, a brother of our subject, was a soldier 
in the Elighth jMichigan Cavalry. He was in service 
twelve months when he was taken sick and, return- 
ing home, died a short time afterward. 

The original of this sketch has had excellent edu- 
cational advantages, being a graduate of the Otsego 
and Ann Arlior High Schools, receiving his di- 
ploma from the latter institution in 187). After 
completing his studies, he returned and superin- 
tended his father's farm for two years, and then 
purchased a farm in the same township, and tilled 
the soil on his own account for twelve years. Mr. 
Austin then disposed of his tract, and, going to 
Kansas, engaged in the stock business on the In- 
dian Reservation for three 3-cars. His father dying 
while he was out West, our subject returned and 
took charge of the farm and cared for his mother. 
His mother died, however, in 1889, when he sold 
the homestead, and went to Ohio, and purchased 
an interest in an oil well. He was very successful 
in his undertaking, and soon returned to Allegan, 
where he had left his family when going to the 
Buckeye State. 

When taking up his permanent residence in Al- 
legan, Mr. Austin entered into partnership with 
.Julius ({. EUinger, and formed what is known .as 
the Allegan (las & Oil Mining Company. They 
sunk a well twelve hundred and seventy-four feet, 
and striking oil now receive six barrels a day. 
Our subject has a beautiful home on the corner of 
Trowbridge and Cedar Streets, which is presided 
over by his excellent wife, to whom he was mar- 
ried m 1872. She bore the maiden name of Sarah 
Pallet, a daughter of .Tames and Rebecca Pallet. ^Mr. 
and Mrs. Austin have not been blessed with children 
of their ovyn , but are performing the part of parents 
to an adopted daughter, named P^dith. In polities. 



Mr. Austin is independent and socially an Odd 
Fellow. He ranks among the prosperous business 
men of the county, and for his cordial, kindly 
manners, is greatly resi)ected by all who know him. 



WILLIAM P. SHERMAN has a pleasantly 
located farm on section 27, Ganges Town- 
^ ^ ship, Allegan County. Addison County, 
Yt., was his native place, and his natal day, May | 
IG, 1822. His father, Nathan Sherman, was born \ 
in New York State, about 1790, while his mother, 
Phebe Dunlap, was born in Yermont in 1790. 

Nathan Sherman spent his early days on his 
father's farm, but his parents dying when he was 
young, he was bound out. When reaching years 
when it became necessary for him to choose a vo- 
cation, he apprenticed himself to learn the trade of 
a blacksmith, which occupation he followed the 
greater part of his life. Going to Yermont, he was 
married to Miss Phebe, daughter of William and 
Eunice Dunlap. He remained in that State until 
1834, when, coming West to Newburg, Cuyahoga 
County, Ohio, with his family, he resided there a 
short time and then went to Lorain County, where 
he spent his last years, dying when fifty-five years 
of age. His wife survived him about twenty-five 
j'ears. They had become the parents of five chil- 
dren, viz.: our subject; Rebecca, deceased; Dj'er; 
Rhuby, and Eunice, both deceased. 

William P. Sherman began to earn his own 
money by taking care of horses in Newburg, Ohio. 
His education was limited to the common schools. 
When reaching his twenty-third .year, he estab- 
lished a home of his t)wn by his marriage with 
Miss Adeline P. Eaton. Mrs. Sherman was the 
daughter of Royal C. and Sall3- (Chandler) Eaton, 
and Was one of six children born to her parents, 
who were natives of New York. By her marriage 
with our snliject, Mrs. Slierinan has become the 
mother of five sons and daughters: John W., 
Phebe A.; Lena, who died when three years of age; 
Royal, and Addie L., who died when twent}' j'ears 
of age. 

Our subject leanied the trade of a blacksmith 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



r2i 



from liis I'atlii'i-, Imt the l:ist twoiil y-^iix yours of his 
life liavi' liccii given entirely tociiltivjitiiiii: the soil. 
In IKC.'i. lie e.'ime U) Mieliigsiii and loe.ated on his 
|preseiil f:u in, wl'ieh >\ns partially improved at th.it 
lime. He later added forty neres to his original 
tract and has at dilTerenl timesowned Iwohundrcd 
acres in (langes 'rownsliip. His [dace is well im- 
proveil with all needful buildings and mnehinery, 
and he is making a success of his undertaking. The 
Baptist C'liureh claims IMr. and Mrs. Sherman as 
among its most active members. In politics, our 
subject is a Republican. 



4^ 




^^ O g> 



LI KK!^ MIMA. Few still remain of the 
V'^SILJi brave pioneers, who, coming to Allegan 

;i I" County when it was a forest primeval, de- 
voted their energies to its upbuilding. 
Among those who yet survive, surrounded by the 
comforts which they have accumulated, and enjo_v- 
ing the esteem of their fellow-men, is Mr. Mnma.a 
])rominent citizen of Pine Plains Townshi|). He 
arrived in this count}-, February 6, 1837, and was 
followed a few weeks later b\- his father and the 
other members of the famil\-, who located on sec- 
tion 22, Allegan Townshi)). At that early day, 
the country was sparsely settled, except by Indians, 
anil scarcely a furrow had been turned in the soil. 

The grandparents of our subject, Jacob and 
Betsy Munia, wore natives of Oermanv, whore they 
were reared and married. The}' emigrated from 
the Fatherland to America, locating first in Penn- 
sylvania and removing thence to Canada, where 
they died. The father of our subject, George 
Mnma, was born in Lancaster County, Pa., Septeni- 
l)er 2, 1777, and when a small child .accompanied 
his parents to Canada, where he grew tt> manhood. 
During the War of 1812, he w.is drafted into the 
British Army, but served only six weeks, as his 
sympathies were on the side of the United St,ites. 
He married Sarah Goodhue, who was lx)rn Febru- 
ary 18, 1800, in New York, whence she removed 
to Canada while she was young. 

During the most of his life, George Muma fol- 
lowed the calling of a fanner, but for a time was 
engaged in Imnbering in Allegan County. Politi- 



cally, he was a Democrat, and, with his wife, held 
membership in the Methodist Kpiscoi>al Church, 
Nine children were born of his union, seven of 
whom still survive, namely: Anna, the wife of 
Charles Carpenter; .Tano, widow of B. Wheeler; Al- 
fred, f)f this sketch; Ebenezer; Sarah, widow of 
William Finn; Almira, who is the wife of .Miner 
.1. Warner; and Olive, who married (J, H. Hill. 
The mother of this family passed from earth Sep- 
temlier it, IHo.'i, but the father attained a g<pod old 
.age and died August 18, I88!l. 

The subject of this biographical notice was born 
November 28, 1822, in Hamilton, Canada, whore 
he passed his boyhood d.ays. He was liftcen years 
old when he came to Allegan County, and hero 
worked in the lumber woods and on a farm. He 
was married to ]Miss Ann, daughter of Daniel and 
Abigail Grove, of Ionia County, this State. Mr. 
(irove, who was engaged as a cooper anrl farmer, 
w.as a native of New York, and his wife of Canada. 
Mr. and Mrs. Muma are the; parents of tliiee chil- 
dren: George O., who married .Sarah Majies; Fmma 
M., who married Kdgar M. Colins; the other child 
died in infancy. 

In his social connections. Mr. Muma belongs to 
the Canada Lodge, No. 212, F. it A. M., but h.a.s 
never united with any order in the I'nited .States. 
Politically, he is a Democrat. He aided in organ- 
izing the school districts of Allegan and Pine 
Plains Township, and has hold a dircctoi-ship for 
thirty-two years. He represented his township fin 
the Countj- Board of Suiioi'visors during one term, 
served as Highway Commissioner nineteen veal's, 
and has been .Justice of the Peace since 18r)2. 






v^EORGF II. I1I:NIKA. of Wayland, Allegan 
III (— , County, w.as borninGorham Township, On- 

>^^ tario County, N. Y., January 31, 1835, He 
is a son of Frederick and Lucy (Pratt) Ilenika, his 
mother being a native of the same tfiwnship :»s 
himself, while his father was l>orn in Connecticut. 
The latter was by occupation a farmer, and to this 
business our subject w.as reared on a farm in Now 
York. He w.as given but a limited education at 
the common schools, which he attended until six- 



722 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



teen years old, at the age of eigliteeu coming to 
Michigan and settling at Kalamazoo. He there 
learned the cabinet-maker's trade, working at it 
for nine years. The parents of our subject spent 
their last da^-s in Madison, Wis., the mother dj'- 
ing in November, 1891, while the father survived 
until March 27, 1892. 

In 1861, Mr. Heiiika removed to this place and 
opened up an undertaking and furnishing goods 
establishment. This he has conducted for the past 
thirty 3ears, having built up a fine trade, be- 
coming well known for his energy and industry, his 
reputation being that of an honest and upright 
man. He was married, March 7, 1861, to Julia A. 
White, of Kalamazoo, a daughter of William E. 
White, who was at one time Sheriff of Kalamazoo 
County. 

Mr. Henika owns a farm of forty acres in Way- 
land Township, this county, which he has culti- 
vated by hired help. He has also one hundred 
and sixty acres of fine land in South Dakota. He 
is identified with the Republican paity, but has 
never taken the trouble to become an office-seeker. 
His interest in politics is manifested by casting 
his ballot for the best man to fill the offices needed. 
He is much interested in the cause of education, 
and has served upon the School Board. He is a 
constant attendant of the Congregational Church, 
although not a member of any religious society. 
He is regarded as a most estimable citizen and 
worthy of the consideration in which he is held. 
It was the sad misfortune of Mr. Henika to lose 
his chcrislied companion January 19, 1892. Their 
union w.as childless. 



SJ SAAC V,. FOSTER is engaged in cultivating a 
I portion nf tlic soil in section 32, Trowbridge 
II}, Townsliip, Allegan County. Ilis parents were 
Archiliald and Lucy (Collier) Foster, the former a 
native of New York, and the lattei', of Vermont. 
They went to Ohio wlien young, where they were 
married and resided in Lorain County on a farm 
until their removal to Micliigan, in 1854. When 
coming to Allegan County, the}' located in Trow- 



bridge Township where they made their home un- 
til their death, the father passing away in 1'874, 
and the mother, one 3'ear later. They were the pa- 
rents of nine children, onlj' four of whom are liv- 
ing. The elder Mr. Foster had been married pre- 
vious to his union with our subject's mother. 

Our subject was born, March 1.3, 1839, in Lorain 
County, Ohio, and was fifteen years of age when 
his parents came to the Wolverine State. One 
year later, he went to work in the lumber woods 
and received a man's wages. He followed that 
line of work until after his marriage. Mr. Foster 
enlisted in the Union Army in December, 1862, 
and joined Company F, Eighth Michigan Cavahy, 
as a private. He was soon promoted to be Ser- 
geant, with which rank he was mustered out. 

The regiment to which he belonged was organized 
at Mt. Clemens, this State, and was sent to Coving- 
ton, Ky., where they were attached to the Twenty- 
third Corps, under Gen. Bird. Thence they went 
to Camp Nelson, and, later, participated in the 
battle at Triplett Bridge, Ky. He helped to drive 
out Gen. Forrest from Tennessee, and took part in 
the fight at Kingston, that State, also at Cleveland, 
Calhoun, Athens and Loudon Station, Sweet Wa- 
ter, Piiiladelphia, siege of Knoxville, Bean Station, 
Strawberry Plain, New Market, Moss Creek, Dan- 
dridge, Sevierville. His regiment was then sent to 
Kentucky, and engaged in the battle of Mt. Ster- 
ling. From there they went to Georgia, and saw 
fight at Kenesaw Mountain, Covington, Chattahoo- 
chee, Sunshine Church, Eatonton, Mullierry Creek, 
Harper's Ferrj', Atlanta and Macon. At the latter 
place, they were all captured but sixty-seven. 

Mr. Foster was one of the fortunate ones, and, 
breaking through the reliel lines, wandered about 
for eleven days without either shelter or food ex- 
cept blackberries and green corn. Finally he 
joined the Union forces at Marietta, Ga., and 
with a small squad was sent to Kentucky to recruit. 
He was taken sick, and lay in the hospital at Camp 
Nelson until January, 1865, and then returned to 
Pulaski, Tenn. They spent their time in skirmish- 
ing, until they were mustered out in September, 
1865. Although serving three jears in the arm}', 
Mr. Foster was never wounded. He had one very 
narrow escape, however, when a rebel shot at him 



■::'§ii^^h^^^^U:i!JJ^'i;^M-h.-J Jm- 




BA5E LlNt LAKE AND RES. OF ISAAC B. FOST ER , StC.iii, TROWBRIDGE TP.AL^LGAU Cu.j^lCH. 




RES. or ROBERT AND ELIZABETH M ABBS . SEC. 18 ALLEGAN TP, ALLEGAN C0.,MICH I CAN. 



1 



i 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



725 



:it. slioil laiiiff, the li:ill just iiiissiny his face ami 
burning iiis car. 

Dn rclurnin.i; honic afler the cessation of lius- 
tilities, Mi: Foster located upon liis i)resent farm, 
which then consisted of tiiirty-four acres. lie was 
married in .lanuarj-, 18G0, to Jliss Mary Wilkinson, 
wlio was a native of New York. She was born in 
IX N, and her parents were early settlers of Trow- 
i)ridi,'e Townsiiip, Allegan County. She was one 
of a family of nine children, six of whom are liv- 
ing. Ml', and Mrs. Foster are the parents of four 
chiUlren, two living: Anah R. and Mar}' L. 

Our subject now owns eighty acres of land, six- 
ty-live of which are under excellent cultivation, 
lie has a comfortable residence on his place, a 
view of which may be found elsewhere in this vol- 
ume, and all his pos.sessions are the result of his 
inilustr}' and good management. His health is 
such tliat he cannot do any hard work, but he 
superintends the operating of his estate. Mr. and 
Mrs. Foster are members of the Christian Church, 
in which body he is a Deacon. He is greatly- in- 
terested in Sunday-school work, and Mrs. Foster 
is also a teacher in the Sunday-school. He is a 
member of the J. H. Hassctt Post, No. 56, G. A. R., 
of ,\llcgaii, in which order he has been .Sergeant- 
M.ajor. In politics, he is a Republican, and a 
slnmg advocate of ten)perance. lie has given his 
children good educations, and .Miss .Viiaii is a 
tine performer on the organ. 



I I I ) I 



> ' I ' I 




YOHFHT MAMHS. This Covernment is 
greatly indelited to the loyalty and 
faithful service in her behalf of tho.se citi- 
I y.PHs of her adojition who fought for her 
preservation during the Civil War. It is of one of 
these, Robert Mabbs, of whom the following is re- 
cordecl. He enliste<l as a private during the re- 
beiliuii but his valor and other line soldierly (piali- 
ties won him deserved promotion through the 
various ollicial ranks until he held .a commission as 
Lieutenant of his regiment, and his military career 
rertected honor on Ihe soldiery of this State. His 
citi/.enslii|> has also U'cn of value since tho.se days 

3:5 A 



that tried men's souls in that awful conflict be- 
tween the North and the South, and Allegan 
County linds in him one of her progressive farmers 
and stock-raisers. He has a finely equipped farm 
of one hundred and sixteen acres on section IS, 
Allegan Townslii|), whose improvements are of a 
high order, and are among the best in this locality. 

Mr. JIabbs was born in Chalhain. Kngland. in 
1«2(), a son of William II. and Hannah H. (Stjice) 
Mabbs, who were also of English birth. In 1833, 
they left (heir old home with their family and 
crossed the waters to seek another in this country. 
They lived in New York City until 183«, and then 
came to Michigan to settle in the wilderness, that 
they might avail themselves of the cheap lands 
and other advantages offered in a ncwiy-scttled 
country to peoi>le fif little means to secure a com- 
fortable home. They spent two years in J.ickson 
Count}', and after that were identified with the 
pi<meers of Hillsdale County, locating among the 
early .settlers of the Town.shii) of Ran.som, where 
the father fanned until his death, which dei)rived 
his community of one of its most usefulaiid highly 
respected citizens. He was a man of sterling habits 
who walked uprightly, keeping to the ways of 
honesty and truthfulness, and in him the Congre- 
gational Church found a consistent Christian 
mendier. His wife, who died in Rranch County, 
was also a devoted member of that church. They 
had a family of eight children, of whom these four 
are living: John, Robert, Austin and Soi)hia. 

A lad of niiie years when he came to America 
with his parents, our subject completed his educa- 
tion in the schools of New York City. He accom- 
panied the family in their migration to Michigan, 
and remained an inmate of the parental home un- 
til he attained his majority. .Vt thatage, he began 
his career .as a farmer in Hillsdale County, having 
previously had good instruction in that line under 
his father's tuition. He fanned that place two 
years, and then sold it, and spent the ensuing two 
years in .MIegan, and at the end of that time lo- 
cated on his farm on section 18, Allegan Township. 
It was then in its jirimitive condition, being com- 
])letely covered with forest, whose trees were the 
growth of centuries, and had never before In-en 
disturbed by the axe of the pioneer;- He fvHed the 



726 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



timber, and after clearing the land, put it into a 
high state of cultivation, and placed upon it 
modern improvements in the shape of a beautiful 
brick house, well supplied with all the latest con- 
veniences, and large barns. He does a mixed farm- 
ing business, and has liis farm stocked vvith a good 
class of horses, cattle and swine. A view of his 
residence will be noticed on another page. 

Mr. Mabbs entered the United States service in 
1862 as a member of Company B, Nineteentli Mich- 
igan Infantry, and remained at the front until the 
close of the war, being promoted from time to time 
until he became Lieutenant. He was with Gen. 
Sherman ou his famous march to the sea. At 
Spring Grove, Teun., he was taken prisoner, and 
was confined in Libby prison one month. In the 
fifteen battles in which he took part, he showed of 
what metal he was made by the coolness and cour- 
age with which he fought, and by his prompt 
action and fearless conduct in cases of emergency. 

Our subject was happil^y married, in 1850, to Miss 
Elizabeth Sadler, daughter of John and Mary 
(Mackelray) Sadler. Her parents were natives of 
Ireland, and both were of Scotch descent. They 
came to America in their 30Uth, and were subse- 
quently married in Albany, where they had been 
previously living, and there he carried on his 
calling as a boot and shoe maker some three years 
longer, their daughter, Mrs. Mabbs, being born in 
that city in the meantime. In 1841, the family re- 
moved from New Yorlv to Michigan, and settled in 
the village of Allegan, where the father still con- 
tinued to make boots and shoes. He also had a 
small piece of land on section 6, this township, 
upon which he lived. Some years later, he removed 
with his wife and children to Heath Township, and 
was one of tlie lirst settlers of that townsliip, and 
there he remained until death rounded out his life. 
He and his wife had a family of seven children, of 
whom only four are living, namely: Mrs. Martha 
Wilcox, Mrs. Mabbs, .Tonathan and Jlrs. Marilda 
Stafford. The parents were prominent members of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and were very 
estimable people. Mr. and Mrs. ISIabbs have four 
children, as follows: James A., a physician, re- 
siding at Holland, Mich., who married Miss Mary 
Wright, and has one child, Ray; Eltah L.; M. 



Jennie (who was born while her father was a 
prisoner in Libby Prison), and William J. 

Our subject is a man of superior intelligence 
and progressive views on all subjects with which 
he is conversant. He is of an energetic disposi- 
tion and strong character, and has not tarried to 
query whether or no life is wortli living, but has 
made it so by always performing his duty wher- 
ever placed. He is classed among the foremost 
citizens of his community, and takes an active in- 
terest in whatever concerns its welfare. He has 
held many official positions in the township, is a 
Grand Army man and a Granger, and, politically, 
is identified with the Republicans. He is a stock- 
holder in the Allegan County Co-Operative Asso- 
ciation, and is associated with the best interests of 
the county. 



<|r^ LISHA B. WELLS. The owner of the finely 
l^ cultivated tract of land on section 7, Clyde 
/l^^ Township, Allegan County, is he whose 
name is at the head of this sketch. He is the son 
of Eason and Polly Wells, and was born in Rutland 
County-, Yt., in 1833. His parents were also na- 
tives of that county, where the father was reared on 
a farm. Like many of the ^^onths of that period, 
he did not have good educational advantages, but 
made the most of his opportunities. He is still 
living, over ninety years old, and is one of the 
most prosperous and intelligent men of his town- 
ship. 

Plason Wells, when reaching his majority, took 
charge of the homestead and cared for his parents 
until their death. He also remained upon the farm 
where he was l)orn until the death of his wife when 
he went to live with a daughter in Rutland County. 
He was the son of. Perry G. and Maria (Bump) 
Wells, the father being a native of Rhode Island 
who went to the Green Mountain Stale when 
eighteen years of age. 

The original of this sketch began life on his own 
account after reaching the age of fourteen years, by 
working out on farms by the month. He came to 
the Wolverine State when attaining his twenty- 
second year, and located in Cass County. In a few 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



yoai-s, liowever, he came to Allegan County, where 

hi' at once pui-chased eighty acres of land in Pine 
Plains Township, lie remained upon that tract 
for three veal's, when he changed his location to 
M'ction 7. Clyde Township, his present abiding- 
phice. His estate includes one hundred and sixty- 
seven acres, and at the time it came into his pos- 
session, was little more than a wilderness, located 
on the south shore of llulchins Lake. The perse- 
verance and economy which characterized his life 
in the new country have been rewarded, as he is the 
owner of as line a piece of property as there is in 
Clyde Township. 

The lady who liecame Mrs. Klisha 15. Wells iu 
I.S()1 bore the maiden name of .lulia, a daughter 
of Henry and Eureka .lunke. Their union has 
licen blessed by the birth of four children: Louitsa, 
now Mrs. Levi Morris; Eason, Uerniina and Fred- 
erick. The Democratic party claim Mr. Wells as 
one of tlieir stanch adherents. 



^=m^-i^- 



1^^ 



ENRY .1. KLOMPAKEN.s. Those inler- 
Y )|) estcd in pioneer experiences would derive 
much pleasure from conversation with this 
^J^ gentleman, who well reraeml)ers man}- in- 
cidents of frontier life in Allegan County-. He is 
residing on his beautiful farm on section 23, Fill- 
more Townshii), where, in addition to cultivating 
ills broad acres, he ships hay and grain. He was 
lH>rn in CiatTschrap, Hanover, Cerinany, January 
M, l.s;J8. He is a son of Albert and Fanny (.leu- 
rink) Klomparens, natives also of Hanover. 

The father of our subject was in the king's army 
for three years, but was by calling a farmer. In 
IH17 he made a trip to America and came directly 
to Fillmore Township, Allegan County, where he 
made .settlement on a farm of twenty .acres. He 
then removed to Lake Town, remaining there for 
fourteen yeai-s, when lie again came to Fillmore 
Township, purchasing a farm of sixty acres, where 
lie lived a retired life until his decc-Uje, September 
•'50. 1«<»0. The mother is still living, aged eighty- 
seven yeai's. 

Our suliject was a lad of scvi'ii years when he 
accompanied his parents to the New World and I 



since locating in Allegan County Las made this 
his home. He remained under the [larental roof 
until reaching his majority, in the nieantime re- 
ceiving his education in the common schools. He 
was married to Jane Hellenthall, dauglitcr of 
Johannus and (iertie (IJosch) Hellenthall. in 
March, 1862. Jlrs. Klomparens was one of a fam- 
ily of four daughters and lliiee sons. IIer[)arents 
came to Jlichigan from Holland in 1817 and were 
among the very first settlers of Fillmore Township, 
where the father had located a farm of eighty acres, 
upon which he resided until his death, which 
occurred September 28, 1889. He had been hon- 
ored by being elected to many township oHices, 
and peiformed all the duties of the respective 
positions with credit and satisfaction. 

Mr. and Mrs. Klomparens have had born to them 
two daughters and one son, namely: Fanny, who 
is Mi-s. Steyink, resides in Muskegon; Alice re- 
mains at home with her parents, and Albert A., 
who is engaged in the wholesale and ret:iil Hour, 
feed, lime and brick business at Muskegon, in [lart- 
nership with Herman BroAvcr. They also have a 
well-equipped livery stable. 

Mr. Klomparens has always followed the occu- 
pation of a farmer and is the |)roi)rietor of one 
hundred and fifteen acres of well-tilled land. His 
possessions are the result of his industr3' and en- 
terprise, as he started out in life with nothing but 
strong hands and a willing heart. In addition to 
his farm property, our subject owns twelve lots at 
Muskegon Heights and also owns a store and livery 
barn in Muskegon. In [lolitics, he of whom we 
write is a stanch Republican and has Ijeeu favored 
1)3' his party witli the olllces of Constable for one 
term, Highw.ay Commi.ssioner for one term, Town- 
ship Treasurer for six years. Justice of the Peace 
for twenty years and li.as been on the School Hoard 
twenty-four yeai's. He was Township Supervisor 
for live years and is Chairman of the ]5oard of Su- 
pervisors, which ollice he fills at the presenl time. 
He and his family are members of the Holland 
Reformed Church. Mr. Klomparens has always al- 
tendetl strictly to his own affairs. letting other |M'o- 
l>le's business alone and alw.ays gets along well 
with his neighboi-s. He begrudges happiness to no 
one, is no man's enemy and has no enemies of hi» 



728 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



own, but on the contrary has many friends. As a 
successful agriculturist he has won an enviable 
reputation in business circles, and is accorded high 
esteem and confidence. His life furnishes an 
example that busy "bread-winners" would do well 
to imitate. 



*^^ 



'^H- y 



r~ 



?OHN R Dl'JMONT, a retired farmer now 
making his home in Allegan, was born in 
New York, August 3, 1820, and is the son 
of Peter and Sarah (Baskins) Dumont, na- 
tives respectively of New Jersey and New York. 
His father, who was a farmer by occupation, re- 
moved in 1835 to Plainwell, Allegan County, this 
State, where lie i)urchased a partially improved 
farm the same year. He entered all of section 6, 
Allegan Township, from the Government, and 
continued to cultivate that place until his death 
at the age of sixt3'-three. For a time he belonged 
to the Anti-Mason party, and during the latter 
years of his life was a stanch Republican. In local 
political affairs, he took a prominent part, and 
served as Postmaster of Plainwell, as well as in 
other public capacities. His wife attained to the 
ripe old age of eighty-two years, four of her nine 
children surviving her: Henry, John B., Mrs. La- 
Fleur and William. 

The subject of this notice was educated in the 
schools of Rochester, N. Y., and Plainwell, Mich., 
and gained a practical knowledge of agriculture 
while still a mere lad. After' the death of his fa- 
ther, he purchased the old homestead and man- 
aged five hundred acres of land, on which he 
built a sawmill and transacted an extensive busi- 
ness for twenty ^ears.- lie made his liome on his 
farm until 1889, when he removed to Allegan 
and built a tine house south of the Kalamazoo 
River, where he now resides. He was prominent 
in the organization of the Allegan k Ottaway 
Farmers' i\Iutu,il Fire Insurance and was Presi- 
dent of the company for ten years. During the 
years 1852-53 he was engaged in the mercantile 
business in Allegan. 
For a conaiderable period of time, Mr. Dumont 



has been engaged in survejing. In 1843, he was 
in the employ of the Government, and with a 
force of men was sent to Kickapoo County, ^Yis., 
to do section work in five townships. While thus 
engaged, a tornado swept over the country- and 
felled timber for a distance of five miles, cutting the 
little company off from the base of supplies and 
leaving them alone in the wilderness. As their 
packer could not reach them liy a straight route, 
he was compelled to go a long distance out of 
his waj', and was one week late in reaching the 
party. In the meantime they had used all their 
provisions and stirvation stared them in the face. 
As a last resort, they killed their faithful dog, and 
their sole means of subsistence at the time of their 
rescue consisted of the soup thus made. 

In 1852, Sir. Dumont was married to Miss 
Frances P. Emerson, who died three months after 
the union. His second marriage, in 1856, was to 
Elizabeth, the daughter of George C. Smith, a na- 
tive of Massachusetts. This union was blest by 
the birth of five children, onl3' one of whom now 
lives: John B., .Jr. Mrs. Dumont passed away in 
1868, and Mr. Dumont afterward contracted a 
matrimonial alliance with Mrs. Susan M. Watson, 
a sister of his former wife. Both he and his wife 
are identified with the Congregational Church, 
and their everyday lives are guided by their re- 
ligious principles. In politics, he is a stanch ad- 
herent of tlie Republican party and prominent in 
local ciicles. 






\ 




ENJAMIN FOX. A prominent position 
among the residents of Allegan County is 
occupied by this gentleman, who is a 
farmer on section 28, Martin Townshiii. 
He is a native of New York, and was born in Pala- 
tine Township, Montgomery County, September 
29,1836. His paternal ancestors originally came 
from Germany, and his grandfather, Daniel Fox, 
was probablj' born in the Empire State. He was a 
soldier in the War of 1812, and followed the trade 
of a blackMiiith; he also kept a tavern in the !Mo- 
liawk \'alley. The parents of our subject, John and 
Amelia (Fox) Fox, were natives of the same 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RPXORD. 



729 



county as was tlicir son, and the father operated 
as a farnu'i' as well as a blacksinitli. lie was a man 
of lioiior and probity, and his death, when only 
forty-six yeai-s old, was sincerely morncd by his 
fellow-citizens. 

The maternal grandfather of our subject, Will- 
iam Fox, was a native of New York State and wit- 
nessed nnich of its growtli from its original primi- 
tive condition to the foremost position among the 
suites. His daughter Amelia, although bearing 
tlie same name prior to marriage as afterward, be- 
longed to a different family from that of her hus- 
band. The family of which our subject is a mem- 
ber comprises one child besides liimself, Emily, now 
the widow of James Trumble, and a resident of 
Montgomery County, N. Y. IJenjamin was reared 
in his native place and obtained his education in 
Palatine Township. At the age of twelve 3'ears, 
he commenced to learn the trade of a tailor with 
an uncle, with whom he remained three years, 
meanwhile attending school as opportunity af- 
forded. 

Returning to his father's home at the age of 
fifteen j'eai-s, Mr. Fox there remained and engaged 
in farming operations until he came to Michigan 
in IH08. He Hrsl located in tiie city of Kalama- 
zoo, and came thence to Martin Township, Allegan 
County, in 1861, purchasing a tract of forty acres 
on section 2G, and adding thereto until the farm 
attained to the size of one hundred and ten acres. 
The linest improvements were placed upon the 
estate, which was cleared of its heavy timbered 
growth and embellished with a substantial set of 
buildings, among them a small frame house in 
which the family resided for a long time. After 
remaining upon that farm for eighteen years, Mr. 
Fox removed thence to his present place, in 1889, 
although he still has in his possession the place 
where he formerly- resided. 

There is doubtless no more attractive residence 
in Martin Township than is the one which is the 
home of Mr. Fox, and which was erected at the 
cost of ^3,000. A commodious, two-story frame 
building, it is modern in style of architecture and 
beautiful in its finishing and funiishings. It is 
presided over l\v Mi-s. Fox, who became the wife 
of our subject, April 2."), 1851I, in Palatine, Mont- 



goiiu'iy County, N. Y. She was formerly Miss 
Emily Smith, and is a daughter of Jo.seph and 
Clara (Potter) Smith, both natives of New York 
State. Grandfather Joseph Potter, a native of 
England, came to America as a IJritish soldier 
during the Revoliitionaiy War, but deserted the 
ranks and joined the Colonial Army. At the 
close of the contlict, he took up fiovernment land, 
where now stands the citj' of Providence, R. I., 
but later removed to New York, purchasing a farm 
in Oneida County and making it his home until 
death called him hence. His Rhode Island prop- 
erty was never legally disposed of. as his wife did 
not sign the deed. 

As is her husband, Mrs. Fox is a native of the 
Empire State and was born in Westport, Essex 
County, September 7, 1835. When seven years 
old, she accompanied her parents to Amsterdam and 
later removed to St. JohnsviUe, N. Y. Although 
Mr. and Mrs. Fox have never had any children of 
their own, the^- have adopted into their family and 
tenderly cared for live children. One of these. 
Fred Davis, was adopted when five years old, and 
remained with them until he attained his majority. 
He then married Miss Emma Sherman, niece of 
Mi's. Fox, and now resides in Es.sex County, N. Y. 
Delos Trumble was taken into their home when 
nine yeai-s of age and was given the best of advan- 
tages in his youth. When he w:vs twenty -one, he 
was married to Miss Blanche Bentley (wlio had 
been adopted by Mrs. Fox when but eight years 
old), and the young couple reside in Martin 
Township, on the old homestead. The other 
adopted children still remain with Jlr. and Mrs. 
Fox and arc by name (ieorge Lone and Eva Lena 
Broughton. A little girl named Alice Potter also 
received from them every attention which love 
could bestow, but after spending two happy years 
under their roof, she passed from the scenes of 
earth. In addition to these may be mentioned a 
niece of Mrs. Fox, Emily Better, who has always 
looked to Mrs. Fox for advice, when in need 
and made her home with them a good deal of the 
time. She is now married to Daniel Lewis, a farmer 
of Missaukee County. 

It will thus lie seen that the inlUience exerted by 
Mr. and Mrs. Fox is extended and that thev are 



730 



PORTRAIT AND lilOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



poopio of affeotionate im[)iilso and generous lienrts. 
For thirty years, iNIrs. Fox lia.s been a member of 
tlie Metliodist Episcojjal C'liureli, and liei- sincere 
f^liristian life lias won for her the hjuiiest esteem 
of the people, in which respect her husband sliaris. 
In his political sympathies, Mr. Fox is a Republi- 
can, believini;' that the (irinciples of that party will 
best jiromote the interests of tlie (iovernment. He 
is by no means a ])olitician. but devotes his atten- 
tion exclusively to his farm anil, dui-ing his leisure 
hours, finds rest and fpiiet enjoyment in his home. 



—5- 



^>-^^<m 



li 



AUREN C. GILBERT, a well-to-do and 
pi'ominent farmer, owning a fine farm of 
three hundred and seventy-three .acres on 



section 2, Dorr Township, Allegan County, h.as 
resided here for a quarter of a century. He is the 
sou of Joel and Christiana (Crocker) (Gilbert, his 
birth having taken place. March 17. 1830, in Ches- 
ter Township, Geauga County, Ohio. The parents 
were both born in Hartford, Conn., and were mar- 
ried in New York State. The father was a clock 
maker previous to his marriage, after which lie 
followed farming. They became the parents of a 
family of seventeen children, fourteen of whom 
grew to years of maturity. They have both passed 
from tbis life. 

Our subject was given the best school adv.in- 
tages that the district schools afforded. They were 
very few and the qualification of tlie teachers were 
not such as would advance the cause of education 
to any great degree. He began working out by the 
month on farms and in the dairy Inisiness for two 
j'ears, and in ISoS came to the Wolverine .State. 
He took up land where he now resides, the only 
improvement on it at that time being a log house. 
He has since brought it to its present state of pro- 
ductiveness, and was one of the very first settlers 
in Dorr Township. Grand Rapids was then the 
nearest market and postofHce, and he used to drive 
with an ox-team through the woods to that place. 
The very best improvements now adorn his pl.ace, 
among them being a commodious house and a fine 
barn. 

Mr. Gilbert was married, on the 3d of March, 



1851, in Geauga County. Ohio, to Miss .Tuditli 
Wisner, a native of that State. Six children have 
been born to this couple, namely: Wall.ace B., Sam- 
uel .Tasper, Lauren B.. Oliver L., Frederick C. and 
Nellie S., who died when twenty-three years old. 
The youngest attends school at Big Rapids, Mich. 

On Mr. Gillierl's coming here, he worked at tln^ 
carpenter trade. He enlisted, in August. 180], in 
Company L, First JMichigan Cavalry, in the late 
war. He was under Col. Broadhead and was in 
the Army of the Potomac. He participated in all 
the battles in which his regiment took i)art and 
served throughout the entire war. At the close of 
the conflict, he wiis sent to Salt Lake City with his 
company and fought the Indians for (jne year. In 
the spring of 1866, he returned home after a long 
and gallant service. 

Mr. Gilbert is eng.aged quite extensively in 
stock-raising, making a s])eeialty of sheep produc- 
ing the finest wool. Holstein cattle are the breed of 
his choice, and he kee|)s the best grades of Cleve- 
liind B.ays and Hambletonian horses. In jxilitics, 
he is an ardent Repuldiean, and has held the re- 
sponsible offices of Town Clerk .and Drain.age 
Commissioner. He and his wife are consistent 
members of the Congregational Church. 




Ijt^^ON. THOMAS SHEPHARD. an honored 
pioneer of the county of Allegan, now 
living retired in the vill.age of Martin, has 
witnessed the greater jiart of the devel- 
opment of this section of Michigan since he came 
here nearly half a century ago, li.as pl.ayed an im- 
portant part in its public life, and has been influen- 
tial in the upbuilding of church and society, and in 
all that tends to elevate a comnumity. Born in 
the town of Argyle, Washington County, N. Y., 
May 19, 1821, he comes of a sterling Scottish 
ancestry, his parents, AVilliam and Margaret 
(Anderson) Shephard, both being natives of Aber- 
deenshire, Scotland, where they were reared .and 
married, and spent the early years of their wedded 
life. His father was a carpenter and joiner, and a 
most excellent mechanic. He thought that his 



PORTRAIT AND ETOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 



rsi 



skill would command better wages in the New 
World, and that he would iiave a bolter opportuu- 
ity to exercise lii.s callinir with liie iirofitthat would 
insure his family irood advantages. Accordingly 
he and his wife emigrated to these shores in 1816, 
and located in the town of Argylc. In 1H32, they 
removed thence to the village of Gait, Canada, 
where he worked at carpentering. Rutins useful 
career was suddenly terminated in the summer of 
1H34 by his death from cliolera. which was then 
raging as an epidemic throughout the country. 
The mother of our subject and an older brother 
also died at the same time. The Shephards had 
eight children, four sons and four daughters, all 
growing to manhood and womanhood, except one, 
who was sixteen years old when he passed away. 
The names of the family are as follows: William, 
Catlierine, Thomas, Alexander, Agnes, Duncan, 
Martha and .Margaret. Four of them are yet liv- 
ing. 

Our subject is the third child and the second son 
of the family. lie was a bright and active lad of 
twelve yeai-s when he accompanied his parents to 
their new Canadian home, and was nearly four- 
teen when their sad death left him an orpiian. 
lie thus had to begin his brave struggle with the 
world at an early age. lie worked out on a farm 
by Ihc month, and remained in Canada until liS14. 
In that 3'ear he came to Michigan in the freshness 
and vigor of a stalwart young manhood, and idcn- 
tifietl himself with the pioneers of Allegan County. 
He bought one hundred and seventy-three acres 
of land on section .30. Martin Townshii), which 
w.os all surrounded by the forests primeval, and 
was covered with trees that had stood there from 
time immemorial. At the time of his marriage, he 
had fclU'<l the timber from ten acres, and had 
erected a small frame house on the clearing thus 
made. With characteristic energy, he applied him- 
self assiduously to its further improvement and 
finall}' brought it into a fine condition, with one 
hundred and fifty acres under a liigli stale of cul- 
tivation, and amply supplied witli buildings and 
ever}' convenience for carrying on agriculture ad- 
vantageously. In 18S1, he sold his old homestead, 
where he had lived and toiled for so many years, 
and removed Uj the villasje of Martin, where he 



bought a substantial residence and five acres of 
land, and is quietly passing his time in pleasant re- 
tirement. 

In January, ISlC.our subject was married to 
Aliss Isabel Monteith, a native of New York, a 
sister of William, Thomas and Walter Monlcith. 
and a daughter of Thomas and .lane ."Monteith, 
who came to Michigan in 1841. Her death oc- 
curred in September, 18'.t|,and thus was ended a 
true marri.age of forty-live years' duration, in 
which she acted well lier part as wife, mother and 
friend, and in dying left behind her a sweet mcmorj- 
that is sacredly cherished in the hearts of those 
who knew and loved her. To her and our subject 
were born these six children: William, who is in 
the hardware business in partnership with Mr. Pat- 
terson, in the vill.age of Martin; Thomas H., who 
has a general store in that village; .\gnes, wife of 
Andrew Patterson; Mary, wife of Is.aac Shultis, 
station agent at JIartin; David W., who married 
Miss Belle Holcomb, and is in the store with his 
brother Thomas; and INIargaret, who died at the 
age of three yeai-s. 

Ever since he became a resident of Allegan 
County, in the days when it was beginning to 
merge from its primitive wilduess. our subject's 
name has been associated with its rise and progress, 
and it h.as found in him an ollicial of marked abil- 
ity, whose aim has always been to promote inter- 
nal improvement, and who has always gladly en- 
cour.aged all things tending to its advancement, 
material or otherwise. His fellow-citizens early 
recognized in him that clearness of vision, unerr- 
ing judgment, .and excellent capacity for man- 
aging aflfaii-s that have characterized his course 
both in public .and in private life, and entrusted 
to his care various weighty oHices. His first posi- 
tion was as Commissioner of llighw.ays. He w.as 
.Justice of the Pe.ace twenty years, was a memlter 
of the Allegan County Board of Supervisors for 
eight years, and has been School Director, Assessor, 
etc. In 1868, he was called t(j a still higher post 
by the suffrage of his fellow-citizens, who selecteil 
him to represent .Vllegan County, the Second Dis- 
trict of Michigan, in the State Legislature. 

He was at one time President of the I'nion 
Agricultural .Societj', and in that capacity did 



732 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



much to further the object for which the society 
was fonnert, iiolding the office for tliirteen years. 
Our siihjoct was a. AVhig when lie cast liis first 
I'rcsiflential vote, l)iit lie has niarciied with the 
Republican party since its organization. He lias 
been among the foremost in securing religious 
privileges for himself and his fellow-men in liis 
coinmunity, taking an active part in the upbuild- 
ing of the United Presl\vterian Church in the 
village of Martin, lie having been a member of 
tiiat denomination for many years, serving as 
Trustee of his church twenty years, and lie is now 
its ruling Elder. He h.as also been an earnest 
worker in the Sundaj'-school, and for thirty years 
has lieen a tcaclier therein. 



4^ 



^^ 



^ I^ILLIAM H. MrCORMICK, a resident 
\/\j// farmer of Clyde Townshi|),Allegan Count}', 
^/^ is a native-born citizen of this county, his 
birth taking place in Manlius Township, March 27, 
1840. His father, James McCormick, was a son of 
Natlianiel McCormick, a native of Ireland and of 
Scottish descent, who came to Canada when a 
3'oung man. 

The father of our subject was born in Canada, 
near Oeorgetown, in 1806, and went with his par- 
ents to Niagara County, N. Y., where lie grew to 
manhood. He received but few educational ad- 
vantages and was married, at the age of twenty-five, 
to Maria Billings, daughter of Walter Billings, who 
was the father of seven children. He and his wife 
settledon a farm where they resided until 1837, 
when they came to Allegan County and located in 
Manlius Township. The journey was made by the 
old mode of travel — ox-team and wagon — from 
New York. 

Mr. McCormick purchased one hundred and 
sixty acres from the Government during Martin 
Van Buren's time. It was on this place that he 
died, July 26, 18111. He was a member of the Odd 
Fellows' order at .Saugatuck and later became a char- 
ter member of the lodge at Fennville, No. 338, and 
was Past Noble Grand. He was a Spiritualist in 
religion. He held many official positions in the 
township. His good wife died in 1879. She was 



the worthy mother of twelve children, seven of 
whom are yet living, named as follows: Ellen, wife 
of Morton B. Somes; William II., our subject; Belle, 
who was the wife of Harvey F. Pullman, is now 
deceased; Nathan, George, Robeit C, and Etta, who 
married II. Stiinpson and is now deceased. Our 
subject's father lived to clear and improve his land, 
and at the time of his death was the owner of two 
hundred and fifty acres. 

At the age of twenty-one, in 1861, our subject 
enlisted in the three-months' service in the State 
militia, and at the expiration of that time he en- 
listed in the general army in Company A, Third 
Michigan Cavalry, and was in the Army of the 
West under Gens. Rosecrans and Grant. He par- 
ticipated in some of the most important battles of 
the war, among them being Corinth and Sliiloh. 
His company was on detached duty a greater part 
of the time. He was honorably discharged at 
Brownville, Ark., in 1864, and during his service 
was never wounded nor captured, and never oft' 
duty. 

After his discharge from the army, Mr. McCor- 
mick came home and purchased eighty acres of the 
home he now owns. It was then a dense wilder- 
ness and unimproved, but by his own persistent 
efforts, he has wonderfully ch.anged the pl.ace to 
fertile fields, and for the original log cabin is sub- 
stituted the beautiful residence, a view of which 
is shown on another page. He has ever been an 
energetic man, and instead of being discouraged 
with his first small purchase, he was contented and 
set about to obtain more, and lie is now the happy 
possessor of three hundred acres. 

The subject of this notice was united in mar- 
riage to Helen Crawford, in 1867. Mrs. McCormick 
is the daughter of Arba N. and Eunice (Alack) 
Crawford, and has become the mother of one 
child, B\'rinna E., who was born August 24, 1868. 
Her (larents have spared neither attention nor 
money in order to give every educational advan- 
tage to their only child, who spent one _year at 
the Ursuline Convent in Canada, also studied 
for one term in the business college at Grand Rap- 
ids. During the Garfield administration, she had 
charge of the Fennville postollice and is now book- 
keeper for a large wholesale house in Grand Rapids. 




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1. 



PORTRAJT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RF.CORD. 



r35 



In liis social relations, our suhieet is identified 

witli, Miiil w:is ;i cliMl'tcr' mumiiIht (if. Ilii' l''('iiii\illt' 
l,(>iii;('. 1. (I. (). F. Ill' also hclonjis to the lUiie 
L(Mli,'o. No. l!i;i, ;il Doii-rliis. A. F. A A. M., and 
Kiireku ('h:i|iter. No. ."j(l. at Alleii;iii. lie was in- 
strmnental In the ortrauization of the .laeoli Fi'v 
Post of the C. A. R. I'olitieaily.he is a Deuioerat 
and a strony siip|)oilei- of the party. Our siilijcet 
is a liroliier of the late Hon. James \\. .MeCor- 
niiek. who was chosen twice to represent his dis- 
trict in the State Legislature and once in the Stale 
Senate on the Re])ulilican ticket. 



'if' OIIN YRELINK. He of whom we write is 
a nati\e of Holland, his liirlh liavint;- oc- 
curred there January 22, lK:{(i. He is the 
son of Gerrit and Jennie (Peters) Vrelink, 
also natives of Holland and parents of a family of 
three sons and Ihree daughters. The parents em- 
ijirated to this country in 1848 and came directly 
to Overisel Township, Allegan County, where the 
father settled upon a tract of eighty acres, which 
he cultivated and where he continued to reside 
until Ills death, which occurred in 1855; the mother 
snrvivefl him a number of years, her(leceasc taking 
place in 1887. The elder Mr. \'relink has always 
followed the t)ccupation of a fanner and thus 
trained his .son, our subject, in all those duties 
the knowledge of which makes the cultivalit)n of 
the land much easier. 

The subject of this sketch is carrying on farming 
on section 8. Overi.sel Township, where he is 
jnaking an entire success of his calling. .Mr. 
Vrelink remained in Holland until reaching his 
twelfth year, there being trained to a fuller knowl- 
edge of his native tongue and, when accompanying 
his parents to the New World, located with them 
in Michigan and h.as resided in Overisel Townshi[) 
since that time. Having come here at such an 
earlv day in the history of this county, he well 
rememliers seeing deer come close to the house and, 
although living so far from markets and thus 
denied many of the actual necessities of life, yet 
their table was always supi)lied with the choicest 
of wild game which could be had for the shooting. 



and in thai day our siiliject \va.s considered a good 

shot. 

Miss W. Minnie Teesllink became the wife of 
our subject, the ceremony being celebrated June 
15, lH(;i. ill Overisel and to them have cornea fam- 
ily of seven <'liildreii. namely: Dena, Henrietta, 
.loliii. Annie, .leiinie, Lena and George, all of 
w liom are living and ar<' being given good ed- 
ucatiiuis. Ill politics, .\L'. \' relink is a Irne-blue 
Hepublicaii 'jiid heiK'c always votes with the cau- 
did.ates of tliat body. His pl.ace is improved by 
having erecteil lliereon good and convenient Imild- 
ings and is situate<l so .as to prosecute his calling 
ill the most satisfactory and remunerative manner. 
He and his good wife are highly esteemed bv their 
neighbors and friends and have done much toward 
liiiildiiig up the coininunity where they make their 
liom(>. 



LKXANDKH I I.V.MI l.ToN. This gentle- 
man is one of the inlliiential and respected 
(li residents of (Jaiiges Township, .Mlegan 
County, residing on section 2<t. He is ex- 
tensively engaged in fruit-growing and the nursery 
business. He was born ( )ctober '^, 18:i(>. in Hallon 
County, Canada, to James and Relwcca Hamilton. 
James Hamilton w.os l)orn in the North of Ireland 
and was there reared to farm pursuits, his educa- 
tion being limited to the coinmon .schools. In early 
life, he learned the linen weaver's trade, but never 
followe<l his trade after coming to .Vmeriia, which 
was about 1828. He located in Halton, Canada, 
where he was married to Rebecca Lawrence, a 
daughter of Ca|)t. Richard Lawrence. Her father 
died when she was very young and she was reared 
by an older sister. Nine children were given to 
this couple, two of whom died when young. 
Those living are Richard, of Canada: .\lexander. 
our sidjject; Mary J., wife of .Samuel Wanner; 
llad:ussah. widow of .lolin McCuehen; the Rev. 
.lames, of Coldwater. Mich.: William .1.. of Canacla. 
and K. Lizzie. .Mthoiigh .lames Hamilton lived 
on a faun in Canada, yet his general business w!is 
dealing in real estate". Both in Ireland and in 
Canada, he w.a-s a memlier of the Orangemen's 




736 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Society. He died in IS.'JS. liis wife living until 
1890. Tlie parents of James Hamilton were James 
and Mary Hamilton, natives of the North of Ireland 
but of Scotch descent. 

Our subject began working out at the age of 
seventeen, at the death of his father. He was the 
oldest son at home and heljjed to educate his 
younger brothers and sisters. lie comi)leted Ins 
own education after the age of twenty-one years. 
In 1864 he came to Michigan, locating at Benton 
Harbor on a small fruit farm, where he made good 
financial success, but like a great many people 
in that city, he wanted to go West and after tak 
ing an extensive trip in different Western Stiiles, 
came to the conclusion that Michigan was a good 
enough State for him and so, in 1866, came back 
to this State and located in Allegan County, where 
he now resides. Here Mr. Hamilton lias given his 
attention to fruit-growing and the nursery busi- 
ness. He has iieen very successful in this line of 
pursuits and has an orchard of one thousand trees 
now bearing. He raises annually one hundred 
thousand peach trees for market, and until about 
1880 all was raised on his farm in this count}'. 
Tiie greater part of liis nursery is now situated 
near Grand Rapids, Kent County. His largest 
sales are in this county, and lie sold one year one 
hundred thousand trees within a radius of ten 
miles of his own home. His trees and fruits are of 
tiie choicest varieties .and he is visited by custom- 
ers from all the counties around. He is well liked 
for square dealings and his genial manners and he 
has secured a competence .as a result of personal 
industry and good judgment, put forth in a field 
wisely selected. 

The original of this biography was married on 
tlie 2Gth of May, 1868, to I^Iiss Sophia Ensign. 
Mrs. H.amilton is a native of Ohio and one of four- 
teen children born to Horace and Lucinda Ensign, 
n.atives of Mass.aehusetts. Nine of this family arc 
yet living. Tliey arc Caleb, Electa, Lysander, 
Sophia (Mrs. Hamilton), Cora, George, Hattie, 
Summer and Denning. Our subject and his ami- 
able wife arc the parents of five children: Blanche, 
the wife of A. G. Robinson; Maude, deceased; 
Alice, Harry and Willie. The parents of this fam- 
ily are members of the County Grange and ^Irs. 



Hamilton is a member of the Congregational 
Church. In politics, ^Ir. Hamilton votes for the 
man he think best qualified for the position, irres- 
pective of the party. 



■^» »i . ^ I I > ^ I 



? I ' I I IV.. 



^^EORGE LOWE. Among the natives of the 
f|| (--, Empire State who are prosperously engaged 
V^Jll in agricultural pursuits in Michigan may 
be numbered this gentleman, a prominent farmer 
of Allegan County .and the owner of a fertile 
tract of land on section 27, Allegan Township. 
He was born at Stuy vesant Falls, N. Y., August 6, 
1837, and is the son of James and Mary (Pimley) 
Lowe, natives of England- In 1838, his father 
came to Michigan on a jirospectiug tour and 
bought six hundred acres of land in Allegan 
Township, a iiortion of which is now the property 
of our subject. Two years later he brought his 
family hither and after sojourning in the village 
of Allegan for one year, located on his farm and 
there remained until his death in 1843. 

In his social connections James Lowe was a 
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
and, religiously, was identified with the JMethodist 
Church, as was also his wife. They were the par- 
ents of six children, five of whom still survive. 
They are Edward P., George, Sarah A. (Mrs. Stege- 
man), Mar.y (Mrs. Patrick), and James, the last- 
named being twins. The subject of this notice was 
about two years old when he was brought by his 
parents to Allegan Township and remembers no 
other home than this. His childhood days were 
uneventfully passed in the school .and on the farm. 
When about twenty-two, he went to California, in 
1861,. and for more than ten years engaged in min- 
ing at Silver Mountains, Alpine County. He em- 
ploj'ed a large number of men in working his sil- 
ver mine at that place and was successful in his fin- 
nancial ventures and mining speculations. 

Upon his return to Michigan, Mr. Lowe opened 
a lumber yard and also dealt in grain, lime and 
feed. He c(mtinued in that w.ay about six years, 
his yards being in the vicinity of the Michigan 
Central Railroad depot; he sold his lumber in- 
terests prior to the purchase of his present farm. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPITTCAL RECORD. 



7M 



His estate is well oultivateel, and has a fine set of 
l)uil(lin<;. besides a lieaiitifiil. attraetive resideiict'. 
In 1H7I?, Mr. I.nwc \v:is Tiiiu-iicd U> Miss Maria A.. 
tlitMl.'uigiitei'of Wells and MaiT A. (Mackintosh) 
Kii'ld, natives rcspeetively of New York and Mas- 
sachusctli*. ^[|•. Kiel(l,wlio was a farniei', came to 
Micliignn in IH.S6 and fora lime flerked for Col. 
.losepli Kisk in Allojian. Later he was proprietor of 
tlic Allci^an House for ahoiU two years, after 
whieli he resided for four years upon a farm in 
Watson Township. 

.Mr. Field also was for a time employed in a store 
in AUeifan; he tlien sojourned on his farm in Wat- 
son Township and later eame to Allesfan, where he 
erected a comfortable residence and made i1 his 
home until death called him hence, December (>, 
IH'.K). His devoted wife had passed aw.iy in 
the spring before his demise. They were the par- 
ents of six children, of whom the following sur- 
vive: .lane A., Maria A. and Delia .S. In poli- 
ties. Mr. Field w.as a Republican, and fora number 
of years served as Supervisor and Ilighw.ay Com- 
missioner. The union of our subject and his estim- 
able wife li.as been blessed by the birth of three chil- 
ren, two dying in infancy"; one son, Glenn F., is still 
living. Mi-s. Lowe is a lady of great refinement 
and intelligence and for some yeai-s followed the 
l)rofession of a teacher. Mr. Lowe is prominent 
both in the order of Masons and the ranks of the 
Republican part}', and his decision of character 
and uprightness of lifeai'C rewarded by theconlid- 
ence of his fellow-citizens. 



^l 



\\@&m 



1^^ 



<|l )» I LLL\M DORNAN,one of theold pioneers 
\/\/// "^ Michigan, is at present residing on 
wW section 7, Ganges Township. Allegan 
County. lie w.as born in Cohimbia County. Ohio, 
in 1H2(I. and is the son of .John and IJachcl Dor- 
nan, llis father was born in Washington County. 
Pa., and there grew to manhood, receiving a goo<l 
education. The i)arents of our subject were mar- 
ried m the Keystone. State, the maiden name of the 
mother l)eing liachel Crow, a daughter of Abraham 
Crow, the latter being of Knglisli parentage. Mrs. 
Doruan was one of a family of eight children, and 



by her nnion with the father of oin- subject, be- 
came the mother of six children, viz.: Drusilla, 
decea.sed, was the wife of Samuel M. Thompson, 
who was the first settler on the lake at Pier Cove, 
this township; Delila, deceased; our subject, Lem- 
uel, .lohn; (ieorge, decea.sed. 

.lolin Doruan followed the vocation of a farmer. 
:ind ill IH2() moved to Ohio, Kxating in ( oluniliia 
County, where he remained until is;}'.), when he 
went to Seneca County, same State. After five years, 
he emigrated with his family to Brown County, 
lud., and in 1845-10, while emigrating still fur- 
ther West, to Illinois, he w.as taken sick and died. 
Mrs. Dornan pas.sed away when our subject was a 
lad of eight yeai-s. and his father w.as a second 
time mari-ied, this time to AVauey Wilson, and to 
them were born three children: .Samuel, .lames 
and Racliel. 

The elder Mi'. Dornan was a son of .lohn Dor- 
nan, a native of Irel.and, who emigrated to the 
TniLed Slates when young, and w;vs there married 
to a Miss Caldwell. Iktth the grandfathers of our 
subject served in the Revolutionary War. Will- 
iam Dornan began to make his own living when 
twelve j-ears of age by engaging to work in a 
brick }-ard. He w.as next employed by the (Jov- 
ernment as mail carrier from Wellsville to New- 
Lisbon, Ohio. Afterward abandoning that occupa- 
tion, Mr. Dornan engaged in teaming and farming 
ff)r a number of yeai's. 

December 30. 1847, our subject and Miss Nancy, 
(laughter of William and Nancy McClurg, were 
united in marriage. The parents of Mi-s. Dornan 
were natives of Pennsylvania and of Irish descent. 
Our subject and his wife have become the parents 
of eight children: Marcus; Isabella, who is the wife 
of Fraidv Wooden; .lohn, Robert, fieorge. .Matilda. 
Ira. and Ilarvey. who is deceased. 

.Mr. Dornan emigrated with his family to 
(iaiiges Township. Allegan County, in 18.")1. where 
be liought an nnin)prove<l tr.act of land on .secti<jn 
20. He continued to make his home there until 
after the late war, when he disposed of his prop- 
erty and bought another tract on the same section. 
Later he became owner of a farm on sections 20 
and 29, and, in 1880, bought and moved to his 
present estate, which is located on the banks of 



738 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Lake Michigan. Mr. Dornan has given four of 
his sons each forty acres of land, and the fifty 
acres wliich he has reserved for iiimself are util- 
ized entirely for fruit raising. 

Mrs. Nancy Dornan passed from this life in 
1870, greatly mourned by all who knew her. She 
was a very capable and intelligent lady, and aided 
her husband greatly, by her good advice and econ- 
omy, in attaining his present financial standing in 
the agricultural community. Mr. Dornan was later 
married to Mrs. Mary J. (Ralfhdaifer) Simpson. 

Our subject is regarded with great respect by the 
citizens of Allegan County, as his influence in the 
development of the communitj' in which he lives 
is as powerful, in an unconscious wa}^ as it is 
helpful by intent. 



_^] 



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^-i^ 



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VILLIAM H. SOUTHWICK. Not only in 
Martin Township, where he owns a fine 
farm on section 20, Init also throughout 
Allegan County, Mr. Southwick is well known, 
and highly esteemed. He is a native of New 
York, and was born in Tyre Township, .Seneca 
County, February- [>, 1831. His paternal grand- 
parents, David and Kunice (Deming) Southwick, 
were reared in the faith of the Shakers, which 
thej' left when the\' were married — about 1800. 
The^' then removed from tlieir native State, Mass- 
achusetts, to New York, settling jn Seneca County, 
and in that place spending the remainder of their 
days. 

David Southwick, .Jr., father of our subject, was 
born in Junius Township, Seneca County, N. Y., 
Ma3' 20, 1804, and spent his entire life in his na- 
tive county-. In his political attiliations, he was first 
a Whig, and later, a Republican, and held various 
oftices of trust in his community. He married 
Miss Aurelia Hyde, who was born in Seneca 
County, N. Y., about 1810, and M-as descended 
from uinight and (lod-fearing ancestors, whose 
first home in this country w.as in Connecticut. 
The parents of our subject are now deceased, the 
mother passing away in 1847, and the father in 
November, 1867. Their marri.age, which was sol- 
emnized in 1830, brought to them five children, 



whose record is as follows: William H., the eldest 
in the family, is the subject of this biographical 
notice; Ann Eliza is the wife of Orson Porter, 
of Wolcott, Waj-ne Count\-, N. Y.; Maria, de- 
ceased, was 'the wife of William A. Stevenson; 
David, when last heard from, was in the South; 
and Albert is a resident of Washington. The 
oldest child in this family was reared in his 
native place, and, until he was twenty-six years 
old, lived in the house where he was born. 
He received a good education and completed his 
course of study in Waterloo, N. Y., after which he 
engaged as a teacher during one winter. He was 
twenty-five years old when he w.as married, Jan- 
uary 23, 1856, to Harriet N. Traphagen, the 
daughter of Henry and I\Lary (Sherwood) Trap- 
hagen. Mrs. Southwick was born March 29, 1835, 
in Junius Township, Seneca County, N. Y'., where 
she grew to womanhood in her father's home. 

After his marriage, ]Mr. Southwick remained at 
his father's home, and engaged in cultivating the 
farm until the spring of 1857, when he proceeded 
to Illinois, and bought a farm in Loda Township, 
Iroquois County. He worked there one year, and 
then, returning to the Empire State, lirought his 
family back with him, and settled on the place 
which remained his home until 1864. That year 
marked his arrival in Michigan and his location 
on section 20, ALartin T<jwnshi]i, Allegan County, 
where he liought a partly improved place of 
eighty acres. Eight years after settling on that 
farm, he purchased the estate which is now his 
home. He owns one hundred .and thirt}* acres, 
well improved and eml)ellished with a set of good 
buildings, and is ranked among the most practical 
farmers of the county. 

Five children came to bless the home of Mr. 
t and Mrs. Southwick, two of whom are deceased. 
Of the living, only one is unmarried — the young- 
est, Lois A. The eldest, Maiy E., is the wife of 
Frank Pollitt, and lives on the home place, and 
the second, Aurelia, is now Mrs. John Wylie, and 
lives in Richland, Kalamazoo County. Ever since 
the organization of the Republican part.v, Mr. 
Southwick has been firm in his allegiance to its 
principles, and cast his firet vote for Gen. Scott, in 
1852. He is at present Justice of the Peace, and 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



7Sd 



has served as Township Treasurer for seven teriDS, 
Supervisor for four successive 3'ears, Scliool Di- 
rector, and in other positions of a local nature. lie 
and ills wife iiold nienil)ersiiip in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, and take an active part m re- 
lijjioiis work. For twenty years he was chorister 
in tlie church at Martin, and is now Steward and 
Treasurer. 



i^A^MTKL M. K(;(;LI:sT()\ is successfully 
!^^ enjiaged in operating his farm on section 
1 !i, Hopkins Township, Allegan County. His 
father, J. K. Eggloston, was a native of the 
(Jrass River section, born in 180(5, in St. Lawrence 
County, IS'. Y., and was a farmer by occupation. 
The maiden name of the mother was Lucy E. Buck- 
ley, wlio was born in 1812, in Fariuington, Hart- 
ford County, Conn. Thej^ accompanied their re- 
spective parents to Ohio in tiieir youth, and were 
married in 1830, in Portage County. The paternal 
grandfather, JLartin Eggleston, w.as a pioneer of 
I'oitagc Countw liis nearest neighbor being fifteen 
miles distant. He was one of the two Abolitionists 
in Aurora, Ohio, during the infancy of th.at partj-. 
A lirother of Martin Eggleston, who bore the name 
<if Chauncy, earned the title of (icneral in the De- 
troit Indian war. Five brothers of our subject's 
grandfather located in Ohio during .Jefferson's ad- 
ministration, and became very prominent citizens 
of Portage County. 

The parents of our subject made permanent set- 
tlement on the Western Reserve in Ohio, and there 
the father died February 3, 18'J0; the mother still 
resides on the old homestead. They became the 
parents of seven children, all of whom are living 
with the exception of Adol|)hus, who served in the 
Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. .1. K. Eggleston were 
members of the Haptisf Church, in which denomi- 
nation Mr. Eggleston was a Deacon. He took an 
active part in politics, and voted the Republican 
ticket. 

S. M. Eggleston was the eldest child of his par- 
cuts, anil was liorn October 20, 1831, in Portage 
County, Ohio. He w:is well acquainted with James 



A. Garfield, in his youth,. as tliey lived in the same 
localitv. (Jur subject grew to manhood in his na- 
tive county, and was given a fair education. lie 
was married, in 185."), to Eliza M., daughter of 
Thomas and Emclinc (Eggleston) Smith, the fa- 
ther a native of Massachusetts, and the mother of 
New York. They were early settlers in the Buck- 
eye State, where they were farmers. Both are now 
deceased. Mrs. Eggleston was born June 2, 1835, 
in Geauga County, Ohio, and received a good edu- 
cation. 

For three years after their marriage, our subject 
and his wife lived on the Smith homestead in 
Geauga County, but in 1858 they came to Michi- 
gan and located on their present farm, which was 
then in its primitive condition. He erected a log 
house, and commenced the work of improving his 
land, which included eighty acres. He has since 
added to his possessions, until he now owns one 
hundred and twent^-flve acres, ninety of which are 
under excellent improvement. He has erected a 
pleasant dwelling on his farm, set out an orchard 
and gives his attention to general farming and 
dairying. He has been a resident on his present 
farm for thirtj'-thrce yeai-s, and has the satisfaction 
of knowing that his accumulations arc the result of 
his own industry and i)erseverance, as he started 
out in life with nothing but a determination to 
succeed. 

Mr. and Mrs. Eggleston, of this sketch, have four 
children, namely: Lizzie, who is the wife of Will 
Kintncr, lives in Denver, Col., and has four chil- 
dren; Nellie, Mrs. Frank White, lives in Allegan, 
and is the mother of four children; Charles mar- 
ried ^Minnie Thompson, makes his hcune in Hop- 
kins Township, and has one child; and Ava resides 
at home, and is attending school. 

Our subject and his wife are members of the Con- 
gregational Church, in which !)ody Mr. Eggleston is 
Trustee. He is interested in educational m:itleis, 
and h:is been on the School Board for a number (»f 
years. In politics, he has always been a Republican, 
and has served his fellow-townsmen as Township 
Treasurer and Supervisor. He w:is also elected 
.lustice of the Peace, but did not t|ualify. lie wjts 
Highway Commis.-.ioncr for a long period, ami 
aided in laying out nuuiy of the roads in the lowu- 



740 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ship. He is a strong temperance man, and lias done 
iniicli toward furthering the cause of prohibition in 
his locality. For two years, our subiect. in com- 
pany with Mr. O. Lewis, ran a cheese factory in 
Hopkins Township, but since that time Mr. Egglcs- 
tou has given his attention exclusively to farming. 
]Mr. Eggleston has a fine sugar bush on his place, 
of one thousand trees, from which he has an annual 
output of about fifty-live hundred pounds of pure 
maple sugar. 



'/OllX DOZKMAX is numbered among the 
gentlemen of Holland I'irtli and parentage 
who make their home in the prosperous 
' township of Ovei'isel, Allegan County, and 
he is generally conceded to be one of the most sub- 
stantial and enterprising men in the entire com- 
munity. His residence is comfortable and lie is 
numbered among the well-to-do men of his town- 
ship, having by his natural ability and energy ac- 
cumulated a competency. 

Mr. Dozeman was born in Holland, March 2, 
1832, and is the son of Henry and Gracie (Lier) 
'Dozeman, also natives of Holland. The parents 
were married in their native land and had a family 
of three sons and one daughter. The father had 
always followed the ()e.aceful pursuits of an agri- 
culturist and was enabled to give his children a 
fair education. Our subject was brought to Amer- 
ica by his parents, ill 1848. They settled in Ottawa 
County, where the father purchased a farm of one 
hundred and forty acres, which he brought to an 
admiralile state of cultivation. He remained upon 
that farm until his decease, which occurred in De- 
cember, 1877, when seventy-five years of age. 

Our subject was little more than sixteen years 
of age when his |)ai-eiito made the trip to the New 
World. After the death of the father, the mother 
with her family came to Overisel Township, Alle- 
gan County, and INIrs. Dozeman passed awiiy in 
March, 1879. Previous to coming to Allegan 
County, our subject had been united in marriage to 
Miss .Tanc Brower, a native of the same country as 
was our subject, whose birth took place A|iril 4, 
1837. Mrs. Dozeman is the daughter of Arthur 



Brower, a native also of Holland. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Dozeman have been granted a family of nine 
children, five sons and four daughters: Henry, 
Alice, Gracie, Arthur, John, Katie, Jacob, Hattie 
and Ralph. When our subject first came to the 
county he purchased forty acres of land, the same 
upon which he at present makes his home. He has 
since added to it by subsequent purchases until he 
now has four hundred and ten acres, all of which 
is under most excellent cultivation. He has, in 
connection with his farming, been engaged in the 
mercantile business, which he has carried on for 
twenty-live years. 

Our subject is a self-made man, for when he 
came to American he worked out for five years by 
the day, but he can now look with pride over his 
broad acres and know that they have been brought 
to their splendid condition by his own energy and 
good judgment. Mr. Dozeman is gentlemanly, 
courteous and considerate in his dealings with all, 
and is among Allegan County's best citizens, in 
politics, he votes with the Republican party. 



-^^m>-^ 



-i^ 




EKDETT MORSE, deceased, was a native 
of Allegan County, his biilh having oc- 
jjnj' curred in Allegan Township, February 8, 
■S-^ 1842. He was the son of Asa and Alma 
(Miller) Morse, pioneers of this county, where they 
were engaged in farming and passed the remainder 
of their lives. Our subject received a fair educa- 
tion and, when starting out to do for himself, 
learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner, which 
he followed for some j'cars. He was also engaged 
in farming in Allegan County, but at the time of 
his death, in 1886, was carrying on a profitable 
milk business. 

Miss Caroline Pfanstiehl became the wilV of our 
subject in 1875. .She was given a good education at 
Three Oaks, this .State and in Michigan City, Ind. 
Her parents were Frederick and Martha E. (Zeph- 
felder) Pfanstiehl, natives of Germany. Her fa- 
ther came to .\merica in 1851 and located at Three 
Oaks, this .State, where he purchased a farm. One 
year later, he sent for his family to join him in the 
New World. Severe weather inevailed on the 



PORTllAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



741 



ocean at tlie time of llieir coiniiiii^ and the journey 
oeeuiiieil nine weeks. While cinning oveiland to 
Miehi<j;an, the train which they were on collided 
with another train, killin>r both enirineer and lire- 
man, hnt injuriny^ only a few of tiie passengers. 
Mrs. Morse was only eight years old at that time 
and the imjiression made npoii her mind liy the ac- 
cident will never he forgotten. 

The f;iinily of Mr. Pfanstiehl on reaching their 
destination went to live on the farm which he had 
pnrchased. His death occurred a short time after 
he located here and the mother died some time later 
in .Michigan City, Ind. He was by trade a baker, 
which occupation he followed in his native land, 
where he also was captain of a company of soldiers, 
lie and his good wife reared a family of eleven 
children, si.K of whom are now living: Charles, 
William, Augusta, Caroline, Mary and Robert. 
They were both members in good standing of the i 
Lutheran Church. 

Mrs. Caroline Morse before lii-r marriage worked 
at dressmaking, and is (|uite a business woman. 
By her marriage with our subject, one daughter, 
Grace A., was born. She is now a student in the 
High School of .\llegan. Mr. Morse was a trne- 
l>luc Hepnblican and a man possessing those traits 
of character which made for him warm friends 
and stanch adherents. Mrs. Morse is a regular at- 
tendant at the Baptist Church. She is at present 
residing on Seminary Hill in a small three-room 
rented house. 




c 



\A\VAIV MICIIMKHsmi/.KX. This gen- 
1W//II1 tlenian is engaged extensively in buying 
iii and selling stock, at the same time carry- 
ing on general farming on section IH, 
t )verisel Township, .Vllegan ('(innt.\'. He is a na- 
tive of this township, ancl hence takes great inter- 
est in everything that pertains to the welfare and 
development f>f this section. He is the son of 
Henry (!. and Ilendrika .1. ( Kosenclump) .Miclimer- 
shnizen, and wa> iHjrn .lul\ I'J, 1852. 

Till' (parents of our subject weri' foreigners, claim- 
ing Holland as the country of their uulivity, but 



were married after coming to Allegan County. 
They were very poor when they stjirted out in 
life, but set to work to .accumulate the wherewithal 
to buy a home of their own, and now are the proud 
l)ossessors of ninety .acres of good, tillable land. 
Mr. Michmershnizen is very justly called a i)ioneer 
of the county, as his advent here was in IHlH, at 
which time he took up forty acres from the(iov- 
ernment. His place is embellished with conifortji- 
ble and substantial buildings in which he stores his 
grain and shelters his stock, and, indeed, every- 
thing about the place indicates it to be in the 
possession of a man of enleri)rise and push. 

The gentlem.an of whom this sketch is written 
was the second child in order of birth of his par- 
ents" family of seven. Pioneer life is familiar to 
him and its hardships and ventures have made a 
lasting impression upon his mind. He started out 
to do for himself a i)oor boy, his father not l)eing 
able to aid him in a mouied wa3', but he w.as given 
an education equal to that of any of the boys of his 
time and locality and was thus the better enabled 
to battle with life on his own account. 

The father of our subject was ((uite a prominent 
man in his locality and served his fellow-towns- 
men in the ollices of .Justice of the Peace and 
School Director and was Constable for a number of 
years. In politics, he has always been a lirm be- 
liever in Democratic principles. He and his wife 
are both living, having attained to a good old age, 
and are widely known and thoroughly respected 
in Allegan County, where they have spent their 
entire life since coming here, with the exception of 
six years when the}- made (Iraiid Rapids thi'ir 
home. 

Mr. Albert Michmer.-liuizen wiis married in Kala- 
maz<io, November 21, 1H8I, to Miss Katie Kools, a 
native of that city and the daughter of John 
antl Alice (Cook) Kools, natives of Holland. To 
them have been granted a family of live children, 
who are named respectively, Alice, Henry (i.,.Iolni 
K., Arthur .1., and Hurry L.. all u( whom are 
living. 

Our sulijeit i> the owner of twenty acres of ex- 
cellent laud, lie>ide> a hoii.-e and lot in the vill:ige 
of Overisel. ami feds a jii>l priile in the fact that 
what he has has been the direct result of his own 



742 



POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



industry anrl economy. He is now carrying on a 
successful business in buying and selling stock and 
is looked upon as one of the inrtuential men of 
tlie township. In politics, like his father, he is a 
Democrat, and was appointed Deputy Sheriff, 
holding the [wsition for two years. Together with 
his wife, he is an active and influential member of 
the Holland Reformed Church, and is highly re- 
sjiccted as a man of honor and uprightness. 



^ 



fe= ••• c^ 



=^i 




WILLIAM II. FLUMMER owns a beautiful 
tract of one hundred and forty acres of 
land in Ganges Township, Allegan County. 
His estate is located on sections 7, 8 and 18, and 
thirty acres are devoted to fruit-raising. On 
another page will be found a view of the pleasant 
homestead of Mr. Plummer. He is a son of Ben- 
jamin and Alvira Phunmer and was born in this 
county, in 1841. He is therefore greatly interested 
in whatever pertains to the welfare of his native 
jilace. The father of our subject was born in 
Maine, but, when young, accompanied his parents 
in their removal to Ohio. The_y located on a 
farm in Wayne County where lienjamin Plummer 
grew to man's estate. He was married in Wayne 
County to Elvira, daughter of Elijah Andrews. 
Tiie parents of our subject came to Allegan County 
in 1834 and located in Saugatuck Township. 

When moving to this county, Benjamin Plum- 
mer built a raft on Pine Creek, on which he placed 
his family and floaletl down to the mouth of the 
Kalamazoo River. JNIrs. Plummer was the second 
white woman in this jiart of the country at that 
time. In 1850 Mr. Plummer moved to Ganges 
Township, whicii was then little more than a wild- 
erness. The seven ciiildren cominising the paren- 
tal household bore the respective names of Fred 
N., Andrew A., William II., Luciuda, Elinor, Mary 
.Land Sarali. Mr. Plummer was a Spiritualist in 
religion, and first a Whig and later a Republican 
in politics. 

When twenty-one years of age, William II. Plum- 
mer established a home of iiis own by his marriage 
Willi ]\Iiss Mary Smith. The parents of Mrs. Plum- 
mer dving when she was voung, she was taken 



into the home of an aunt, where she grew to mature 
years. Their unif)n has been blest by the birth of 
nine children: Ella, who is tiie wife of Henry Ens- 
field; Leo, Leonidas, Harry, Frank, Oselus, Aretas, 
Vern and Glad ins. 

For two years after his marriage, our subject 
worked his father's farm and in 1864 moved to 
California, locating in the Sacramento \'allev, 
where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for 
nine years. In 1873 he returned to Michigan and 
located where he resides at the present time. He 
is now the proud possessor of a fine tract of land, 
one half of which he has improved himself. He 
is a member of the County Grange and greatly 
resi)ected in Allegan Count}'. 






^^EORGE W. GRIGSBY, one of the well- 
f|| ,— ^ known and leading farmers of Allegan 
^V^j[j County, is a resident of section 14, Trow- 
bridge Township. He is a son of James and 
Martha (Patterson) Grigsby, natives of England. 
They were there married and came to America in 
1840, settling in Wayne County, N. Y., on a farm, 
where they remained several 3'ears. They then 
purchased a farm in McKean County, Pa., and re- 
sided there a number of years. They then went 
to AViscousin and located near Eau Claire, where 
the father died in 1874, the mother passing away 
some years previous, in 1846. They were the 
l)arents of five children, four yet living. The fa- 
ther was a second time married, and had two chil- 
dren by that union. 

The subject of this sketch was born iNIay 6, 
1836, in Kent County, England, and came to 
America with his parents when about four years 
old. He was the first-born, and his father being 
very poor, he Consequently obtained but little 
education until after twenty years of age. He 
earned money for himself and attended the acad- 
emy at Coudersport,Pa., and when he first began 
could only read in the Third Reader. He labored 
hard and became proficient in languages and 
mathematics, especially in algebra and geometry. 
He went to the Rocky Mountains in 1862, and at 
Omalia purchased a small book on chemistry and 



.Jfc.^. 



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Ci^s^^■* aL-C;"-^ -.T'>--^- -.■^^.cV^^^^ 








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residence: of -^^.h. plummer, sec. t., Ganges Th-, /^lllu^ji uj 



■- .■ 1 . 



*>-^«ti, 









RESIDErJCL or G. W. bKl U5tiT , :jLl., i^t.^i KUWDrti DuL ir.MLLLuAii i.L/,ivin^n 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



745 



studied it while on the way, also philosophy, geol- 
ojry. etc. He has always been a close student, 
and has taught school ten terms. 

Septcinlicr IS), 18(;.'?, Mr. (Irij^shy was married to 
Miss Thankful Freeman, a native of Potter County, 
Pa., where she was horn May !), 1H3U. Iler f.a- 
ther was .Iudi;e Seneca Freeman, an old settler in 
Pennsylvania. Both her parents arc deceased, 
the father dying at the advanced .age of ninety- 
two 3'ears. In the spring of 1864, our subject 
came to Michigan and rented a farm in Otsego 
Township, this county, during the summer. He 
erected a little shanty, 10x16 feet, on this farm 
when it was nothing but a wilderness. He h.ad 
comparativelj' nothing to start with, but by his 
own persistent efforts has made for himself what he 
has to-day. He is the deserving possessor of one 
hundred and eighty acres, of which one hundred 
and twenty are under the plow, wholl}' done by 
himself. He has here an orchard of over one hun- 
dred trees, and also a number of ornamental trees 
about his place. He has been very successful in 
his farming pursuits, and the reader may judge 
of his thrift by a glance at the view of his place 
presented on another page. 

Mr. Grigsby and his wife are the i)arcnts of live 
children, one being deceased, Harlan. The others — 
Octavia, Orrell, Arthur and Iluldah — have received 
good schoolings, and the two eldest are teaching 
under second-grade certificates. Arthur was grad- 
uated from the Commercial College at Grand 
Rapids with lumors. Mrs. Grigsby is a member 
of the l\Icth<Klist Episcopal Church, where she is 
an .active worker. The son is a prominent mem- 
ber of the Sunday-school, and has been President 
of the Kpworlli League. 

Mr. Grigsby takes an interest in local schools, 
and has been Director of his district. He is full_\- 
in sympathy with American affairs, was formerly 
a DeiiKicrat, but of late years ha-s been a Hepuli- 
liam. He has served as Townshi[) Clerk four 
yeai-s. Supervisor two years, Treasurer, Town- 
ship Superintendent of Schools — the lii-st one in 
the township — and Sch(K)l Inspector for several 
terms. He is a temi)erale man in his habits, and 
is an extensive reader of periodicals. A fine li- 
brary adorns his home, containing some scientific 



works and Appleton's Encyclopedia. lie has 
erected a good rain gauge, and reports the rain- 
falls to the State olllce; also has a very fine set of 
thermoincters, and has made weather reports at 
Lansing to the I'nited .States Government for 
three years. 

We cannot close this sketch without pointing 
out to our readers what energy and perseverance 
can accomplish, when coupled with economy and 
intelligence. Mr. Grigsby entered the strife empty- 
handed, and, with the assistance of his estimable 
wife, who has given him her cheerful co-opera- 
tion in all his efforts and by her good counsels 
encouraged him in his life's work,- he has beat 
back the forests until now he has broad acres and 
smiling fields to gladden his eyes and fill his 
granaries. Children have grown to manhood and 
womanhood around his hearthstone, and have 
gone out into the world with strong muscles, 
frugal habits and minds stored with such knowl- 
edge as will enable them to carve their way in the 
world, alw.ays having the example of their father 
from which to draw their inspiration. We arc 
gl.ad to embalm such examples in the literature 
of our country, and thus perpetuate them for 
coining generations. 



NCiKLHKRT H. HORN. This geulleman. 

who is the proprietor of the .\llegan Wagon 

! ct Carriage F.actory, established in business 

liere in 18.il, having resi<le<l here since |8.')1. He 
manufactures all kinds of road cart.s, and h.a.s 
in his employ the very best workmen. His factory 
is one of the very largest in .Michigan, and he 
ships his goods all over the Lnitcd States. 

Our subject Wits born April 17. 18:i;i. in Na-ssau, 
Gernianv. and is the son of .Martin and .Margaret 
(Young) Born, also natives of the Fatherland. The 
father was a contractor for the (iovernincnt. and 
with his family belonged to the Catholic Church. 
His father was lleiiiy IJoiii, a native of Germany, 
where he followed the tra(h-> of a biitclier ami 
rfK)fer. 

The parental family of our subject numlH-red six 




A 



746 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



children, all of whom grew to manhood and wo- 
manhood, and came to America. They bore the 
names of P^ngelbert, Henry, Anna, John, Jacob, 
Margaret and Daniel, respectively. John was killed 
at the l)attle of Baton Rouge. La., August 5, 1862, 
it being tlie first battle in which he was engaged. 
He was a member of Company G, Sixth Michigan 
Infantry. Our subject received a fine education in 
his native land, and taught three months witli Prof. 
Flach, at I>indenholzhansen, Germany, filling a 
vacancy'. 

Mr. Born came to America in 184i(, just at the 
close of the German Revolution. He landed in 
New Orleans on the sailing vessel "Fides," from 
Antwerp, mailing the iKissage in forty-nine days. 
Landing in the New World, he had but five cents in 
his pocket, and was obliged to borrow money to 
pay his passage on tlie steamboat to Cliicago, 111. 
On arriving in Peoria, he was taken sick with the 
cholera, and was the only member of their company 
of four who survived that terrible disease. lie was 
only sixteen years old at that time. 

The original of this sketch reached Chicago in 
May, 184'J, where he was engaged to Icaru the car- 
riagemaker's business, the shops being located on the 
site now occupied by Ilooley's Theatre building on 
Randolph Street, and the lumber-yard being on the 
courthouse square. Sir. Born remained thus en- 
gaged for two years, when he crossed the lake to 
St. Joseph, and from there walked througli the 
woods to Allegan in two days. His first occupa- 
tion here was in tlie turning-shop of Charles Rich- 
ards & Brotlier, with whom he remained for a 
twelvemonth, lie then returned to the wagon- 
making trade, and worked until September, 1854, 
for King & Wilkes, at which time he went Ijaek to 
Chicago. He made that city his home only a short 
time, .and later returned to Allegan, which has been 
his permanent abiding-i)lace ever since. 

In 1854, Mr. Born rented Iteiich room of Harry 
Kingsburry, and bought lumber for which he agreed 
to pa3- at some future time. He was the first man 
in Allegan to build a complete wagon. His busi- 
ness prospered, and in a short time he was enabled 
to build a fine shop, wiiich was the first of its kind, 
on AVater Street, and which was 22x28 feet in di- 
mensions, and three stories in height. In 18(54, he 



purchased another three-story building, adjoining 
his wagon-shop, and in the fall of 1882, bought the 
plant of the Allegan INIauufacturing Company on 
Island No. 2, near the Eagle Foundry. The works 
included three buildings, one 28x60 feet, to which 
he added forty feet, and two other buildings, 20x80 
feet each in dimensions. All his work is done by 
the day, and no piece-work is given out. 

In 1884, our suliject was burned out, but rebuilt 
the following year. His insurance was light, and 
the loss thus occasioned was very great. He keeps 
in his employ from sixteen to twenty fine work- 
men, and IS the oldest manufacturer in Allegan. 
The daj- succeeding the loss of his works on Water 
Street by fire, liis creditors offered to take fifteen 
cents on the dollar of his indebtedness, but, al- 
though IMr. Born was ^6,000 worse off than noth- 
ing, he would not listen to sucli a proposition, and 
paid every one of them one hundred cents on the 
dollar, although it crippled, lived for many years 
after. 

In 1875, Mr. Born spent five months in Europe, 
visiting England, Scotland, Germany, Belgium, 
France and Switzerland, and his descriptive letters 
were published in the Allegan papers at that time 
and many extracts copied by European journals. 
In 1889, he again crossed the Atlantic, accompanied 
by Mrs. Born, the trip being made in a little less 
than seven days, in the "City of New York," of 
the Inman Line, and landing at Queenstown. They 
visited Ireland, Scotland, England and Belgium, 
making the longest sojourn in Germany, and vis- 
iting all the prominent cities, old castles and ruins 
on the Rhine between Cologne and Bingen, thence 
to Berlin, Leipsic, Dresden, Cassel, Frankfort-on- 
the-Main, Wiesl)adeu, Heidelberg and Baden-Ba- 
den. 

From tliere they journe\'ed to Alsace-Lorraine, 
thence through Switzerland and France, stop- 
ping ten days in Paris, where they cnjo3'cd the 
great sights of the Exjiosition of 1889, and climbed 
the famous Eiffel Tower. En route to Liverpool, 
they visited Dieppe, thence crossed to Newhaveu, 
from there went to Brighton, one of the famous 
summer resorts of England, and thence to London, 
where they staid several days. At Liverpool they 
took passage to New York on tlie steamer "City of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



747 



Paris," of llii' Ininaii Line, which made the short- 
est trip across the Athiiitic on record up to that 
tiiiK', viz: live days, niiieti^Mi liours, and eigliU-cMi 
iiiiiuitos. AVhilc (111 tlial trip, Mr. Horn wrote sev- 
eral k'tleis wliich were piihlisiicd in llic Allegan 
Bcaml :\ud Allegan Democral,inn\ whidi proved that 
he could manipulate the pen with as good results, 
as he could swing the liamincr and jack-iilane. 

Jliss Mary S. Dickinson, who liecaiiic the wife of 
Mr. Horn in December, 1855, was the daughter of 
Charles Dickinson, who came to Allegan in IHtiii, 
being one of the pioneers, and who had six children : 
Charles M., William G., Grace M., Lillian N., Ed- 
ward I), and Engelbert. Mrs. Mary Horn died in 
1877, and our subject was a second time niarrieil, 
in 1881, choosing as his wife ]Mrs. Margarft Wad- 
dell, a native of Canada. The three oldest sons 
are mechanics in their father's factory, and the 
youngest son, Hert, as he is familiarly called, is a 
graduate of the Parsons' Ilorological Institute, of 
La Porte, Ind., where he learned watch-making, 
lilting eye glasses, and the trade of a jeweler. 

Socially, Mr. Born is a member of the Indepen- 
dent Order of Odd Fellows, and in politics, is a 
Democrat. He is a member of the Hoard of Edu- 
cation, also a member of the Hiiilding Committee 
of the schoolhouso, coni|ileted in .January, 18'.*2. 
lie has aided all churches of whatever denoniin.a- 
lion in the county, and is one of the progressive 
citizens of .MlcLraii. 



» l b > I P > » > P > 



? I ' I < L'T.H... 




lAPT. RALPH C. HHITTAIN, who resides 
in Saugatuck, -Vllegan County, is a well- 
known steaniboalniaii, who is highly popu- 
lar wherever known, and who, bj' his own efforts, 
has attained a prominent place among the public- 
S|iirited citizens of Allegan County. He is the 
son of William and Catherine (Case) Hrittain, na- 
tives of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, respec- 
tively, and w.as himself born ii?" .Sus(|uehanna, Pa., 
.\iigiist 6, 1842. His father removed to Illinois 
in 1815, and settled two miles west of Waukegan, 
where he remained until 1850, when he sold out 
:iiid removed to Muskegon, this .State, and there 
engaged in the luniher trade. At this time there 



were but seven houses in the village. Here our 
subject spent his li(iylio()<l,and necessarily had but 
few educational advantages, attending >chool 
only one winter, and that when he was fouiteen 
years of age. 

The next year, our siil)ject began life for him- 
self, going to New York City and finding employ- 
ment on a merchant vessel. His sea-faring life 
was one of varied e.\perieiices, and in the course 
of the live 3'ears he spent upon the ocean, he had 
the opportunity of visiting various parts of the 
world. He visited the West Indies and also ports 
on the Mediterranean Sea, thereby' gaining a 
fund of information which he never could have 
derived from books. He returned to New York 
in 1863, from there coming to Michigan and 
spending the winter with his jiarents. The next 
spring he went to Chicago and engaged in steam- 
boating, which he li.is pursued ever since. After 
working for E. C. Ludington for about one j'ear, 
he took charge of a propeller, "The Merchant," 
which is still in existence at Duluth, rijuningher 
one year, when he went .South and followed 
stcamboating on the Southern rivers for two 
years, with liead<iuarters at Vicksburg. The cli- 
mate not lieing congenial, he returned to the lakes 
and purchased an interest in the steamer operating 
between Grand Haven and Pentwater. This ves- 
sel he operated for about eight years, when it was 
destroyed b^' fire, and for a time he gave nj) Ixiat- 
ing. He then took a trip to California, going by 
the way of Panama and returning via New York. 
He finally decided to locate at .Saugatuck, where 
he h.as since resided. 

Capt. Hrittain has met with many los.-ics by 
wrecks and fire, but, with an undaunted courage 
and perseverance, he has surmounted all the dif- 
ficulties which beset him and is now financially in- 
dependent. He has a controlling interest in 
seven vessels. .Since residing in Saugatuck, he 
has built no less than thirteen ve.ssels, and has 
paiil out for labor and material in this village 
alone not less than *2(in,00(). Capt. Hrittain, lie- 
sides his steamboat interests, owns two fruit 
farms in Allegan County, and is largely inteivsled 
in real estate in Indiana. 

Capt. Hrittain has been twice marriid. ilii> lii-t 



748 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



time in 1880, when he was united to Florence Sny- 
der, who bore him two children : Leonard S. and Col- 
born R., wlio reside with their father. The mo- 
ther of these children died January 6, 1885. On 
October 5, 1888, our subject was again married, 
his bride being Ettie Spaulding, daughter of Leon- 
ard Spaulding, of AVaukegan, 111. Of this union 
two children also have been born: Catherine M., 
who died at the age of eighteen months, and 
.Julia Elizabeth, born December 24, 1889. The 
Captain is a thorough-going Republican in poli- 
tics, and, sociality, belongs to Lodge No. 328, A. F. 
& A. M.; Corinthian Chapter, No. 84; the Con- 
sistory at Grand Rapids, and also to the Inde- 
l)endent Order of ()dd Fellows. He and his estim- 
able wife occupy a very comfortable residence, in 
which they hospitably entertain their large circle 
of friends. Capt. Brittain is looked upon as one 
of the most public-spirited citizens of Saugatuck, 
and has been greatly instiumental in the progress 
and prosperity of the village. 

11^^ 



^j^ ETER VAN ANROOY. Among the foreign- 
Jl) born residents and early pioneers of Allegan 

f^ Count}' may he numbered Mr. Van Anroo}', 
I \ who is residing on section 6, Fillmore Town- 
ship. He began life empty-handed, but by unre- 
mitting industry, seconded by sound judgment 
and shrewd business faculties, he lias acquired a 
comfortable ]jroperty and competency. Our sub- 
ject is a native of Holland, in wliich country he 
was born, November 29, 1831. 

The gentleman f>f whom we write is a son of 
John F. and Willielmina R. (Stighart)Van Anrooy, 
natives of Holland. The parental family numbered 
eleven children, six of whom died in infancy. In 
1847, the parents came to America with their fam- 
ily, where the father located a farm of twenty 
acres in Fillmore Township. He was a merchant 
in his native land, but upon coming to America 
followed the calling of an agriculturist, which 
occupation lie carried on for seventeen years, pass- 
ing away September 16, 1864. The mother sur- 
vived her husband several years, dying in March, 
1872. While carrying on his personal affairs with 



zeal and enterprise, Mr. Van Anrooy found time to 
engage actively in the public affairs of his locality, 
having been Highwaj' Commissioner for six 3'ears, 
School Assessor and member of the School Board 
for a number of years. lie gave the Reiniblican 
party his hearty support. He was always a law- 
abiding citizen and was held in the esteem due to 
his personal qualities and honorable life. He with 
his family was a member of the Holland Christian 
Reformed Church, in wliich body he was Deacon 
and afterward Elder. 

Our suliject was sixteen years of age when he 
came to the United States with his parents. He 
remained under the |)arental roof until reaching 
his maturity, when he started out in life for him- 
self. His first purchase of land consisted of forty 
acres, to which he has since added forty more, all 
of which he has placed in excellent condition and 
improved with good buildings. Our subject also 
owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Os- 
ceola County, this State, located on section 3, 
Highland Township. Our subject may be consid- 
ered one of the early settlers of Allegan County 
and has done much to promote its material pros- 
perity'. He is self-made, as he started out in life 
with but little education. A cool head, sound 
common-sense and good business tact have, perhaps, 
served his purpose better, as by hard work and 
close economy he has placed himself among the 
well-to-do farmers of this part of the count}'. 

Mr. Van Anrooy was married when twenty-four 
years of age to Zwaantje Vos, who was born,Decem- 
ber 16, 1835. in Hanover, Germany. Mrs. Van 
Anrooy is a daughter of Beerend and Jenny (Hoff- 
meyer) Vos. who were the parents of one son and 
four daughters. To our subject and his wife have 
been granted a family of ten children, one of 
whom died in infancy. Those living are John F., 
Jane, Benjamin, Jacob, Willielmina Rozina, Gerrit, 
Abraham, Frederick and Kathrina Elizabeth. 

Our subject is a strong advocate of Republican 
principles and has served his townsmen as Asses- 
sor and School Moderator, at the present time lidd- 
ing the office of Assessor. He and his wife are 
members of the Holland C'hristian Reformed 
Church and take a conspicuous part in church mat- 
ters. Frederick Van Anrooy, the son of our sub- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



749 



jcct, is a graduate of tlie grammar department of 
Hope College and is now in the Kreslunen year of 
that institution. All of the children of our sub- 
ject are residing at home, with tlie exception of 
John F. and Henjamin, the former of whom is 
married and resides in Holland, Micii., and the lat- 
ter makes his home in (irand Rapids. .lohn K. was a 
teacher in Allegan County, and also taught two 
terms in Orange City, Iowa. 

In 1847, Mr. Van Anrooy set sail for America 
on tlic vessel "Prince of Hanover." .Several per- 
sons died on the voyage, and on June 6th they 
landed on American shores. Two days later, lie 
went to Albany and thence went to lUiffalo by 
wa^' of the canal, arriving in that citj- June IHih. 
He then came to Michigan, June 27, 1847, and 
since becoming a resident of Allegan County h.is 
exerted a great influence for good ni iioth so(i;il 
and religious matters. 

I TIIER MERCHANT is residing on section 
jj, 7, Trowbridge Townshi[), Allegan County. 
^ His parents were Zobinah and Lorcna 
(Blackman) Merchant, natives of \'ermont, where 
the. father was a manufacturer of pearl ash. They 
moved to .Steuben County, N. Y.. where Mr. 
Merchant died. His mother came to Michigan 
with our subject and passed from this life in 1850. 
Tlie parental family included .seven children, four 
of whom are living. 

Luther Merchant was born August 29, 1814, in 
Vermont, and .■iccomi)anied his parents on their 
removal to the Em()ire .State, when (jiiitc young. 
His father being in limited circumstiinces, his ad- 
vantages for obtaining an education were few. 
He began to make his (jwn way in the world when 
twenty years of age b}' working out by the monih 
on a farm. He was married in 1836 to Miss 
Martha Baker, a native of New York. Mrs. 
Merchant died in 1845, in her twenty-fifth year. 
They became the i)arents of five children: Levi, 
Josiah, .lulia E.. Mark and Francis Marion. .losiah 
was married to Mariah Haviland and has three 
children: Charles, .Vmelia and Clark; Amelia mar- 
ried Elta Warren, who is now ileceased, and has 




one child, Florence. Julia, Mrs. L. W. Austin, 
resides in Cheshire Township, Allegan County, 
and became the mother of live children: Addie, 
who married William Foote, died leaving two chil- 
<lrcn, Floyd and Pearl; Sherman, who married 
Lilly Whistler, is now deceased; Charles iiiairicd 
Lavina Pulsifer; Susan, deceased. Mark is a 
lawyer. Fiaiicis Jlarion was a soldier in the late 
war, being a memlier of Company L, Fourth Mich- 
igan Cavalry, enlisting when sixteen years of age. 
He was taken sick while in the service and died 
in the hospital in 1863. 

Our subject came to Michigan in 1847 and 
settled on his present farm when it wsus little more 
than a wilderness. He erected a log liopse and 
industriously began the work of clearing and im- 
proving the land. Mr. .Merchant w.as a second 
time married, in 186i», to Lydia I)., daughter of 
Samuel and Sarah (Beech) Harvey. The father 
was a native of Rutland County, N't. and the 
mother was born in St. Lawrence County-, N. Y. Mr. 
and Mre. Harvey were married in the Empire State 
and remained there until their removal to Michi- 
gan in 1852. On locating here, the father piir- 
ch.ased a farm on section 6, Trowbridge Township, 
which he improved and continued to make his 
home until his death in 1878, in his sixt}- -second 
year. Mrs. Harvey still lives at the age of seven- 
ty-one years and makes her home with .Mrs. 
Merch.ant. 

Mrs. Harvey became the mother of live children, 
four of whom are living: Lydi:i I).; Refine; Eliza. 
Mrs. Hunt, and Orin. Mrs. Merchant was lM>rn in 
New York in August, 1842, and in 1857 w.os mar- 
ried to Lemuel Foster. By that union she bccaine 
the mother of three children, all of whom are living 
with one exception: Roxie is now the wife of 
William Hale, lives in Allegan Township and h.os 
four cliiUlren: Guy, Rav, Mary and Lucy; Frank 
in:irried Deett Barlow and lives at Mt. Ple.asant. 

Mr. and Mi-s. Merchant, of this sketch, have one 
child, Marion L., who was born in August, 187(1, 
and is now^ married to Carrie Tlioin.a-s. ( )ur subject 
h.is eighty acres of land, almost all of which is 
under good tillage, and improved with all neces- 
sary farm buildings and machinery. He began in 
life empty-handed and feels pixuid to know that 



750 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



what he owns has been the result of his industry 
and good management. He has lived on his 
present farm for forty-live years and is well and 
favorably known throughout Allegan County. 

The gentleman of whom we write and his good 
wife are strong advocates of temperance, and in 
politics Mr. Merchant votes the Democratic ticket. 

V ♦^ / 



ips^ AMUEL B. GUYOT. The gentleman whose 
^^^ name is quoted above is engaged in the 
lll/^j livery business in Allegan. He also owns 

"" (MU'-half interest in the 'bus and hack line, 
keeping in his employ four men and using twenty 
horses. The bai-ns of the comi)any are located 
on Hubbard Street and they make every train on 
the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, the Cliicago 
k West Michigan and the Cincinnati, Jackson ife 
Mackinaw Railroads. Mr. Guyot has, in addition 
to the business spoken of above, a farm at Diamond 
Springs, Monterey Township; one at Monterey 
Center, and another in Salem Township, Allegan 
County. He has other real-estate interests and is 
prospering in all his undertakings. 

Our subject was born in the town of North East, 
Dutche;s County, N. Y., November 19, 1824, and 
is the son of John and liachcl (Mallery) Guyot, 
natives of Rensselaer County, N. Y'., and Connect- 
icut, respectively. The father w.as a painter by 
trade, but later in life he engaged in farming in 
the Empire State. His father was also named 
John and was a native of France; he came to the 
United States with Gon. La Fayette's army as a 
sutler and remained with the army luilil the clo.sc 
of the war. He then located in the townsliip of 
Sand Lake, Rensselaer County, N. \. and engaged 
extensively in farming. He was married in that 
State and became the i)arent of two children, John 
and Oliver. He was a gentleman of education and 
was among the better class of French people. 

The father of our subject came to the Wolver- 
ine State in 1850 and located in Monterey Town- 
ship, Allegan County. He there purciiased a farm 
of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which he 
lived until his death. He was a prominent man in 



his township, having held the office of Justice of 
tlie Peace for man\' j'ears. In politics, he was a 
Republican and, socially, a Mason. The parental 
family included five children, four of whom are 
living: Eliza M., Mrs. H. Russell, of Montcalm 
Countj% this State; our subject; Henry, who is a 
farmer in Monterey Township, and William, who 
makes his home in Grand Rapids. 

Samuel B. Guyot received a meager education 
in the common schools of Wayne County, N. Y., 
and had as a schoolmate Gordon Granger, now 
Gen. Granger, who aided him greatly in his matii- 
matical studies. He remained at home until 
leaching his sixteentli 3'e.ar, then eng.aged to work 
for a (Quaker gentleman, farming and looking 
after the stock, in Farmington Township, Ontario 
County, N. Y. He remained with that gentleman 
for six years, later assisting liim in Ijujing and sell- 
ing stock and in transacting his banking business. 
When leaving his employ, he became steersman on 
the Erie Canal for two years, and, in the fall of 
1840, came to Michigan and settled in Monterej' 
Township, Allegan County. Here he purchased 
eight}' acres of timber land which he cleared and 
improved and made his home for five years. lie 
then sold that tract .and purchased another of eighty 
acres. On it he erected a board house, in which 
he lived for some years, and during that time he 
improved forty acres of his purchase. The forty 
acres which he had cultivated he sold, and the re- 
maining forty were traded for a farm in Kal.amazoo 
County. He removed thither, where he remained 
for four years, when he disposed of it .and bought 
one hundred and twenty acres in Monterey Town- 
ship, which w.as [lartly improved. About ten years 
ago, on account of failing heallli, our subject re- 
moved to the village of Allegan. 

Prior to making this vill.age his home, Mr. Guyot 
purchased a lot on the corner of Hubbard _ and 
Walnut Streets, where he erected a beautiful res- 
idence and where he now lives. Some nine years 
ago, he purchased a half interest in the 'bus line, 
but later sold out and engaged in the livery bus- 
iness. The hack and 'bus line of Allegan now eom- 
m.ands a great deal of his time and attention, as 
has been stilted in our opening paragraph. In his 
livery barns he keeps flrst-class turnouts, well 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



751 



suited to supply the wants of the traveling pul)lic. 
Miss Marielte Miller became the wife of Mr. 
Guyot in IH5;{. She passed from tliis life in 1866 
and our suhjeet w.os .again married, this time to 
Morosia Cady, of Monterey. In politics, Mr. (iuyot 
is a Democrat .•iiid, socially, is a iirominent Mason. 
He takes an active part in all affairs of the town- 
ship and held the ollice of Townshii) Treasurer for 
one ye.ar. He was also Constable, and in every posi- 
tion to which he has l)pcn olcclcd he has oiveii 
entire satisfaction. 

likMy OSKS ni.( )WKRS, a resident of Dorr Town- 
ship, Allegan Count}-, is a native of Onon- 
d.aga County, N. Y., where he was born, 
.lanuary 18, 1816. He is a son of Moses and 
Rethsheba (Lewis) Blowers. The father was a na- 
tive of Washington Count}-, N. Y., and one of the 
first settlers of Central New York. He was by oc- 
cui)ation a farmer, and died at the age of eighty- 
eight years, on the place he had .settled when 
seventeen yeai-s old. The good mother was born 
in Vermont, and died in 1821. 

Our subject was reared on the old iinmestead 
until re.aching his majority. He attended the com- 
mon schools, and afterward spent six months in an 
academic school. He is the seventh in a family of 
eleven children, the oldest brother having been 
born in 17!t8. On reaching his majority, Mr. 
Blowers set about to earn some money by hiring 
out to different farmers. He came directly to 
Michigan, and remained in .Adrian three years. 
In 1810, he returned to his old home, and pur- 
chased a pl.ace, where he remained until 18.56. 
After that, he went to Minnesota and farmed there 
fifteen years. Besides his farming, he learned the 
trade of a carpenter, and worked at this a little 
In 1870, we again find Mr. Blowers in .Michigan, 
but this time to stay. He located in section 36, 
Dorr Township, Allegan County, and took up one 
hundred and sixty acres. This place was entirely- 
wild land, with no improvements whatever, but 
Mr. Blowers immediately went to work to convert 
it into a fertile and productive estate, in which he 
has wonderfullv succeeded. It is adorned with 



good and substantial outbuildings, and in 1872, he 
erected a line and commodious residence in which 
he and his family reside in )H'ace and happiness. 

Emily Lucinda Stew-art is the maiden name of 
the lady whom Mr. Blowers chose as his life com- 
panion. They were married in March, 1811, in 
Onondaga County, N. Y., of which pl.ace Mrs. 
Blowers was a native. This union has been 
blessed by the birth of four children, three of 
whom are living: Mary married E. N. Woodward, 
and is now deceased; she w-as the mother of three 
children. Herl)ert lives at home and assists his 
father on the farm; p]mina is the wife of Lee Cal- 
kins, and Irene married Ernest Calkins. Mr. 
Blowers is a Republican in politics, ••nid held the 
office of Justice of the Peace for four years, and for 
one year was .Supervisor of Maple (irove, Minn. 
Since coming to Michigan, he h.as never sought 
ollice of any kind. He and his wife and all his 
children arc valued members of the Christian 
Church of Wayland. and are held in high regard 
by their man}- friends and acquaintances. He and 
his wife have been inembei-s of the Grange for one 



'®^-^s=-i- 



I OHN C. HOLMES, the able editor and propri- 
etor of the Fennville Dis[Kitch, is an honored 
resident of Fennville, I^Ianlius Townshij). 
Allegan County. He w:is born in Liverpool. 
England, .July 19, 1839. He is a son of Thomas 
Holmes, a native of Liverpool, where he spent his 
boyhood days and received a common-school ed- 
ucation. In his younger days, heserved an apiiren- 
ticeship to a boilermaker and worked at that trade 
thirteen years in Liverpool at the \'auxhall Eoun- 
dry. When quite young in j-ears, he w.as married 
to Catherine Williams, the mother of our subject. 
She w.is a daughter of David Williams and l>ore 
her husband eight children: .Mary E., the w-ife of 
V. II. Butterlield; .lohn C; Sarah, the wife of Sam- 
uel .Vmy; Thom.as. who was killed in the l)attle of 
the Wilderness; William O.; Anna, who married 
Lyman Ogden; Jennie, who l)ecame the wife of 
Martin Saundei-s; and Eliza, the wife of Frcil 
Zimmerman. In 1850, Thom.as Holmes emigrated 
with his family to the United States, locating at Mil- 



752 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



waukce and there worked at his trade a year. He 
theu came to Marshall, Mich., where he lived until 
liis death, which occurred in 1857. His good com- 
panion still survives him and makes lier home in 
Calhoun County. He and his wife were great 
workers in the cause of temijerance. The father 
was a member of the Odd Follows' Society of Eng- 
land and also in this country, and a strong sup- 
porter of the Democracy. 

At the age of thirteen years, our sulijec t started 
in life for himself as "devil" in the Battle Creek 
Journal office under W. W. "Woolnough. Previous 
to this, lie received but little education in tlie com- 
mon schools but ho was not a boy to be discoiu'aged 
by life's hardships, for we afterward see him attend- 
ing night school, studying hard, improving his 
idle moments and preparing himself for the life be- 
fore him. After one year at Battle Creek, he went 
to Saginaw and worked for the first paper ever 
published in that city. He was in that city about 
two years and theu for several years following, 
was in different towns and cities in Michigan and 
also in Canada, working at the jjrinter's trade. In 
1866, he took the management of the Allegan 
D&nocrat and then the Allegan Journal. He finally 
purchased the Democrat, which he ran for over a 
year, making in all nine years in Allegan. Mr. 
Holmes was at South Haven for one year and, in 
1883, located at Fcnnville, where he started his 
present paper, which is a spicy sheet published in 
the general interests of the locality. He began 
with only ninet\'-two supporters and now has a 
subseripton of six hundred and twenty-four. Al- 
though Mr. Holmes is a stanch Republican in pc)l- 
itics, his paper is strictly independent. 

Mr. Holmes enlisted in the late war in .Tuly, 
1861, in Company F, Forty-second Illinois Infan- 
tr}', and has a record one may lie proud of. His 
regiment was attached to the Army of the Cumber- 
land and the Tennessee and was present at many of 
the leading battles of tiie war, such .as Island No. 
10, Farmington, Stone River, Chickamauga, and 
the Atlanta Campaign. He was wounded at Lost 
Mountain by a gun-shot in the left arm. He was 
taken prisoner at Stone River and was in Libby 
Prison thirty days. At the close of the war, he re- 
eulisled and went to Texas a few months, where 



he received his honorable discharge at Port Lavaca 
in December, 1865. AVhile our subject was home 
on a furlough, he was married at Coldwater, this 
State, to Eliza J. Strong, a daughter of Anson and 
Maria Strong, of Burlington, Mich. This couple 
have had no children, but through the kind- 
ness of their hearts they have thrown open their 
doors and have adopted Miss K.ate Godfrey. Mr. 
Holmes is united with the Odd Fellows of Allegan 
and belongs to Post No. 371, G. A. R., at Fcnnville, 
of which he is Commander. He has held the office 
of School Inspector and at i)rescnt is Notary Public 
and a memlier of the Town Council of Fcnnville. 
He and his family move in the best social circles 
of Fcnnville and are esteemed by every one. 



' OHN W. LINSLEY. This progressive citi- 
zen of Hopkins Township, Allegan C'ount}^ 
^,^1 is at present residing on section 21. He is 
(^^^ the son of John P. Linsley, a prominent 
farmer in this locality, whose sketch appears on 
another page in this volume. Our subject was 
born at Parkman, Ohio, August 26, 1843, and came 
to Michigan with his parents, wiiere he was edu- 
cated in the common schools. 

J. W. Linsley was married lo Miss Lj'dia Cham- 
berlain, September 5, 1867. She was the daughter 
of Peleg Chamberlain, who settled in Hopkins 
Township, in 1855, and is now deceased. Mrs. 
Linsley was born January 18, 1849, in New York 
State, and by her union with our subject has be- 
come the mother of seven children: Ileiman W., 
Emma E., Lucy P.. James H., Burdette E., Alfred 
and Bertha I. Emma E. is the wife of Ernest 
Tucker and has one child. 

In Jul}', 1862, our subject enlisted in Companj' 
L., Fourth Michigan Cav.alry, and served his coun- 
try for three years. During that period, he was in 
active service, with the exception of tliree months, 
when, having received a wound in the leg at 
Kingston, Ga., he w.as in the hospital. He was one 
of the detachment who captured Jefferson Davis, 
and fought in the States of Kentucky, Mississippi, 
Alabama. Georgia and Tennessee, under Gens. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



755 




IJiiell, Rosecrans, Grant, Sherman, Thomas and 
Wilson. Returning iionio after liie dose of hostil- 
ities, Mr. Lin.sley UK-ated on liis farm and lias 
since given his entire attention to siiperintonding 
its ini|)rovement. 

Wliilo loading a cannon at Ohio Corners, Alle- 
gan County, July 4, 1«70, Mr. Linsley lost both 
arms by its premature explosion. One limb was 
taken off at the elbow and the other at the shoul- 
der. He also at that time lost the hearing of one 
ear and the sight of one eye. He is a gentleman 
greatly respected in Allegan County, and we are 
pleased to l)c able to place his sketch in the hands 
of our numerous readers. 



AIJTIN T. RYAN, editor and proprietor 
of the Allegan Democrat, was born in New 
York in 1833. He commenced to learn 
the trade of a printer at the age of eleven, 
but being of a roving disposition, as soon as he 
had linished his term of apprenticeship, com- 
menced traveling. He visited nearly every State 
in the Union, and worked at his trade in all the 
larger cities. Not content with a knowledge of 
his countrj- alone, he shipped on a whaler and 
visited the ports of South America and the islands 
of the Pacific, going as far north as the Arctic 
Ocean. 

When the vessel landed at the Sandwich Islands. 
Mr. Ryan stopped at Honolulu, and there followed 
his trade for several months. From that place he 
sailed to California and pa.ssed through tlie varied 
experiences of a miner until, l>ecoming tired of 
tlie (Jolden State, he shipped as a sailor on the 
"(ireat Republic" and made the voyage around 
Cape Horn to New York. In that city, he shipped 
:is matt> of a vessel going to the Mediterranean, 
and visited many of the ports of that sea. On 
his return to the United States, he resumed work 
at his trade until the breaking out of the Civil 
War, when he enlisted, in 1S61, in the service of 
his country, and served two veal's for the preserva- 
tion of the Union. 

In IKfi'.l, Mr. Ryan came to Alleg.an. and after 
the death of Mr. Austin, the founder of the Di-nw- 



cral, he, with Mr. Kurber. [purdiased tlie paper, 
and, with the exception of about six years, has 
since retained its management. His f.ainily con- 
sists of his wife and two children, a son and a 
daughter. The son, W. K., is an attorncy-at-law 
ill (iraiid Ixa|)ids. 






(ft--. ORACE C. BENERLY, a progressive citi- 
Ij zen of Allegan County, and the cllicient 
Postmaster of Mill Grove, came to his 
^ present home on section 12, Pine Plains 
Township, in 1854, but had located in the county 
the j-ear before. For many years after settling 
here, he operated as a miller and farmer, and now 
owns forty acres of improved land near the village 
of Mill Grove. By industry, energy and integrity, 
he has .iccumulated a competencv,and is now Ix-ar- 
ing his part of that responsibility which falls in 
great or small degree to every true American citi- 
zen. His sympathies are quick, and ever on the 
side of right as he perceives it, while his generous 
heart and unflinching integrity are among his chief 
characteristics. 

The parents of our subject, Pcilee and Eunice 
(Hazard) Beverly-, were born in New York, the 
former April 28, 1802, and the latter in 1804. 
Their union, which took place February 28, 1828, 
was blessed by the birth of three children: Our 
subject, Sarah and Charles, all of whom are living. 
The grandparents of our subject, Asa and Sarah 
(Curtis) Beverly, removed at an early day from 
New England to the State of New York, where he 
engaged as a carpenter, and attained to the age of 
about one hundred yeai-s. (Jraiidfather Il.azard 
also lived to a great age, his death occurring when 
he was one hundred and four yeare old. He was 
a hatter by trade, and served in the War of 1812. 

After the death of Mi-s. Eunice Beverly, which 
occurred when she w.as thirt}' years of age, ow 
subject's fatlier was again married, in 1835, choos- 
ing as his wife Miss Lucetta Parsons. Five chil- 
dren were Iwrn to them: Cornelia. Mary C.,t;eorge, 
Francis and James. Perlee IJcverly ahv.ays lived 
on a farm and followed agricultural pursuits until 
his death at the age of seventy-two. In his politi- 



756 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



cal affiliations, he was a Jacksoniaii Democrat, and 
religiously, held membership in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. The mother of onr subject was 
also a sincere Christian, a member of the Presby- 
terian Church, and a lady possessing many graces 
of character. 

Horace C. Beverlj' was born in New York, May 
28, 1829, and received a somewhat limited educa- 
tion in his native State. At the age of nineteen, 
he commenced life for liimself, by working in the 
lumber woods, and when he came to Michigan, in 
18.53, operated as a miller and farmer. He was 
married, January 20, 1852, to SabrinaS. Tallmadge, 
who was one in a family of seven children born to 
Hiram and Martha (Burnside) Tallmadge. Mr. and 
Mrs. Beverly are the parents of four children, as 
follows: Mary R.,the wife of D. F. Collins; Martha, 
now Mrs. "William Huskinson; William H.; and 
Sarah, who married Lee Wynne. 

In 1862, Mr. Beverly enlisted in Company B, 
Ninth Michigan Infancy, under C4en. Sherman, 
and was never off dut}' for even one day (except 
while a prisoner) from the time he entered the 
service until his honorable discharge at Detroit in 
1865. He was captured at Springhill,Tenn., in 1863, 
and was in Libby Prison for nineteen daj'S. He is a 
member of Chauncy Bassett Post, No. 56, Ct. A. R., 
of Allegan, and politically', is a Republican. He is 
at present Clerk of Pine Plains Township, as well 
as the popular Postmaster of Mill Grove, and 
served as .Tustice of the Peace for eight years, be- 
sides filling most of the township offices. Sociall^^, 
he is identified with Lodge No. 105, 1. 0. O. F., of 
Allesran. 



eHARLES MINER. Among the successful 
citizens of Allegan County, there is pro- 
bably no one more in touch with that wide- 
awake and generous public spirit which has mater- 
ially' promoted the best interests of this section of 
countr3r, than Charles Miner, of Watson Township. 
As a farmer, success has crowned his efforts, and 
3et material prosperity is not the greatest of his 
achievements, for he has sjained what is even 



better — the confidence of his fellow-citizens and 
the esteem of all with whom business or social in- 
tercourse has brought him in contact. 

The father of our subject, Chester A., was a 
cooper by trade and emigrated to Allegan County 
in 1836, taking up eighty acres of land and build- 
ing thereon a log cabin, 12x12 feet in dimensions. 
At that early day, white settlers were few, while 
Indians and wild animals were numerous. Those 
who enjoy the comforts of cultivation little real- 
ize the trials and hardships which fell to the lot of 
early settlers and which were borne with patience 
and even cheerfulness by those brave pioneers. 
Nor was Chester Miner exempt from the usual dis- 
comforts attending settlements in a new country, 
but as time passed, he cleared a farm, erected sub- 
stantial buildings, and, when he died at the age of 
sixty-five, had become well-to-do. 

In his political belief, Mr. Miner, Sr., was a 
strong Republican and served as Treasurer of the 
township, Justice of the Peace, Township Clerk, 
and in various other local offices. He married 
Miss Sarah Miller, a native of New York, who 
died at the age of fiftj^-eight years. Their family 
numbered eight children, three daughters and five 
sons, Charles being the second in order of birth. 
He was born in Brighton Township, Monroe 
County, N. Y., January 3, 1835, and w.as about one 
year old when his parents removed to Michigan. ' ' 
His schooling was obtained in a log cooper shop 
belonging to his father and he completed his edu- 
cation in the district school. 

When Mr. Miner started out in life for himself 
at the age of twenty-one, he had nothing hut forty 
acres of wild land (the gift of his grandfather), lo- 
cated on section 17, Watson Township. He cleared 
that place .iiid erected a house, and to the home he 
there established brought his wife, who was un- 
ited in marriage with him in February, 1856. Mrs. 
Miner was known in maidenhood as Lucy R. Ed- 
gerton and was a native of New York, where she 
was reared in Niagara Count}'. They are the par- 
ents of four children, namely: Frank, who died 
at the age of four years; James A., who is at home; 
Martin C, who is a farmer on section 17, Watson 
Township; and Fred C, who is at home. 

To the original fort}- acres, Mr. Miner added an- 



I'ORTRAJT AND BlOGKAl'lllCAL RECORD. 



other Inipt of Uk' saim? size and tliere made his 
home until IHDl, when lie located on his present 
faiin. He owns three hundred aercs of well-im- 
proved land in Watson Townshi)); four and one- 
half acres within the corporate limits of Allegan: 
and property in OtK^eiici, where he is erecting a 
large brick ■itore-huilding. ( )n his farm, he has a saw- 
mill, as well as a tine race track, where he trains 
horses which are brought to him from ditTerenl 
portions of the county, lie owns forty horses and 
has a splendid stable, capable ot accommodating 
fifty horses, and containing all the conveniences of 
a lirst-dass barn. His business engrosses his atten- 
tion to such an extent that he devotes little at- 
tention to politics except to cost his ballot for the 
Reiml)lican ticket. He served at onetime as High- 
way Commissioner, but with that exception has 
avoiiled public positions. 



?— — r-- 



JHOHN ST;MPS()N. Many of the most pros- 
perous citizens of Allegan County have em- 
i igrated hither from foreign lands, and 
' among them may be mentioned this gentle- 
man, who li.as a fine farm on section 4, Watson 
Township. He was born in County Antrim, Ire- 
land, in 182 1, and is a son of John and Deborah 
(Clark) Simpson, natives of the same country .as 
himself. His father, who w.as a farmer, died in iiis 
native place, at the .age of eighty years, ami the 
mother p.assed away at the same age. 

The subject of this biographical notice is the 
tiiird in a family f)f nine children, live sons and 
four daughtei-s, all of whom attained to mature 
years. He remained at home until he was twenty- 
seven years old, when, having resolved to seek a 
home in the United States, he crossed the Atlan- 
tic, in 1848, and for a time sojourned in Rochester, 
N. Y., where he wi)rkcd by the month. In 1H.")2, 
he came West to Michigan, settling in .Vllegan 
County, upon the farm which is still his home. Its 
one hundred ami sixty acres were then nniniproved 
and scarcely- a furrow ha<I been turned in the 
soil. 

Mr. Simpson first i-rected a log house, 1(5x21 
feet in dimensions, and, having established Lis fam- 



ily in that primilive home, cumnienced to clear 
and cultivate the land. It retpiired arduous exer- 
tions on his part to biing the pl.acc to its present 
high state of develo|)inent, and the prosperity 
which has crowned his efforts has not been gained 
by t'hance, liiit is the result of ceaseless labor. He 
was married in Brighton Township, Monroe 
County, N. V.. to Miss Ann (Jaley, a native of Ire- 
land, and their uiilnn was blessed by the birth of 
five children, namely: .lames, Mary .1., .Ifihn, Sam- 
uel and Moses. Mrs. .\nn Simps<jn died in 185.5. 
During the Civil War, Mr. Simpson enlisted in 
Company C, First Michigan Infantry, and served 
about ten months, receiving his discharge at .lack- 
son, this State. At the expiration of his term of 
service, he returned home and shortly afterward 
was married to Miss Agnes Askin, whose native 
home was in Ireland, and who h.os become the 
mother of five children, viz: Sarah, Anna, IJachel, 
Margaret, and one that died in infanc}'. In his 
political views, Mr. Simpson is a firm adherent of 
the principles of the Republican parly, and is also a 
member of the (Irand Army of the Republic. He 
is an active member of the Methodist Church, and 
a lilieral contributor to its support. 






B' 



■m 



IM^* 




ox. .lUllX W. GAin Kl.INK. This pro- 
gressive, intelligent ami thrifty agricultur- 
ist and old pioneer of Fillmore Township, 
Allegan County, is a resident on section S. 
He is a native of the Netherlands, having been 
born in the Province of flelderland, Decemlier ."i, 
18153. He is the son of (lerhardus and (irada 
(Aaderink) Garvcliuk, both natives of the Neth- 
erlands. Our subject was the third in order of 
birth of a family of four sons and two daughters. 
The father of our subject w.isa baker and miller 
bv trade, with which he combined the occupation 
of a fanner. In 1HI7. he came with his famil\ to 
Michigan, locating two hundred and twenty acres 
of land in Fillmore Township, Allegan County. 
Two years after coining to this country, he was 
called from life, in 1S4'.I, the mother having i>ro- 
ceiled him to the better huid in 1H4K. He was a 
man of good education and was fairly successful 



758 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



in all his undertakings. He and his family were 
members of the Holland Reformed Church, of 
which denomination he was a regular attendant 
and liberal contributor. When coming to Fillmore 
Township, Mr. Gaverlink was one of the earliest 
settlers, and our subject has thus been an eye-wit- 
ness to tlie marvelous development of this part of 
Michigan. 

Our subject had been fitted to better cope with 
the difficulties of life in anew and strange country 
by receiving a good education in Holland. At the 
age of sixteen he was left an orphan. Together 
with a brother two years his senior, he took cliargc 
of the famil}', working out by the month on a farm, 
in order to supply them with the necessities of life. 

When twenty-five years of age, Mr. Garvelink 
was married to Miss Everteen Schrotenboar, and to 
them eight children have been born, viz.: Gerhar- 
dus, Susan, .lolin, Grada, Johania, Hermenia, Her- 
man and Hendr}', all of whom are living at this 
writing. He of whom we write has always fol- 
lowed farming pursuits, and upon his brother Her- 
man and himself fell most of the work of clearing 
the tract of land taken up by their father. He re- 
ceived forty acres as his share of the estate upon 
the death of the father, and to this he has since 
added one hundred and eighty-five acres, making 
an aggregate of two hundred and twenty-five acres 
of land, one hundred and fifty of which are under 
a most excellent state of cultivation. He has added 
to the value of his place bj' erecting good buildings 
there, all of which present a neat and attractive 
appearance and stamp their owner as a man of 
thrift and enterprise. 

Herman Garvelink enlisted in the war for the 
Union in Compan}- I,Fifth Michigan Cavalry, and 
was killed near Richmond in 1864. In politics, 
our subject is a Republican, believing that party 
to be in the right. He did efficient service as the 
first Clerk of Fillmore Township when only twenty- 
one years of age, holding the office for two j"ears. 
He was further honored by having the office of 
Township Supervisor conferred upon him, and so 
well did he perform the duties connected with the 
position that he was made its incumbent for 
twenty years. His interest in educational matters 
is manifested by the fact tliat he has served as Di- 



rector for twenty-one years and over. At the 
l)resent time, he is School Inspector, having held 
the office for nianj' j-ears. He has also been .Justice 
of the Peace for about thirty years, holding the 
office at the present time. He represented the Sec- 
ond District of Allegan County in the Legislature 
during the years 1873-74 and 188.3-84, and also 
represented the counties of Van Uuren and Alle- 
gan in the Senate during 1891-92. He is a purely 
self-made man, as is seen by the fact that he never 
attended school in America, having received his 
training in Holland previous to attaining the 
age of fourteen. He began life at the bottom 
round of the ladder, and by his industrious 
and persevering energy, he has attained to the 
possession of a liandsome property. He and his 
family are" members in good standing of the Hol- 
land Christian Reformed Church at Graafsehap. 

The Hon. Mr. Garvelink is a stockholder in the 
First National Bank of Holland, in which insti- 
tution he is also one of the Directors. In church 
relations, he has been Deacon of his congregation, 
but at the present time is Elder. He is a man 
whose prosperity' is rejoiced in liy all who know 
him. 



--1^+^ 



OHN P. LINSLEY. On section 2.3, Hop- 
kins Township, Allegan County, is a beau- 
tiful estate, which is the property of our 
subject. His father, James Linsley, was a 
native of Branford, New Haven County, Conn., 
his birth occurring in 1771. He followed the 
calling of a carpenter and joiner and was quite 
l)roininent in local affairs. The maiden name of 
our subject's mother was Lucia Parkman. She 
was a native of Cherry Valley, N. Y., and three 
years the senior of her husband. After their 
marriage, tliey emigrated to Ohio, in 1836, and 
located in Parkman Township, Geauga County. 
The township was named in honor of the mater- 
nal uncle of our subject, who was the first settler 
there. To that same family belonged the Park- 
man who was killed by Dr. Webster in Boston. 
The family trace its history back twelve years 
before the time of Queen Mary, of England. 
The parents of our subject were residents of 



PORTILUT AND BluriKAVlUCAL RECORD. 



759 



Ohio for eight yeni-s, and there the father died in 
1815, tlie mother liaving preceded liim to the 
world beyond iu 1840. They reared a family of 
eleven children, only three of wliom are now liv- 
ing, .lames II. is a resident of I'arkman, Ohio, 
and Alex P. lives near Madison, Wis. Our sub- 
ject, wlio was the Noungest of the family, was born 
Kel>ruary 10,1811), in Oneida County, N. Y. and 
was seventeen years of age when liis parents moved 
to Ohio. lie received a good cilucalion in his na- 
tive county and soon after locating in the lUickeje 
iState started out to earn his own living, choosing 
the occupation of a farmer. 

December 18, 1810, our subject was married to 
Hiss Anna Eliza, daughter of Joel and Lydia 
(Tower) Huttou. The father was born August 22, 
1773, and the mother April 12, 1780. Their mar- 
ri.agc was celebrated March 9, 1796, and their emi- 
gration to Ohio occurred in 1819, when they 
settled in llirain. Portage County. They were 
among the pioneers of that county, where the 
father took up a farm which he im[)roved. Mr. 
Button died in 1826 and llie motlior passed away 
in September, 1858. They were the parents of a 
large family of fourteen children, only three of 
whom are living. 

Mrs. Linsley was born IMaich 11, 1819, in Por- 
tage County, Ohio, only ten days after tlie arrival 
of the family in tiieir new- lionie. She is well 
acquainted with the familj- of ^Irs. .lames A. Oar- 
lield, and has held tliat lady on licr lap when a 
little girl, .\ftor his marriage, our subject located 
upon a rented farm and later purcliascd a wild 
tract of land in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, which he 
imi)roved and resided u|)on for nine years. In 
1853, he came to Miciiigan :\n<\ located upon his 
l)resent farm of thirty .acres, which is under good 
cidtivation. He gives his attention exclusively to 
general farming and is making a success of his 
calling. 

Mr. and Mr>. Linsley have had born to them 
five children, only two of whom are living: 
Edgar .S., who w.as born in 1811, is a widower and 
hius four children; .lolin W., who w.as lx)rn iu 1.h|;5, 
served through the Civil War in the Fourth Michi- 
gan Cavalry. lie married Lydia Chamberlain and 
resides in this township. For a fuller sketch of 



.Tohn W., the reader is referred to his biogr.-vphy on 
another iwge in tills volume. The deceased chil- 
dren of our subject were Ellen ,T.. Emma E. and 
.James E. Mrs. Linsley is a member of the Christ- 
ian Church, and, in politics, her husband is a He- 
publican. He has been .Justice of the Peace for 
eight years. His son Edgar has been County 
Superintendent of Schools for eight years, and is 
a refined and intelligent gentleman. 

In the f.all of 1880, Mr. Linsley met with ((uite 
a serious accident while outdriving with his niece. 
They were crossing the track of the Lake Shore 
Railroad when the passenger train struck the 
buggy, threw them both out and killed their 
team ofhoi^ses. 



_y 




LONZO BUTTON is farming a tr.act of 
land on section 11, Hopkins Township, 
Allegan County. His parents were .Joel 
and Lydia (Tower) Button, natives of 
New York, the father born in 1775 and the mother 
in 1780. His paternal grandparents were ('apt. 
and Airs. Mathias liutton, the grandfather having 
received his title of Ca[)tain in the Revolutionary 
War. 

.loel Button was a farmer in New York State 
and at one time lived on Tliurman's Patent. His 
son, Mathias, .Ir.. w.as the first white child born in 
that locality. The parents removed to Chenango 
County, where they made their home until 1817, 
at which date they went to Ohio and located in 
Hiram Townslii|), Portage County. There .Joel 
Button cleared his farm and improved it, setting 
out two large orchar<ls. He died in .Tune, 1825, 
and his wife, who survived liiin until Se|)tember, 
1858, was again married, this time to .Ichial Maltbie, 
of New York. Our subject had thirteen brf)thei's 
and sisters, three of whom are living: Mrs. Eunice 
Dolph, of Danbury, Neb.; Mis. .1. P. Linsley resid- 
ing in Hopkins Township, and our subject. The 
elder Mr. Button was a member of the Congreg.a- 
tional Church, and, in politics, was a Whig. Alonzo 
Button was born .Viigiist 22, 1825, at Hiram, 
Portage County, Ohio, He had limited ad vantiiges 



760 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



for an education and at the age of eighteen started 
out to make his own way iu the world. He went 
to Cuyahoga County, and worl<ed on a farm for $8 
per month and a year later bought a tract of raw 
land at 17 per acre. He worked very hard and 
soon had placed his acreage under good cultiva- 
tion. 

February 26, 18.52, our subject and Sally Ann 
Prosser were married. JMrs. Button was the daugh- 
ter of Capt. Willet and Harriet M. (Whitford) 
Prosser, natives of New York, where the father 
was born in April, 1797, and the mother January 
5, 1804. They were married at Ravenna, Portage 
County, Ohio, March 13, 1827, whither Mr. Prosser 
had gone iu 1820. In 1832, he located upon a farm 
on the Kent Road in Portage County, and re- 
mained there until his death, December 7, 1881. 
His wife died January 20, 1854. They were the 
parents of six children, four of whom are now liv- 
ing: Mrs. Iluldah A. Bradley, Sirs. Eliza B. New- 
ton, Mrs. Lydia M. Shurtleff, and Mrs. Alonzo 
Button. Mr. Prosser cast his first Presidential vote 
for James Monroe and his last for Gen. Hancock. 

Mrs. Button was born June .5, 1832, at Ravenna, 
Ohio, and received a good education iu the com- 
mon schools. After her marriage with our subject, 
they located upon a farm in Cuyahoga County, 
Ohio, until 18.14, when they sold out their prop- 
erty and, coming to Michigan, located in Hopkins 
Township, Allegan County. A small log house 
had been erected on their land which comprised 
one hundred and sixty acres. Mr. and Mrs. Button 
have lived upon their present farm for thirty- 
eight years and have sixty acres out of the seventy 
which they own under cultivation. Their comforta- 
ble residence was erected in 1872. 

Our subject and his wife have four children: 
Charles W., who married Nettie E. Bigelow, has 
three children and resides in Hopkins Township; 
Emily E., Mrs. Alfred Emmons, lives in Dorr 
Township; Arthur P. remains at home, as does also 
Helen A. They have all been given good educa- 
tions, three of them having been school teachers. 
Mrs. Emmons taught thirty-two terms, while Helen 
has taught twenty terms. 

l\Ir. Button takes an active i)art in all township 
affairs and has served on the School Board of his 




district. He is a member of the Grange, Patrons 
of Industry and the Union League. He has also 
been Overseer of Highways. In politics, he is a 
Republican and a strong temperance man. His first 
vote was cast for Gen . Taylor. 



lECHER VANDERKOLK. This i.ruuii- 
nent member of the agricultural commun- 
ity is the possessor of a beautiful tract of 
land lying on section 5, Overiscl Townshii), Alle- 
gan County, where he is successfully prosecuting 
his calling, thus adding to the welfare of the com- 
munity. Holland was the place of his nativity- 
and his birth occurred December 6, 1819. 

The parents of our subject were Levi and Emma 
(Eyerburtun) Vauderkolk, also natives of Holland, 
where they were born, lived and died. His mother 
was an excellent lady and trained her large family 
of live sons and four daughters to lives of useful- 
ness and uprightness. The parents were farmers 
in their native land. The father died in 1858 and 
the mother in 1848. 

Our subject received a good schooling in his na- 
tive tongue and was also trained in the work upon 
the farm, thus paving the way for his later success 
as an agriculturist. He remained in Holland until 
1848, when he decided to try his fortune in the 
New World, and on coming to this country made 
Michigan his home. He worked in a sawmill in 
Grand Haven, and in 1856 came to Overisel Town- 
ship, Allegan County, where he located upon a 
tract of one hundred and twenty acres. The land 
was in its primitive condition when it came into 
his possession, but, with his characteristic energy 
and perseverance, he set to work to clear and im- 
prove it and at different times added thereto, until 
at the |)resent writing he is the proud possessor of 
almost three hundred acres of land, his tract in- 
cluding two hundred and ninety-four acres. The 
most of that vast extent is under excellent culti- 
vation and yields the proprietor a handsome in- 
come. 

Mr. Vanderkolk of this sketch was married in 
May, 1856, the lady of his clioice jjeing Miss Jen- 
nie Plasman. She died in Gnmd Haven, and our 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPtUCAL RECORD. 



761 



subject was again married. Miss llenrieUa Kollcn 
becoiuiiifi: liis wile. She was a native of Ilollaiid 
and has borne her husband tlie following chil- 
dren: Ileiuy .). and .lolin II., twins; Eijbert, Sena, 
Lena; Edward D., deceased; Einnia I)., William 
and George II. 

The gentleman of whom we give this short bio- 
graphical sketch has made his own way in the 
worUl and feels a just pride wlien viewing his 
broad acres, knowing that they are the result of his 
own industry and economy. He is one of the lead- 
ing agriculturists in the township, and we aregrat- 
ilied to be able to pl.ace in the hands of our read- 
ers a sketch of so worthy a gentleman, lie is 
widely known throughout the county .and is most 
highly esteemed personally. In ixilitics, he is an 
active and stanch Republican. Our subject, wife 
and family, all belong to the Reformed Church, Mr. 
\'anderkolk having been Deacon for fifteen 3'cars, 
and contributes liberall}- to its support. Morn- 
ing, noon and night, like the patriarchs of old, he 
gathers his houseliold about him and .acknowledges 
his allegiance to that allwise Trovidcucc that has 
ever been his guide and [)rotector. Although in 
the evening of life, his mind is clear as ever, and 
lie retrains the management of his large farm. He 
and his family are highly respected by all who 
know them. We arc glad to present our readers 
with this life experience, trusting that the young 
an<l rising generation may draw from this sketch 
such inspiration as will enable them to be as suc- 
cessful in life as he of whom we write. 

ON.Vril.VN ERKED, a resident of Waylaiid 
Township, Allegan Count.y, W!us born in 
' lieaver County, Pa., November 27, 1827, .and 
\i^' is a son of Abe and Susannah (Showator) 
l-rccd, who were natives of Pennsylvania, and of 
(Jerinan descent. His father was by occupation a 
farmer, and had also learned the trade of a car- 
penter. 

Mr. Freed w.as given a common-school education 
in his native .Stiite, where he was reared to man- 
hood, at the .age of twenty-live years removing to 
Michigan and locating in Allegan County, lie w.is 
married to Miss Anna Norton, of Trumbull County, 



Ohio. l?_v this union six children were born, of 
whom three are deceased: Mary, Lizzie, and George 
1>., the latter dying at the age of eight ycai-s. 
Those living are Nanc3', who is married and h.as 
one child; Linnie, Addie, and Myrtle. Mrs. Freed 
de|)arted this life five years ago. 

Upon coming to Michigan, Mr. Freed took up 
eighty .acres of land on which he h.as made all the 
improvements and has done much hard work, being 
a most industrious, energetic farmer. In politics, 
he is a Democrat, but never found time to become 
an ollice-secker. He is a member of the Methodist 
Church, and formerly belonged to the Patrons of 
Industry. He carries on mi.xed farming and stock- 
raising, and has been successful in his undertak- 
ings. 



^•{••5"5"5'|^^-5"{"!"5-t- 



\fi OHN W. SPRAU IS one of the enterprising 
residents of Burnip's Corners, Salem Town- 
ship, Allegan Ct)unty, where he carries on a 
thriving and profitable business in retailing 
groceries, boots and shoes. His parents, Henry and 
."\Iargarct E. (HolTiiian) Sprau, were natives of 
German}'. They emigrated to the United States 
many years ago and located in Seneca. Ohio, where 
our subject was born .Tune 30, 1811. 

The father of our subject was a tiller of the soil, 
and .luhn W. remained at home .assisting in its cul- 
tivation until reaching his seventeenth year. When 
starting out to do for himself at that early age, he 
learned the trade of a earriagemaker, in which he 
was (piite successful. He was twice married. Miss 
Alviua Rowe being his first wife, to whom he was 
united in I8fi:5. Their union was bles.sed by the birth 
of three children: Laura M., Ida A., and one who 
died in infancy. Mrs. Alvina Sprau died in 1874, 
and our subject w.as married to Susan, daughter of 
.lames Huriii)), in 187(). Mi-s. Sprau's father w.as a 
pioneer of .Salem Township. 

The latter marriage of our subject resulted in 
the birth of two children, Floy A. and Ilallie .J. 
He came to Allegan County in 1865, and worked 
at his trade until 1871, when he engaged in the 
furniture business for about two years in liiirnip's 
Corner.-*. At the end of that time, he purchiused an 
interest in the general store of Burnip's Corners, 



762 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



with F. Goodman, and they remained together 
until October, 18111. At that date, Mr. Spraii 
sold out his interest in the store and oi)ened up in 
the grocery business, carrying also a full line of 
l)ools and shoes. He is very gentlemanly and 
courteous in his treatment of customers and by his 
fair dealing has built up an excellent trade. 

In i)olitics, i\Ir. Sprau is a Republican. He is 
connected with Salem Lodge, No. 169, I. O. O. F., 
in which order he has been Past Noble Grand, and 
also Past Chief Patriarch in the Encampment. 




ARVEY A. SEARS, Postmaster of Hamil- 
ton and Supervisor of Heath Township, is 
well known in Allegan County, and is 

^ greatly resi)ected for those qualities of head 
and heart which have won him the esteem and 
confidence of all with whom he associates. He is 
popular in his official capacity, and is discharging 
the duties of his respective positions with charac- 
teristic fidelity, and greatly to the satisfaction of 
all concerned. 

A native of the Empire State, Mr. Sears was 
born in Port Byron, Cayuga County, April 26, 
1846. He is a son of Luke Sears, who w.as a na- 
tive of Nova Scotia, and was born on the 17th June, 
1815. The father was fourteen years of age when 
he came to New York, and engaged to work in a 
tlouring mill for a number of years. He was mar- 
ried to the mother of our subject in October, 1839. 
That lady was a native of New York State and 
bore the maiden name of Mary Tefft. She bore 
her husband two sons and two daughters, namely: 
Charles F., INIary .1., Harvey. A. and Sarah A. 

Luke Sears made Michigan his home in 1851, 
first locating on a farm in Kent County, which 
he still owns; he has always followed the oc- 
cupation of a farmer and has been fairly successful 
in his chosen calling. The mother of our subject 
passed from this life at Cortland, Mich, August 
'A2, 1891. The fatlior makes his home with his 
children. 

Our subject was a lad of five years when he was 
brought to the Wolverine State by his jxarents, and 
remained under the parental roof until reaching 
his majority, in the meantime finishing his educa- 
tion in the Otsego High School. When starting 
out for liimself, lie of whom write did not take 



kindly to farming pursuits, but decided to become 
a carpenter, which trade he has followed more or 
less since learning it. After being graduated in 
Otsego, however, he followed school teaching for 
al)out ten j'ears. 

Mr. Sears, May 5, 1869, was united in marriage 
to ]\fiss Jeanette AVill^-ard, the marriage cere- 
mony being performed in Fillmore. IMis. Sears is 
a daughter of Aaron and Sarah (Smith) Willyard, 
the father a native of Ohio and the mother of 
New York. Mr. Willyard comes of good old Ger- 
man stock and followed the combined occupations 
of jobber, lumberman and farmer. He made IMichi- 
gan his home in 1861, and resided in Allegan 
County until his decease, which occurred in ]March, 
1875. Mrs. Willyard is still living and makes her 
home in Hamilton. 

Five children have been granted to our subject 
and his wife, viz: Hallie K.; Carrol C, who is de- 
ceased; Don M., Verner G. and Hattie .J. Mr. 
Sears spent one year in Rockford, Kent County, 
buying and selling grain, but in 1873 came to 
Hamilton, which he has since made his home. He 
has been engaged as a teacher but at odd times 
follows his trade as a carpenter. He is the pos- 
sessor of eighty acres of excellent land in Heath 
Township, lying on section 7. 

Since Mr. Sears has resided here, he has been 
prominently identified with public and political 
life and is a sound and consistent Republican. He 
is a man of much energy, tact and business ca- 
pacity-, and his fellow-townsmen have not failed to 
recognize his superior merits and qualifications, 
and have called him to responsible positions. He 
has filled the office of School Inspector for a num- 
ber of years, and was elected Township Clerk in 
1880, serving for several years; indeed, he has been 
the incunilient of that position continuously since 
that time, with the exception of two years. He has 
also lieen Justice of the Peace, which office he now 
holds. He served his country bravely and well 
during the Civil War, enlisting in Company H, 
Twenty-first iMicliigan Infantry, in 1864, and re- 
maining until the close of hostilities. In addition 
to the numerous offices mentioned above, our sub- 
ject has been School Director and was ai)i)ointed 
to his present position as Postmaster during Har- 
rison's administration. He is considered one of 
the most suljstantial, as well as one of the most 
respected, residents of the county, 




R,w. Talbot 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



765 



"TT^j lAL W. TALHOT. Allegan is llie home of 
'|ii*f inaiiy eiitorprisiiii; men who arc ardiitocls 
^*mV and l)uil<h'r.s, prominent among whom for 
'^p several years was our su!)jcft, the late Mr. 
Talhot, whose portrait aecompanies this sketcli. 
He was a native of Ononda.ifa County, N. Y., w'liero 
liis l)irth occurred in 1831. His i)arents were Dr. 
Alvin and Paulina (Hill) Talbot, the father a na- 
tive of Pom]>ey Hill, and the mother of Guilford. 
Conn. 

The senior Mr. Talbot was a physician and sur- 
geon, which profession be followed through life. 
He was a graduate of Philadelphia Medical Col- 
lege, and held many positions of trust in his com- 
munity, being one of the successful and prominent 
|)hysicians of the E.ast. His parents, Samuel and 
Rebecca (Page) Talbot, were natives, respectively, 
of Massachusetts and Maine. Samuel Talbot was a 
farmer, and came to Ponipey, N. Y., where he prose- 
cuted his calling until his death; he was a man of 
wealth, and a member of the Baptist Church. 
His wife, the grandmother of our subject, was a 
member of the Christian Church. The father of 
Samuel Talbot w:is Peter Talbot, a native of Bos- 
ton, Mass., and Peter's father came from England. 

The parents of our subject had a family of 
twelve children, man^' of whom passed away from 
the busy scenes of earth. Rial W. was given a 
good education in the acadenn- at Pompey Hill, 
N. Y., after which he studied architecture in the 
above-named cit3' and Syracuse. After learning 
the carpenter's trade, he commenced taking con- 
tracts for building, carrying on a good business in 
Rochester, N. Y. 

Our subject came West in 1882, and engaged in 
farming near the village of Allegan. He also 
owned property in other portions of the county. 
In 1886, he commenced to work at his trade of 
architect and builder, in partnership with Alplionso 
F. Howe, whose sketch will be found on another 
page in this volume. They took most of the heavy 
contract work in this vicinity, and, at the time of 
the death of Mr. Talbot, were engaged in building 
the High School, which is the finest school build- 
ing in the county. 

In 186G, Mr. Talbot was united in marriage with 
Miss Minnie, daughter of Dr. .\dams. n native of 
35 



Kabius Township, Onondaga County, N. Y. They 
became the parents of four children: Maude, Ma- 
mie, F.annie and Rcxford. June 3, 1882, Mrs. Min- 
nie 'I'albot jiassed frfim earth. Some years after- 
ward, Mr. Talbot was again married, August 15, 
1888, his wife being Miss Sarah Harrison, of Alle- 
gan. In his political alliliatioiis, Mr. Talbot was 
a Hepublican, believing the principles of that party 
best adapted to tlie public progress. 

March 2, 18!I2, Mr. Talbot li.ad just returned 
from Iowa, whitiier he had gone to bury his sister 
Delia. On the evening of that day, while talking 
with his wife about the journey, he was suddenly 
stricken with apoplexy, and passed awa3' about ten 
minutes afterward, having been unconscious from 
the moment of the attack. The whole community 
was shocked to learn of his sudden decease, and 
many expressions of sympathy were uttered in be- 
half of his family, on wlK)m the teriible Ijereave- 
ment had so suddenly fallen. He li.ad a large cir- 
cle of acquaintances, and no citizen of Allegan was 
more beloved than he. His family mourn not as 
those without hope, but are looking forward to a 
happy reunion beyond. 



A\'II) 1. l-'KirZ is a gentleman of i>romi- 
nence and wealth, residing on a beauiful 
farm on section 20, Wakeshrna Townsiiiii. 
to whose energy, forethought, business 
acumen, and marked ability as a farmer, thfs por- 
tion of Kalama/oo County is greatly indel>te<l fvv 
the substantial aid he has afforded in developing 
its rich agricultural resources, and promoting its 
welfare generally. 

Mr. Fritz is of the sturdy pioneer stock that peo- 
pled the neighboring State of Ohio, and is himself 
a native of that Commonwealth, born in^Colum- 
biana County, September 5, 1835. His father was 
the late Daniel Fritz, who was born in York County, 
Pa., March 9, 1806, and was of German desceiil. 
He W.1S reared there on a farm. In his youth he 
began to learn the trade of a hatter, but he never 
completed his apprenticeship, as he liked farming 
better. He w.is married to Esther Xailor. who was 




766 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



also a native of York Countj, born in June, 1810, 
and reared tliere on a farm. Tliey spent tlie earlj- 
years of their married life amid the familiar scenes 
of their birth, and then migrated to the more newly 
settled State of Ohio, journe3ing over the inter- 
vening mountains with a team, and being among 
the first to settle in Columbiana County. They re- 
sided there six or seven j'ears, and partiall)' im- 
proved a farm. Their next move was into Trum- 
bull County in 183G, and there Mr. Fritz developed 
a farm of one hundred and fortj'-four acres. Eleven 
years later, he made still another move with his wife 
and children, and became a resident of Medina 
County, locating on a new farm of one hundred 
and thirty-four acres, which he improved finely, 
lie became very prosjjcrous, and though he began 
life in poverty, he accumulated a handsome prop- 
erty, consisting principally- of several farms in Me- 
dina County. In 1860, he came here and lived re- 
tired until his death at P\ilton, February 1, 1886, 
at a ripe old age, and all that is mortal of him was 
deposited in Center Cenieter\- by tiie side of his 
wife, who had died in 1877. 

Our subject was a member of the Reformed 
Church, and took a great interest in it. He and 
his wife were the parents of fourteen children, of 
whom they reared these ten to maturity: Rebecca 
(Mrs. Crotser), Samuel, David I., Frederick, John, 
Angeline (Mrs. Mathes), Alinira (Mrs. Lance), Cath- 
erine (Mrs. Mathes), Sarah (Mrs. Carr), Priscilla 
(Mrs. Lance). The maternal grandfather of our 
subject was a farmer, born and reared in York 
Countj', Pa. His father was a full-blooded English- 
man, native of England, who came to this country 
some time during the last century, and settled in 
Pennsylvania. 

Our subject was drilled in the rudiments of learn- 
ing in the t3'pical pioneer log schoolhouse. At the 
age of eighteen, he began to acquire a knowledge 
of the trade of a carpenter, but after he had worked 
at it a year, he was obliged to abandon it on ac- 
count of ill-health. At the age of twenty years, 
he commenced life for himself, and soon took a 
wife. He worked out by the month the first year, 
and then rented the home farm four years. At the 
end of that time, he bought seventy-one acres of 
laud in Medina County, Westfield Township. In 



the spring of 1865, he sold that place in order to 
settle in Kalamazoo County. He drove through 
from Ohio, arriving here April 14, while his fam- 
ily came by rail. He bought his present farm in 
Wakeshraa Township, a log house and a log barn 
constituting the chief improvements when it came 
into his possession. Indeed this part of the countj' 
was very little developed, and was mostly covered 
with the primeval forests, in which there were 
plenty of deer and wild tin-key, and the present 
thriving town of Fulton could boast then of but 
one house, which was constructed of logs. 

In the busy and eventful years that •'ollowed his 
settlement here, Mr. Fritz cleared and reclaimed 
nearly the whole of his land, which comprised one 
hundred and eighty-six acres, of which he recently 
gave his son forty acres. He has his farm fitted 
up with all the modern improvements and con- 
veniences for carrying on agriculture, and he has 
a fine set of buildings, including a commodious 
frame residence of a tasteful style of architecture, 
builtiu 1870, and a large frame barn. The latter was 
erected in 1866, rebuilt and made a basement barn 
in 1881. Mr. Fritz has devoted himself to mixed 
farming, and has raised a good deal of stock, espe- 
ciallj' many sheep. He has met with more than 
ordinary success, accumulating a handsome prop- 
erty, and is one of the solid moneyed men of Kala- 
mazoo County. Throughout his career, he lias dis- 
played due caution and care in managing his 
affairs, and at the same time has been bold and re- 
solute in financial matters, his good sense, accurate 
judgment and cool calculation rarely leading him 
astray in any of his transactions. 

Our subject is well endowed mentally, is liberal 
minded, is of a frank, generous, open nature, and 
holds a warm place in the hearts of the entire com- 
munit}', his fellow-citizens valuing his friendship, 
and always finding in him a wise and safe coun- 
selor. They not only have confidence in his in- 
tegrity, but in his native ability, and they have 
often called him to important ottices, which he has 
filled to the satisfaction of all, regardless of party. 
Three times he has been a member of the Kalama- 
zoo County Board of Supervisors, representing 
Wakcshma Township in the years 1877, 1880 and 
1881. Twice he has been Township Treasurer, hold- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



767 



iiigtli.it re.si)onsil>lo position several years, tlie'first 
time from 186H to 1M77, and the next time in the 
years IMH7 and IHH8. For the past two years, he has 
been a member of the Board of E(iualization,and for 
nine years he has been loeal School Director. His 
social relations are with the Masonic order at Ful- 
ton, with which he has been connected since 18(58. 
He w.as a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and 
was M.aster of the Orange here until it ceased to 
exist. 

Mr. Fritz was reared under the tenets of the 
Democratic party, but ever since he li.as had the 
privilege '>t exercising the right of suflfr.age, he has 
stood faithfully by the Republican party. He h.is 
a war record as a member of the Ohio National 
Guards. He was invistered into the ranks Maj' 14, 
1864, w.as despatched with his regiment to Wash- 
ington, and he and his comrades relieved older 
troops by doing guard duty at Arlington Heights. 
He was honorably discharged September 7, 1864, 
having been of good service and shown excellent 
soldiership. Mr. Fritz and his wife identified 
themselves with tiic religious interests of the com- 
munity immediately after llie3" came here, connect- 
ing themselves with the Methodist Church, and 
they arc to-day among its most influential mem- 
bers. He is Steward of this district now, and has 
been Class-leader and Treasurer. He has given 
generously of his means in the upbuilding of the 
church, and in extending its usefulness. 

Mr. Fritz w.as married August 5, 1856, to Miss 
Mary Stine. She was born in Richland County, 
Ohio, November 17, 1838, a daughter of Samuel 
and Catherine (Seaman) .Stine. Her parents were 
natives of Berks County. I'a., the father born April 
19, 1811, and the mother .lune 6, 181-2. He was 
a farmer by oocui)alion. and went to Ohio in 1836, 
going with a team over the mountains, to develop 
a farm in the primeval woods of that SUite. He 
improved a good-sized tract of land, but afterward 
sold it, and. removing to Medina County, came 
into possession of a farm in that State. Later, Mr. 
Stine took np his residence in Sandusky County, 
whence he came to Michigan in 1867. He settled 
in W'akeshma Township on a farm of eight}' acres 
that he bought, and here he died March 23, 1890. 
His wife is still living in Kent Countv. this State. 



She has been a member of the Ev.angelieal Church 
the greater part of her life, as was also her hus- 
band. In politics, he was a Republican. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Fritz have had eight children, of 
whom six grew to maturity, namely: Kllen, wife 
of John Goldsmith, a farmer in Brady Township; 
Catherine, who died at the age of twenty-eight 
years; Charlotte, wife of I'sual Everett, a farmer 
of Wakeshma Township; Franklin, a farmer in the 
same townshit), who married Miss .lennie Crum; 
Sherman, a farmer in Wakeshma Township, who 
niiuried Miss Annie (Joldsmilh; Eli, who is m.an- 
aging the home farm, was married, December 27, 
1891, to Maud Woodruff, of Eeonidas Township. 
St. .losepli County. 



4^ 



^> 



GEORGE II. REMINGTON, the popular 
Postmaster of liangor, is one of the most 
^^5) active and prominent business men of that 
place, where he bears the leputation of a go-ahead, 
enterprising man, and also has an enviable record 
.as a brave soldier during the late war. Mr. Rem- 
ington is a native of Dutchess County, N. Y., 
where he was born in 1848, but w.as reared to man- 
hood in Wayne County, the same Slate. From 
this county he enlisted in 1862, in Company B, 
One Hundred and Eleventh New York Infantry, 
serving throughout the entire war and enduring 
the hardships and suffering of many a hard-fought 
battle. His command w.as in the Army of the 
Potomac under Col. McDougall, and fought at 
Harper's Ferry, where they were taken prisonei-s, 
through the mismanagement of Gen. Miles. They 
were afterward paroled and sent to Camp Doug- 
las, at Chicago, where they remained ten months, 
and where they were exchanged in time to take |>art 
in the battle of the Wilderness. Succeeding this, our 
subject was in all the engagements in which his 
regiment participated. 

Mr. IJeiniiiglou wjts married, in 1861, to .Miss 
Marian Bixby, and resided in New York until 
1 873, at which time he came to liangor. and was 
iniployed by the Bangor Furnace Company, tak- 
ing charge of the buj-ing of wood, etc., for the 
concern, and remainiiiir with them for fifteen sue- 



768 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



eessive years. He then went into business for him- 
self, but at the expiration of one year returned to 
the furnace company, working for them one 3'ear 
longer. He then ilevotcrl his attention again to 
his store until the election of President Harrison, 
when he was appointed Postmaster of Bangor, and 
has since held that jiosition. He and his wife are 
the itarentsof two children, Bert and Minnie. The 
son is a book-keeper in Chicago. Mr. Remington's 
parents, William M. and Ann .Jeanette (Hood) Rem- 
ington, were natives of New York, the Remington 
family being of English descent. In politics, Mr. 
Remington is a Republican, and takes an active 
part in political affairs and in ever^-thing in which 
tiie welfare of his town and county- is concerned. 
Socially, he is a meinlier of the Masonic fraternit}', 
a member of the Blue Lodge and Chapter at Ban- 
gor; Council Lawrence; Peninsular Conimandery, 
No. 8, of Kalamazoo, and the Shrine, of Grand 
Rapids. 



"^ OHN W. FREE, Cashier of the Savings Bank 
of Paw Paw, is numbered among the most 
prominent men of Southwestern Michigan, 
and his life furnishes an instance of the 
fact that industry and enterprise, combined with 
the exercise of sound business judgment, find in 
this section of country a fitting arena for their de- 
velopment, and bring compensation in prospent}-, 
if not wealth. Although a native of this State, he 
is of P^nglish parentage, his father, .John, having 
been born in England, April 19, 1815. His mother, 
Ann (AVhaley) Free, was born August 16, 1825, in 
New York. 

AVhen he was about twenty-one, .John Free, Sr., 
emigrated from his native land to America, and 
some j^ears later was married to ]Miss Ann ^Vlialey, 
the wedding ceremony being solemnized in Kala- 
mazoo. For further reference to this worthy 
couple, who are passing their declining years in 
Paw Paw, the reader is referred to the biogi-aphieal 
sketch of .John Free, which appears elsewhere in 
this volume. 

.lohu W. Free was born in Kalamazoo, December 



16, 1843, and when three years old was brought 
by his parents to Paw Paw, where he grew to a 
vigorous manhood. He attended school until he 
was fourteen, when he commenced to clerk in a 
general store for .J. R. Foote, with whom he re- 
mained for two j"ears. Later he clerked aliout 
twelve years for the firm of A. Sherman & Co., 
and during that period established a home of 
his own. He was married, October 18, 1864, to 
Miss Arlette S., daughter of Abram M. and Sarah 
(Gilman) Lane, of Antwerji Township, Van Buren 
County. 

Mr. and Mrs. Free are the parents of one child, 
A. Lynn, who was born in Paw Paw, April 9, 
1868, and was graduated in the High School when 
eighteen years old. He then entered the Agricult- 
ural College at Lansing, where he continued for a 
time, and then entered the Michigan University 
in the literary- course, and later entered the law 
department, graduating in .Tunc, 1891. Afterward 
he took a post-graduate course of one year and the 
degree of A. M. was conferred upon him. He is a 
young man of rare promise, to whose future his 
parents ,ind friends look with the expectation of 
liigh honors and influential positions. 

In 1872, Mr. Free commenced business for liim- 
self as a hardware merchant, which he carried on 
first in partnership with E. Martin. He bought 
out his partner's interest in 1883 and continued 
alone for two years, when he sold the business and 
bought the i^laning and sawmill in which he still 
owns a one-h.alf interest. His first connection 
with the savings bank was in Ma_v, 1886, when the 
bank was organized. He then accepted the posi- 
tion of Cashier and he still retains that responsible 
position, besides being a stockholder in that institu- 
tion. 

In liis political affiliations, Mr. Free was origin- 
ally a Democrat, but is now identified with the 
Prohibition party. He has served as Supervisor 
of the township for about three yeare, also as Re- 
corder, President of the vill.age and member of the 
Board of Trustees of the village. He has been a 
candidate for Representative on the Prohibition 
ticket a number of times, and has always made a 
strong canvass, although with no expectation of 
))eing elected. In 1876, he became a member of 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGR^iPHICAL RECORD. 



769 



the Prcsbyt.eriiin Cluii-di, of wliii-Ii lio is ixiw Kldur. 
lie lius been closely idonliliod willi Siinibiy-scliool 
work, having been Superlnteiidfiil siiieo 1M77, ;iiid 
I'li'sidenlof the ("oiinly Suiiday-sehooi Association 
since IH.si. His estimable wife also finds a leli- 
{^ious home in the I'li'sbylerian Clinrch, of which 
she is a faithfid member and active worker. 



— <J- 



r-RANC'lS GAY is a prominent farmer and 
stock-raiser, and resides in Richland Vil- 




lage, Kalamazoo Connty. lie is a native 
of Somersetshire, England, his birth occurring 
.June 10, 1812. His parents, Isaac and Hester 
(Currell) Gay, were also natives of I'jigland, and 
when our subject was six years of age emigrated 
io America, locating in Onondaga County, N. Y. 
They were four weeks en route to the New World, 
having embarked at Liverpool in a sailing vessel. 
AfU'r remaining about five years in the l-'-mpire 
.State, the elder .Mr. Gay came West to Kalania/.oo 
Couiit\-, and, locating in Richland 'rownship, there 
S()enl his last days, his death occurring March 
r,>, 1.S72. Mrs. Ga^' .survived her husband .several 
yeai-s, pa.ssing away September 2, 1886. 

Our subject had two brothers and a sister, .lames. 
William and Khoda (.Mrs. Selway). Francis aided 
his father in clearing the farm from the wilderness 
and has done his fidl share of pioneer work. His 
education was received in the schools of that period, 
and has later been supplemented by a thorough 
co\irs(r of reading. He is to-day thoroughlj' in- 
formed u[)on all the current events, and is an in- 
teresting convei'salionalist. 

December 2;?, 1877, was the date our sulijeet was 
married to Miss Fiances M. Young, who was born 
in \'aii iiuren County, this State, May 18, 1858. 
Mrs. (iay was the daughter of .lohn and Sarah 
(Clark) Young, natives of England. The father 
emigrated to the New World about 18.50, the 
mother joining liim in this country sf)me years 
later. Mr. and Mi's. Young settled in the w^)ods in 
^■an Huieii County and reared a large family of 
t*n children, only one of whom is deceased. Emma 
is the wife of .John l>:iverty; Louisa is Mrs. Hoberl 



Grcnough; SIr.s. Gay was the third in order of 
biith; Su.san married Mark .Shepherd; Cai-rie is the 
wife of William Myers; Lillie is Mrs. Willi;im 
IMaxon; George, Minnie and William. 

Jlr. and !Mrs. Gay have had boin to them live 
iliihlren. who are named respectively': Isaac, Ettie, 
•Jessie M., Herbert L. and Wayne E. The estate of 
our subject inchules one hundreil and llfty .icres, 
which liear all the impi'iivements in the way of 
buildings and machinery which are to be found 
iil)on lirst-class estates. He is self-made in the cor- 
rect use of that term, as his possessions are the di- 
rect result of his industry and good management. 
In polities, he is a I'roliibitionist and is .active and 
progressive in all benelicial measures. 



'Jl OIIN WILSON, farmer and stock-raiser on 
section 8, Paw I'aw Township, served his 
adopted country with true patiiolisin dur- 
ing the late war, making a very creditable 
record as a valiant and cai)able soldier. He is of 
English birth and breeding, born in Cambridgeshire, 
October 6, 1812. one of a family of ten children of 
Francis and Rebecca (Senkons) \\'ilson. His father 
was a laboring man. Four of the family came to 
this country. William came when our subject did, 
and is now a prosperous farmer in Huron Connty, 
where ho has a |ileasant home with a wife and two 
children; Francis, a successful farmer of Tuscola 
County, is married and h.as four children; Eliza- 
beth married William Nichols, and lives in Huron 
County. Four of the family are still living in 
Camltridgeshire, p^ngland: Jami's and three sisters, 
Rebecca, Margaret and Martha. Rebecca is the 
wife of George Kinightel. 

Our subject was a hard-working lioy, whose 
chances for an education were exceedingly limited, 
as he had to l>egin the battle of life early. Hi- thus 
became sturdy and .self-reliant, and was a manl\', 
active lad, when he sought the United States for a 
broader field for his energies, hoi>ing to be better 
paid for his labors than in his native land. He lo- 
cated in Wood County, Ohio, and was residing 
then- when he made up his mind to enter the army 
to WiiUi for the (Jovernment, under who.se institu- 



770 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tioiis he had come to make a home. He enlisted 
in the Eigiity-sixth Ohio Infantry in 186.3, and 
had a full and bitter experience of a soldier's life, 
hut showed through it all true valor and an un- 
daunted front in the face of tlie foe, and every ill 
that befell him. While taking part in the pursuit 
of Morgan, the bold rebel raider, he was hit on the 
cheek with a bullet from an enemy's rifle. When 
he was on jiicket duty near Cumberland Gap, he 
was taken prisoner in the night, but he managed to 
effect his escape after being held six daj's. At one 
time he had au attack of typhoid fever, compli- 
cated with asthma, and was sick ten weeks. After 
thirteen months' hard service, he was honorably 
discharged in 1861, and is now in receipt of a pen- 
sion of $12 a mouth as a recognition of what he 
did and suffered on Southern battlefields. 

Mr. AVilson returned to Ohio after he retired 
from the army, and in the spring of 1866 came to 
Michigan. He located first in Van Buren County, 
but subsequently removed to Tuscola Countj', 
where he bougiit a quarter-section of land, upon 
which he lived and labored for nine years with all 
the zeal of a pioneer. He had cleared off sixty acres, 
had erected suitable buildings, and was very com- 
fortably situated, when the great forest fires that 
devastated that region nearl.y caused his ruin, and 
during a wliole week of peril and suffering, he 
had to fight the flames to save his property, aided 
by his brave wife. His fences were burned, his 
house caught fire three times, and his barn twice, 
and it was only by the uttermost exertions that 
they were saved from destruction, while forty acres 
of the timber on his place was burned. When the 
fire broke out near them, Mrs. Wilson took the four 
children, and, with the flames shooting above their 
heads on both sides of the road, ran with them for 
shelter to a neighbor's, and then returned to as- 
sist her husband. 

Three daj'S after the fire, Mr. Wilson gladly dis- 
posed of his property in Tuscola Count}', and re 
turned to Van Buren County. He bought eighty 
acres of land, and lived upon it a few years, but 
soon after the death of his wife, in the spring of 
1886, he sold that place and purchased his present 
farm in Paw Paw Township. This comprises eighty 
acres of fine farming land, with an abundant sup- 



ply of pure well and spring water, a good barn and 
outbuildings, and a beautiful location for a house. 
Mr. Wilson was married in this county, .January 
12, 1871, to Miss Charlotte Moden, in whom he 
had a devoted wife. She died March 9, 1886, 
leaving four children, of whom the following is 
the record: George E., v.-as born October 8, 1873; 
Anna Rebecca, February 7, 1875; .Tames Frederic, 
June 2'J, 1877; and .John, .June li), 1879. Francis 
Edwin, the eldest child, died when five months; 
Mary L. died when ten months old. The birthplace 
of all was in Tuscola County. Our subject was 
married to his present amiable wife, formerly Miss 
Ellen Hymes, March 9, 1888. She was born in Porter 
Township, August 31, 1863, and is descended from 
some of the original pioneer stock of Van Buren 
County. .She is a daughter of Alonzo and Melissa 
(Stillwell) Ilymes, natives, resjjectively, of New 
York and Porter Township, this county. Mr. Wil- 
son is as stanch in his allegiance to the Republican 
party as in the d.ays when he helped to make its 
policy triumphant on the battlefields of the South. 
His worth as a solid, reliable citizen has also been 
proven since those trying da^^s, by his work as a 
practical farmer. He is a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and does all that he can to 
further the interests of the Post with which he is 
connected. 



INIORY S. BRIGGS, member of the firm 

Y^ of Briggs & Co., of Paw Paw, was born in 

Arlington Township, Van Buren County, 



this State, .January 30, 1864, and is the son of 
Emory (). and Susan (Stanley) Briggs, natives of 
New York. His father, who was a prominent 
farmer, was also the owner of extensive milling 
property and engaged in the real-estate business. 
About 1866, he removed to Paw Paw, where he 
accepted the [losition of Cashier of the First Nat- 
ion.al Bank and attained prominence among his 
fellow-citizens as a man of the utmost probity and 
great enterprise. 

The life of Emor}- O. liriggs affords another 
illustration of the power of energy and integrity 
to overcome poverty' and adverse circumstances. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



'1 



Wlieii lie and liis brother moved from New York 
to Michigan, they were ahnost penniless, their 
only possession heing a horse which they owned 
in partnership. By the exercise of shrewd judg- 
ment, he liecame well-to-do and at his (U'atli, 
Fehruary II, \HH.'>, left a conii)ctency to his fani- 
il}'. In political circles, he was well known !us 
an adherent to the i)rincii)les of the Democratic 
party, which he served in various ollicial positions. 
For ninny years he was Supervisor, and wa.s also 
Tre:isurer and Register of Deeds for two terms. 

Our subject was the youngest in a family of six 
children. His sister Ilattie married Charles Ilog-^ 
mire and lives in Kdwardshurg, this State, where 
he is engaged as a manufacturer of fanning mills. 
.Alattie was twice married and by her first union 
became the mother of one son, K. (). Na.sh. She is 
now the wife of Charles Heatlcy, a traveling sales- 
man of .lacksonville. 111. George A. was a grad- 
uate of the I'aw I'aw High School and completed 
the course in the literary department of the TTni- 
versity of Michigan in liS7(!. For one year lie 
was Superintendent of the I'aw I'aw High School, 
after which he visited Kurope an<l look a literary 
and scientilic course at Leipsic. After traveling 
extensively over the Continent, he returned to 
Paw Paw, and accepted the position of Superin- 
tendent of the city schools. On account of ill 
health, he resigned his position and entered the 
mercantile business in Marcellus. He afterward 
sold out and returned to Paw Paw. wluic lie died 
December 13, 1881. 

The best advantages of the schools <if Paw Paw 
were offered onrsubject, who completed the coui-se 
of study here as far as the senior year, when he 
entered the Agricultural College at Lansing. One 
year later, his school studies were ended by the 
death of his brother, George A., after which hi; 
returned home and took charge of the iiiill. in 
which he owns one half interest. He was married 
Jlay 2, 1888, to Miss Maliel, daughter of F.manuel 
and Lurilla (Field) Neff. 

Mrs. Ihiggs was born in Buffalo, N. Y., April 17, 
18(55. and at the time of hermarri.age w.as residing 
in Paw Paw. One child has been granted to Mr. 
IJrigg* and his estimable wife — Carrie, who wsus 
born .liily-'il, 188'.). In his political atlilialions. he 



r^ 



is a strong Democrat and is now a member of the 
Ho:ird of Trustees of Paw P.-iw. A m:in of force 
of cliar.acter and strength of mind, he is inllucntial 
in the business circles of this section of country, 
and his opinion h.as consi<lerable weight in the 
community. 



"^f OIIN KINF;. This prominent member of the 
farming community is at present residing 
on his excellent farm located on sec- 
2// tion 21, Schoolcraft Township, Kalamazoo 
Ctiunty. He was Itorn in what w.os then Un- 
ion County, Pa., but which was afterward di- 
vided and is now Snyder County, October .31, 
1830. He spent the first twenty years of his life 
in his native county and then came West to Ohio, 
spending the succeeding five years in Sandusky 
and Seneca Counties, where he was employed at 
his trade of a carpenter. 

On leaving the Ikickeye Stale, .lolin Hine went 
to Elkhart County, Ind., where lie was engaged in 
farming for about ten years. Selling out at the 
end of that time, he came to .Joseph Coiiiity. this 
State, where he purchased a tract of land in I'ark 
Township. He made his home there for eight 
years and then came to his present abiding-place, 
where he owns a tract of one hundred and forty 
.acres, which is under good tillage. 

.John I\inc was married in Snyder County, Pa., 
Feb. 23, 1854, to Matilda Arbogast, who was a 
native of that county. They h.ave Ijccoine the 
parents of six children, of whom the eldest died 
in infancy. Sarah is the wife of Allen Weltliy; 
George died, .aged twenty-four yeai-s; Catherine is 
the wife of .Terome F^astman ; Klizabeth died when 
in her second year and Margaret is Mrs. Firman 
Cliapin. 

The original of this sketch ha.-< held many of the 
minor otiices of his township and in politics votes 
the Republican ticket. Mr.s. Rine died in School- 
craft Township, February 12, 1885. With her hus- 
band, she wa.s a devoted and conscientious member 
of the Lutheran Church. Our subject is the pos- 
sessor of one hundred .acres of land in .\llegan 
County, and one hundred and eighty-four acres 



772 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in St. Josei)h County. He has been very success- 
ful in life and is ran kcfl among the wealthy citizens 
of Kalamazoo County. 

The father of our subject, George Rine, was 
born in the Keystone State, where he followed the 
occupation of a farmer and passed his last days in 
Snyder County. The maiden name of his mother 
was Elizabeth Walter, who was also born in Penn- 
sylvania and was the daughter of the Rev. Conrad 
"Walter, a Lutheran clergyman. The parental family 
consisted of four sons and seven daughters, of whom 
.John was the second in order of birth. Mrs. John 
Rine's father, -Tolin Arbogast and her mother, Sarah 
(Reimstone) Arbogast, lived and died in Snyder 
County, Pa. Mr. Rine, who is one of the repre- 
sentative citizens of his community, is also classed 
among its liberal and respected citizens and we 
are pleased to be able to place his sketch in the 
hands of our readers. 



-^^ 



E^ 




ANNIBAL- M. MARSHALL, a dealer in 
^ general merchandise at Lawrence, Van- 
Buren County, was born at Antwerp, .Jeff- 
erson County, N. Y., on February 22, 1835. 
He is a son of Nelson and Elvira (Gibbs) Mar- 
shall, both natives of New York. The father was 
of Scotcli, and the mother of German, ancestry. 
The year our subject was born, they moved to Oak- 
land County, Mich., and lived there three years 
when they bought land that had been entered by 
our subject's maternal grandfather. Dexter Gibbs, 
in Lawrence Township. Our subject's brother, 
Jerome B., still owns a jiart of tlie original one 
hundred aad sixty acres. 

Hannibal is the oldest in a family of four child- 
ren, all still living, the others being Jerome B., 
Isabelle, Walbridge and Adelaide. Our subject 
received a good education at Lawrence, walking to 
and from school a distance of two miles. He com- 
menced teaching before he was twenty. He was 
so successful with his school two winters that he 
was offered the same place again. Being some- 
what of a natural musician, he used to play the 
violin at parties, at which he earned over 1500. 
He went into the sawmill business after teaching. 



and followed that for two years and, in 1859, be- 
gan to clerk for Dr. Rowe. After clerking about 
six months, on December 31, 1859, the store was 
burned and soon after our subject bought out the 
Doctor and began the business for himself, paying 
$500 and giving a mortgage for Sl,300. In this 
business he has been very prosperous and in 1874 
erected a large brick store of three stories, known 
as the Marshall Building. In 1875, he built his 
present fine residence, which is of the most modern 
architecture. 

October 11, 1860, is the date on which Mr. Mar- 
shall took as his wife Dorleski L. Goodenough, a 
daughter of David and Laura (Tr^'on) Goodenough. 
She was born in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., Octo- 
ber 25, 1834. By this union two sons have been 
born: Charles C, who is married and clerks for his 
father, and Clarence H., who resides in Denver, 
Col. Mr. Marshall is a Republican in politics and 
cast his first vote for John C. Fremont and has 
served on the Board of Trustees and been 
Clerk and Treasurer of Lawrence. He was elected 
County Clerk in 1876, and served one term, when 
he found he could not afford to leave his business. 
He has also been delegate to County and State 
Conventions and took part in the convention 
which nominated Gen. Alger for Governor. The 
Masonic order matriculated him in 1874 and he is 
a member of the Chapter and Council. 

— h — M — ^— 



^fl/ RVIN OLIN, a prominent and representa- 
(@7l||| tive citizen of Kalamazoo County, is a 
resident on section 36, of Richland Town- 
ship. He is a native of Livingston County, 
N. Y., born March 25, 1842, and a son of Heman 
and Perces (Tuttle) Olin, who were born in Ver- 
mont and New York respectively. The Olin fam- 
ily is of Welsh descent and the great-grandfather 
is thought to have been a Revolutionary soldier; 
the grandfather Tuttle was a soldier in the War 
of 1812, 

He of whom we write this brief life record was 
reared in his native State and when quite J'oung 
became engaged in tilling the soil, receiving his 
limited schooling in New York State. In 1860, 




^/O^T^/tZ""^^-^^^^ -^^ -^5, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



775 



with liis parents, lie oinigraled to this county :ind 
State and for :i short time resided in Ross Town- 
ship after wliich ho came to Richland Townsliip 
wiiere he piirciiascd his present land. His father 
and mother lioth (lassed their last days here and 
were the [)arents of seven children, of whom the 
following survive: Cordelia, the widow of Will- 
iam Doan; Jonathan, Iliram. and JIary, wife of 
Isaac Carson. 

The marriage of liie gentleman of whom we 
wiite look place Decemher 19, 1857, at tlie home of 
the bride's sister in Portage County, Ohio. Mrs. 
Oliii liore the maiden name of Elizabeth Thompson 
and was born October 3, 1812. She is a daughter 
of John and Elizabeth Thompson, born in Scotland. 
They came to Ohio in 1826, and both died in that 
Stale. To Mr. and Mrs. Olin have been born two 
children: Helen and flertrude, to whom they have 
given good educational advantages. Our subject 
is a Republican in his political affairs and has been 
honored by his fellow-citizens by the gift of the 
ollice of Township Treasurer. He and his estima- 
ble wife move in the best circles in the com- 
nuinity and are liked by everyone. ]Mr. Olin is a 
member of the Knights Templar of the Peninsular 
Commandcry No. 8. at Kalamazoo. 

The line farm on which this gentleman resides 
is composed of one hundred and sixty-five acres 
which he has under the very best cultivation and 
on which mixed farming is successfully conducted. 






ON. l-'OSTKK PR.VTT, M. 1)., President 
of the Uoiud of Trustees of the Jlichigan 
Asylum for the Insane, occupies a leading 
position among the medical fraternity of 
the State. For many years, his home has been in 
Kalamazoo :ind during the [leriod of his residence 
here, he has served the city as Mayor and in other 
official ca[)acitics of honor. The present effective 
system of sewerage is largely due to his efforts 
while serving a.s Commissioner of Sewers for three 
years, and is not the lea.st of his services in behalf 
of his fellow-townsmen. 

An al)lc contributor to medical journals :ind 




local papers, the Doctor has exerted a wide influ- 
ence through his forcible depth of thought and 
pleasing style of expression. In 1882, he wrote a 
very elaborate and exhaustive review of that por- 
tion of the tenth census relating to criminals, pau- 
pers, insane, idiots, the blind, deaf and dumb. In 
the paper he advocated the idea of which he was 
the pioneer — viz: the restriction of the indiscrim- 
inate emigration to the Ignited States of objection- 
able persons, or those having a tendency to debase 
society and produce criminals. 

Two years after the landing of the Pilgrim 
Fathers, three brothei-s came to America, two of 
whom settled in New England and the third in 
Baltimore, Md., and they became the founders of 
the Pratt family in this country. They were of 
English and Welsh extraction. Rev. Bartholomew 
I'. Pratt, father of our subject, was the eighth gen- 
eration in descent from the original representatives 
in the United States and w.os a minister in the Pres- 
byterian Church until his death at the age of eighty- 
one years. Susan (McNair) Pratt, mother of our 
subject, was a native of Livingston County, N. Y., 
and the daughter of Judge Hugh McNair, a sur- 
veyor and civil engineer. About the year 1818, 
he w.as made Clerk of Ontario County, at a time 
when it included a large extent of territory, and 
he also surveyed many of the lands in Central and 
AVestern New York. Mrs. Susan Pratt died in 
Steuben County, N. Y., near the old Indian town 
of Painted Post, while her husband p.as.sed away in 
Kalamazoo at the residence of our suiiject. 

The Doctor, whoso portrait and biography we 
herewith present, is the only survivor among three 
children, his two sisters being deceased. He was 
born in Mt. Morris, Livingston County, N. Y., Jan- 
uary ;», 1823, and spent his boyhood days there 
and in Wayne, Yates and Steuben Counties. 
After coiniilcting the course of .study in Franklin 
Academy, at Prattsburg, he entered the College 
Institute on the west shore of Seneca Lake, Yates 
Comity. He then became Principal of Angelica 
Academy and held the position until he was com- 
l)ellcd to leave on account of sickness. 

In the spring of 1811, our subject went to Vir- 
ginia to tiike charge of a private school in Hamp- 
shire County and, while there, studied medicine 



776 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



with Dr. A. J. Sangsler. He afterward spent two 
years in the medical department of the University 
of Pennsylvania, from wliich he graduated in the 
spring of 1849. He then returned to Virginia and 
in the following fall was married to Miss Mary L. 
Gamble, of Moorefield, Hardy County, W. Va. Mrs. 
Pratt is the danghter of James Gamble, who for 
thirty years was Clerk of Hardy County. 

The Doctor continued to practice in tlie old 
Dominion until 1856, when he removed to Kala- 
mazoo and has since been in charge of an exten- 
sive and lucrative practice. Two years after loca- 
ting here, he was elected to the State Legislature on 
tlic Democratic ticket, in whicii he served with dis- 
tinguished ability. At the opening of the late 
war, he was appointed Surgeon of the Thirteenth 
Michigan Infantry, with which he remained nearly 
four years, his regiment being assigned to duty in 
tlie Southwest and participating in the battle of 
Pittsburg Landing, in 1862, also the engagements 
of Stone River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Look- 
out Mountain, Missionary Ridge and the march to 
the sea with Gen. Sherman. He was [)resent at 
the surrender of Gen. .Toseijh .Johnson, after which 
lie participated in the Gr.and Review at Washing- 
ton. 

Dr. Pratt was Chairman of the State Central 
Committee for four years; was district delegate 
to the National Democratic Convention at New 
York, in 1868; at Baltimore in 1872; and dele- 
gate-at- large at Cincinnati in 1880. P^or two 
years he was Secretary of the Grand Lodge, F. & 
A. M.; President of the State Medical Society two 
years; member of the American Medical Associa- 
tion for twenty years; and President of the local 
Medical Society. Since 1887, he has been a mem- 
ber of the pension examining board, of Kalamazoo. 
In 1871, he was elected Mayor of the City of Kal- 
amazoo, where he was effective in introducing 
many needed reforms in municipial legislation. 
He became a member of the Hoard of Trustees of 
the Insane Asylum in 1882, and is now its Pres- 
ident. 

As a member of the Democratic party, Dr. Pratt 
has taken an active interest in politics, where his 
choice diction as a writer and rare eloquence as a 
speaker have been made effective. While Secre- 



tary of the Grand Lodge of Masons, he was the 
author of the present code of Masonic laws for 
the Michigan jurisdiction, a task requiring a 
thorough knowledge of the fraternity, as well as a 
perfect familiarity with its characteristic jurispru- 
dence. 



\I|' UTIIER HUBBARD, who resides on a fine 
I (^ farm on section 25, Antwerp Townshij), 
/l'--'Y, Van Buren County, came to tiiis State 
with his father in 1840, and has witnessed the won- 
derful growth and jirogress of this section of the 
country from an almost unbroken wilderness to a 
State second to none in the Union in its fertility 
of soil and enterprise of its people. Mr. Hul)bard 
is a native of Erie County, Ohio, where he was 
born August 18, 18.31. His father, Roswell llul)- 
bard, who was a native of Connecticut and a ship- 
builder by trade, was married in that State to 
Emily Bell. He removed from his native State to 
Ohio in 1815, where he resided until 1840, at 
that time coming to Michigan and buying a large 
tract of land, which he farmed quite extensively 
for a number of years. He then sold his place and, 
going to Indiana, located near South Bend, where 
he bought land and farmed for several years. 
Once more he came to Michigan, removing after- 
ward to Iowa, where he lived until his death in 
1866. His wife died in 1852. This couple were 
the parents of eight children, five sons and three 
daughters, of whom five are now living: Horace J.; 
Roswell,. Ir.; Eliza, George W. and Luther. Those 
deceased were: Polly A., William and -Julia A. 

Our subject was brought up to the life of a 
farmer and was married in 1852 to Miss Minerva 
Bell, who died in 1854. One son, William, was 
born to them, who is now deceased. ]\Ir. llul)bard 
was afterward married, in 1856, to Miss Amelia 
Murraj', and of this union six children were born, 
four of whom are living: Charles G., Orin W., 
I^leanor N. and John. Minnie B. and Cora are de- 
ceased. Mrs. Hubbard died in 1873 and our sub- 
ject was married to his present wife, April 4, 1875. 
She was Mrs. Margaret J. Hosner, the widow of 
Philander Hosner, and the mother of two children. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



777 



Patrick and Ivoswt'll. Mr. Ilosner was a farmer 
liy ocL'upation and died in 187.'5. Mrs. Hubbard 
is a daiii;lilor of .Jane and Hannaii (Hcnisey) Grif- 
lin, natives of Ireland. When she was (juile 
youny, lier parents went, in 1841, from Ireland to 
Australia. 'I'lie lirst vessel tliey sailed on was the 
'•Sir Robert Peel;" from Australia to Van Dicman's 
Land tlicy sailed on the "J>aura l^rii^rgs" and from 
there back to Australia on the "Ulue IJorder." 
The father died on the vessel "Great liritain" 
and was buried at Williamstown, Australia, in 
1854. The family came from Liverpool to Phil- 
adelphia on the "Westniorcland."' The mother 
died in 18()4. Mrs. Hubbard was born in New 
Bedford. Ireland, October 1, 1841. Mr. Hubbard 
has a line farm, well improved, and is an industrious 
man. 



'OIIN M. VANAUKEN. To the energetic 
labors, business acumen, thrift and foresight 
of .John M. ^'anAuken and his fellow-pio- 
neers, ^'an lUiren County- is greatly indebted 
for its high state of development and substantial 
l)rosperity. Our subject's name is intimately asso- 
ciated with the rise and progress of Bangor Town- 
ship as one of its early settlers and most successful 
farmers and stock-raisers, whose farm, literallj' 
hewed out of the forests, is jt linely improved and 
valuable estate and beautiful home. 

The town of Knox, .\ll)any Comity, N. Y., is 
the birthplace of our subject, and there he was 
liorn March .'!, ISlC. into ihc household of Aaron 
and Helena (Sperl)eck) \'an Auken, one in a fam- 
ily of nine children. His parents were both na- 
tives of New York, his father descended from an old 
I)utc-h family, and his mother f>f fierman descent. 
When their son .luhn was young, the3- removed to 
Montgomery C'ounty in the same State, and sub- 
sc(iuenlly settled in Waviio County, when he was 
twelve years old. There .as the years rolled by, his 
char.acter was molded aixl strengthened for the 
work he was to perform in the future as a ))ractical, 
wide-awake [lioneer, in helping to transform a va.st 
wilderness in a newly settled country into a well- 
improved farming region, and in the si)ring of 



1833 he left the [jarental home, a courageous, manly 
30utli of seventeen, to try his fortunes elsewhere. 
He continued to live and labor in his native State 
until the siiring of 1846, frugally saving his earn 
ings, and he then came to Michigan, as he wisely 
foresaw that he could make his money and labor 
count for more on this rich virgin soil, when once 
he had cleared a farm, than he could in New York. 
He immediatel}- invested in a tract of one hun- 
dred and lifty acres of timber on section 33, Ban- 
gor Township, and from that time to this h.as been 
numbered among our best citizens in Van Buren 
County. With characteristic energy, he set aliout 
felling the forest growth, i)lacing the ground under 
cultivation after the methods best adajjted to its 
condition, and erecting a line class of buildings, 
and his farm now stands among the best within a 
radius of many miles. It is advantageously lo- 
cated a short distance from McDonald, and is in 
all respects an attractive place. Jlr. Van Auken 
has devoted it to general farming, and besides cul- 
tivating grain and other produce, has raised much 
choice stock, having a high reputation for his tine 
and well-ke|)t cattle. 

Jlr. Van Auken was married, in 1840 to Jli.ss 
Phebe A. Dawley, a native of the town of Lyons, 
Wa3ne Count\', N. Y., her parents also being na- 
tives of the luniiire State. Nine children were 
born to our subject l)y this marriage, live of whom 
grew to maturity: .John L., a resident of Bangor; 
M. Jane, wife of Anson Goss; Caroline, now de- 
ceased; Phebe, wife of Stei)hen Stowe. The 
mother of these children died in November, 1856, 
leaving behind her a record of true devotion as wife, 
moiher, and friend. In 18()0, Mr. Van Auken was 
a second time married, taking as his wife Mrs. I). 
J. Northrop, nee Kingston, a native of .lelferson 
County, N. Y. She was a most estimable woman, 
and her death, .Vpril 22, 1H69, left a sad vacancy 
in her husband's household. Mrs. Van Auken's 
youngest daughter, Mrs. Stowe, now presides over 
his home, and looks carefully after his comfort. 

Our subject has a well-poised intellect, a keen 
vision in regard to buiness and other matters, an<l 
a resolute will, and his many friends and acipiaint- 
aiiees have alwa^'S found him to be a man of 
honor and unswerving rectitude in all the relations 



778 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RPX'ORD. 



that he has held toward others. lie is liberal in 
his religion, and has a broad outlook on life, In 
polities, he has always been loyal to the Repub- 
lican party (^vei' since it sprjuiif into existence. 




E()R(;i<; W. SiMI'I'll. In tlic twilight ul an 
.. J-—, honored life, this venerable^ pioiu'cu' of Ross 
^IlJ^J Townsiiip is liviiij^' in tranquil comfort 
on his pleasant honicslcad. Not only is he (piite 
well known tiiroiii;lioul Kalamazoo County but he 
is esU^enied wherever known and the recoid of his 
useful life merits the conlidiMicc of iiis feliow-inen. 
His farm on section I 1 coniprises eif>^hty-scven 
acres,and althouirli li<^ is not at pi'csent actively en- 
gaged in its cultivation, li(^ still retains its manage- 
ment. 

The pannits of our subjcict, Russell and Betsy 
(Wis(^man) Smith, wer(! natives of Vermont .and 
were of Scotch and English descent, respectively. 
Tiic f!ith(MS(nv(!d during tlii^ War of 1812 and w:is 
a farmer by occupation. (JtMirgeW. was born in 
the Green Mountain Sta,t<', April 21. IHIH, and, 
wlu^n ipiiU! small, ."iccompanied his parents to 
Niagara Country, N. Y., where he icsidcul about 
fourteen years. Then, in company with his par- 
ents, ho removed to Cattaraugus County, the same 
State, where he aided in the suppoilof his father's 
family. Heing the eldest son and the f;il,licr hav- 
ing poor health, he early becam(! not only self-sup- 
porting but was the main de|)endence of the fam- 
ily. 

Jn October, IhCi'.t, Mr. Smith was united in mar- 
riage to I laniuih VVIiiting, who w.as boni m Alle- 
gany County, N. V.. February 12, 1820. Her 
parents, .lames and I'Isthcr (llutcliings) Whiting, 
are supposed to have been u:itives of New luigland, 
and her father was a solilicr in llic War of 1812. 
Mr. and Mi's. Smith became the |)arcnts of seven 
cliildien, si,\ of whom snivive, as folhjws: Schuy- 
ler; IClleanor, vvif(! of Abram ('raven; Alvira, who 
m.'uiied Leman Smith; I'oiler, Ozro; Viola, now 
Mrs. Willis (^tiiick. One son, Tyler, is dec(!;ised. 

SoMir Ibiic (Ini-ing tlu! '.OOs, Mr. Siiiilli with bis 
f.'iniily ai'rivcd in Kalamazoo ('ouut\- and settled 



on the place wliere he has since resided continu- 
ously. It Was in the midst of the woods .and its 
only improvements consisted of a, log (•al)iu which 
still stands, a landm.ark of that early i i vlli/.ation. 
Later Air. Smith built tlu; .attijiclive and coniino- 
dious residence which now .adorns his place. In 
all his labors he has r(^ceiv(^d the ch(H'rfnl and ac- 
tive aid of his noble wife, and it was ;ui event of 
unusual im|)ortance when, October 7, 188i), this 
worthy couple celebrated their golden wedding. 

Always a Rei)ublican, Mr. Smith is proud of the 
fact that he cast his lirst vote for (!eu. Iliurison 
and his last foi- the grandson of that f.amous hero, 
lie has served as Highway Commissioner, and 
Treasurer of Ro.ss (irange. No. 21, contributing in 
those positions to the progress of the community 
which he h.as seen transformed from .an unculti- 
vated waste to an attractive and highly impioved 
section, the home of rclincd people, the site ()f 
thriving villages .and the abo(le of happy families. 

■"•^ AVID CURRY, who is engaged in gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising on section 
;il, Decatur Township, \'an liuren County, 
was born in Pennsylvania, Dc^cember Id, 
1807, ,ind is of I risli descent. When he was a boy, 
his p.'ucni-s removed to Ohio, and, in 18;]0,(\ame to 
Michig.an, locating in Voliiiia, Township, Cass 
County, where David made his honu^ for about 
two years. In April, 1 832, he married l<;iizabeth 
(iard, daughter of .losephus and Sarah (iard, who 
were natives of New Jersey. Her father was a 
l)ioneer farmer of Cass County. In the family 
were eight children, Klizal)etli being the seventh 
in order of birth. 

After his niaiiiagc, David C'urry camc! to De- 
catur Tovvnslii|i, Vail Uiiren County, .and purt'ha.sed 
eighty acres of land, .also entert^d one huiidicd and 
sixty !u:res from the (iovernnient on section .'il. In 
S(4)teniber, 1832, he removed to his farm, cleared 
away the timber, and built a log cabin, 18x20 feet, 
without windows, doors or lloor. lie hauled lum- 
ber from Wliitmansville, twelve miles distant, and 
li:i(l tliconh' "s.'iwed" Moor in tlic t.owiiship. There 
was only one house between Ins hiuise and Paw Paw, 




VOiriKAir AM) lUOC.IJArilKAI- KK.COKI). 



779 



Miul Mil' (iiily sclllcrs in lliis locjility :\\ tliMl liiiic 
wcif Duliihiii !iii(] Smiiuu'I Morris, (Jcuiiic 'rilllc, 
.liiliii l'",ck(MilnT<j('r, Lounnid Audorsdii .•uid II. D. 

Swift. iMr. Ciiiiy 1 liis fiiiiiily ox|H'i'i('iici'il 

llu' iisiiiil li:ii(lslii|i,s anil |iii vjilions of jjionccr lift', 
hill siici'codt'i] in (Icvcinpin"; :i ijooil Iriini. iiixm 
wliii'li 111' niiiilc his lioinc until his death. In an 
OJiily ih\\, lu' si'ivi'd as Coinniissionor of llii;h\v!iys, 
!ind WHS a proiuincut and wi'll-known citizen of 
this conununity. lie died Mareli 20, IHI(!,and was 
liiiiied in the eeinetery of \'oliuia. His wife passed 
.Mway .Inne 20, \H7H, and was laid hy the side of 
lier hiisliand. 

I'nto tiiis wortiiy couple were horn nine chil- 
dren, seven of whom reached yeai's of inalnrity. 
Jonathan, who was horn on the old honiest-eiid, 
May H, IH.TJi, has there spent almost his entire life. 
When twenty-one years of af>e, he took a drove of 
cattle to Iowa, and traveled over lli:it State 
and Illinois, where, for a jieriod, he I'lifiaiicd in 
farniini;. lie has held the ollice of Highway Coni- 
mi.ssioner for seven years, lias lieeii ollici.ally (con- 
nected with the .schools for aliout twenty years, 
and is an inlluential citi/.eii. In ])olities, he is a 
Democrat, and is a memher of the ralrou.s of In- 
dustry. Joseph (J. was horn Oetoher G, 1H:M, on 
the old homeste.ad, and has there spent his entire 
life. Like his hrollicr, he is a Democrat, and has 
served as Constahle of his township. Juliet, horn 
April I, IH:i(;, died AufTust 1 I, IHKO; David (^, 
horn Septcinher 2r>, 1H.'{',», like his liiollu'is, has 
known no other home than the old farm, lie, too, 
is a supporter of the Democracy, and has scived 
as Overseer of Ili};hways and School Diieclor. 
Durint; the late war, he enlisted, Auifiist (!, IHr)2, 
as a meinher of (N)m|)!uiy t', Konrtli Michi},'an Cav- 
alry, and i)artieipatcd in the Itatllcs of Miirfrecs- 
horo, Franklin, Slielhyville, Nashville, Chieka- 
mau;,'!!, and the siejje of Atlantii. Altofjether, he 
w:is in ninet3'-six battles and skirmishes, lie par- 
ticipated in the capture of Jeff Davis, and luis a 
pair of sad<llc liai;s, taken from (ien. Ucaj^an, who 
lii'liinncd to the ( 'aliinet of Davis. In .Inly, I8(i5, 
he was niustercd out after throe years of service. 
The next memher of the Ciirry family, I'^lizahelh, 
wa.s horn March 27, 1811, and is still living on 
the ohi lioniestend; Marv .lane, horn l'"el>riiarv 20, 



IHl;i, is the wife of .lacoh lliyh, a resident farmer 
of Cass Counl-y; Nancy, horn March 20, l.sli.died 
Di'cemlicr 20, IHKi; .lohn I'.i ( luUlicld, who was 
horn on the old lionicslc:id, Nu\ciiilier <!, IHKl, 
died .lanu.'iry 2. I S(i,'). 

The CiiriN hrotlieis .•iie niiiiilicn'il aiiioii!.; the 
leadini: !ij,friciilturists of this community. 'I'liey 
own and operate two hundred and sixty acres of 
arahle land, which is now under a hifjh state of 
cnllivjition, and well improved, and .also h.avo one 
hundred aiul sixty acres elsewhere in this eounly, 
h'inji' near .'11111 partially within the corporation 
limits of Marseilles. On it is a half-mile track. 
'riie Curry farm is widely know 11 for the line stock 
there raised, incliidiny .'i hiiih nr.'idc of horses, 
Short-horn cattle and I'olaiid-Cliiiia lioy;s, while 
David also raises do<{s, haviiifi; some of the llnest 
Shepherd collies in the State. The Ciiny lainily 
well deserves representation in this volume, for, 
since a ver\' early day, its niemheis have heeii eon- 
neclicd with the IiisIdi-v of \ .'in Ihircn ('oiinI\-. 



4^ 



\]l^^OK. STKl'IIKN !•". ItlJOWN. In present- 
i] inj; the hiofi:iapliical notice of oikc of the 
leading men of Kalam.'i/.oo County, and a 
jjcntleman who is tlioronfi;lily representiiti ve 
of ihs progressive element, we deiMii it our duty to 
lirst lirielly advert to the life story of those from 
whom lie draws his origin. The paKMits of our 
suliject, .lohn and Nancy (Mel'lierson) liiowii, were 
nativesof lioudoiin County, \'a., where they were 
rear(!d, married and continued to ri'side until tlieit 
removal to Michigan ill IHISO. On locating in this 
then Territory, the elder Mr. Ilrowii with his fam- 
ily settled in Scluiolcraft Township, Kalama/.oo 
County, where they lieeame respected and promi- 
nent citizens. They m.'ide that place their home 
until their death. 

The p.'irental family of onr suhjeet niimhercd 
scviii (hildreii, of w lioiii lie was the oldest hut one. 
Ili> hit 111 occurred Decemher I! I, lisi'.i.in Loudoun 
County, \'a., ami he was thus a lad of eleven years 
when his parenhs came West to this Stjite. lie grew 
to iii.'inhood ill this township, where ho received 
tliorouji;li ti.'iiniii'j in all the duties perlMining to 



780 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



an agriculturist, wliicli ueciipation he has followed 
all his life. His estate hears all the modern im- 
provements in the waj' of machinery and build- 
ings and Mr. I'rown is ranked among the progress- 
ive and wealthy citizens of the county. 

The original of this sketch was united in mar- 
riage in Oshtemo Township, Kalamazoo County, 
July 4, 1841, the ladj' of his choice being Miss 
Maria L. Patrick. The father of Mrs. Brown, 
James Patrick, died in Oneida Count}', N. Y., 
when she was in her fourteenth year. Her mother, 
who bore the maiden name of Harriet Colgrove, 
also passed from this life in the above-named 
county when Mrs. Brown was an infant of two 
years. Her parents reared a family of five chil- 
dren, of whom she was the youngest, her birth oc- 
curring December 15, 1824. 

To our subject and his estimable wife have been 
granted a family of four children, viz: Franklin 
M., J^dgar D., Florence and Clarence. Franklin 
M. was a soldier during the late Civil War, enlist- 
ing in Company L, Fifth Michigan Cavalry; he 
died at Schoolcraft January 11, 1876. P^dgar D. 
is following the practice of law at Nelson, Neb.; he 
also enlisted in defense of his country .and joined 
Company C, Sixth Michigan Infantry and after 
serving a short time was discharged on accoiint of 
physical disnliility. He re-enlisted, however, in 
Company L, Fifth Michigan Cavalry, and was dis- 
charged later on account of a wound which he re- 
ceived at Fairfax Courthouse, Ya., while on picket 
duty. Florence is the wife of Heniy Rockwell, and 
Clarence is a resident of Schoolcraft. 

In 18.56, Mr. Brown was elected to the Legisla- 
ture on the Repulilican ticket and so well and 
faithfully did he perform the duties of that posi- 
tion that he was re-elected, in 18.58. In 1860, he 
was chosen and elected State Senator, which 
oflice he again filled in 1864 and in 1884. It is 
thus very obvious that the Hon. Mr. Brown must 
have alwa^'s fully availed himself of all the priv- 
ileges of instruction to which he found access, and a 
distinguishing characteristic of his is the possession 
of quickness of mind and talent. 

The Hon. Stephen F. Brown was the first Master 
of the State (Irange of Michigan, of which body he 
was Treasurer for a period of ten years. He takes 



a very active part in .ill political measures and 
is a strong Rei)nblican, believing that party to 
be In the right. In early years, he was a Whig of 
the Henry CLay stamp. During campaigns he very 
often takes the "stump" but never becomes excited 
and acts only after mature deliberation. 

He of whom we write is the possessor of a fine 
estate of two hundred and twelve acres, on which 
he has placed all the modern improvements in the 
way of farm machinery and buildings. His prop- 
erty makes one of the most beautiful spots in the 
county, and by a proper rotation of crops is made 
to yield a handsome increase. ISIr. Brown is Pres- 
ident of the Pioneer Society of Kalamazoo Count}' 
and is regarded as one of the most prominent men 
of the county. In the summer of 1885, he was 
presented with a gold-headed cane by the Senate 
as a token of the appreciation of his service and 
the high esteem in which he was held. He w.as a 
colleague of Jay Hubbard and many other promi- 
nent and well-known men. It is with pleasure 
that we present the sketch of this honored gentle- 
man whose name will be held in reverence long 
after he shall have been gathered to his fathers. 




ENRY BI SHOP. Now in the twilight of his 
honored and useful life, Mr. Bishop is liv- 
ing retired in his pleasant home at Kalama- 
zoo. None deserves better than he the title of 
"self-made," for he commenced the battle of life 
under the most adverse circumstances, and, from a 
position of poverty, rose to a comfortable compe- 
tency only after the most arduous struggles on 
his part. Successful as a fln.ancier, he is no less 
fortunate in having gained the confidence and 
esteem of his fellow-citizens, who recognize his 
force of character, sturdy integrity and mental ca- 
pabilities. 

Dorsetshire, England, was the early home of Mr. 
Bishop, and there he was born, November 23, 
1813. His father, Joseph Bishop, followed the oc- 
cupation of miller and farmer, and our subject 
found constant employment in his early years, both 
in the mill and on the farm. His mother, whose 



PORTRMT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



7S1 



iniiidon iiaiiu' wjis ]\Iaiia Lane, dit'd a1 tlic affc of 
tliiitv-livi', leaving a family <if eighl c-liililri'ii.aiid. 
alioiit the same time, liis father's affairs became so 
c'ntaiii;l('(l liial lie was called upon to assist in sup- 
porting the family, at a time when other hoys of 
his age were going to school an<1 enjo^'ing the 
usual hoyish sports. 

lietwcen the years of eight and twelve, Mr. 
Hishop was mainly eniploye<l in the mill, and 
from that time till he was seventeen, he aided in 
farm work. The custom of the country was to 
purcliase all the wheat on certain days at the mar 
ket towns, wheie the millers and farmers congre- 
gatecl, and where all grain was hought from sam- 
ples, the price beiiiggoverned by the weight of the 
measured bushel. The tlonr was sold by the mil- 
ler himself or by his agent, who wont to all the vil- 
lages and cities in his neighborhood, sold to ba- 
kers, and m.-ide collections therefor. 

In that way, Mr. Bishop found his principal oc- 
cupation during the last three years of his life in 
I'Jigland, but on account of the Wars of Napoleon, 
liusiness was everywhere depressed, and he under- 
went all the trials generall.v known only to those 
of mature years. Finally, affairs assumed such an 
asiicct that it w.as necessary- for Mr. ISishop, Sr., ei- 
ther to become hopclessl}' bankrupt in lMigl;ind, oi- 
try his fortune in a new country with the remnant 
left him after s.atisfying his creditors. He conclu- 
ded to try the latter, and our subject well remem- 
bers how. when he was .assisting the [)lowman to 
turn over a furrow on the edge of a deep gully, 
he broached the subject of going to America, and 
in(|uired if he would like to go. The reply was, 
"I would go anywhere, could we better our con- 
dition by so doing." 

But little more w.a.s said, and in three weeks 
from that time, in March, 1!^.'!0, our subject was 
on lioard ship, riding at anchor in Bristol Chan- 
nel. an<l experiencing all the sulTerings incident to 
sca-siek humanit}'. T<jward the close of the voy- 
.age, he recovered somewhat, although it w.as not 
until he was on the Krie Canal that he could ap- 
preciate l>arry Cornwall's song of the sea: "If the 
wincl< ^houhl blow, what mjitter? what matter? I 
can ride anil >leep." On arriving at Buffal<», he 
lirst saw the Indians, also the steamboats "Supe- 



rior" and "Henry Clay," which were objects of 
admiiation to the citizens, who Hocked to the 
wharf in large numbers to witness their arrival 
and de|)arture. 

Mr. Bishop, Sr., |)urchased a farm near Buffalo, and 
shortly afterwards our subject was on his w.ay back 
to Knglaud alone, in order to bring the rest of the 
family to the new home. During the pleasant 
voyage of seven weeks, he acted as cabin boy, and 
reached the Mother Country at a very small ex- 
pense. As soon as the family were ready, the re- 
turn tri|i was made with six children j'ounger than 
our subject, besides a little boy .sent in their com- 
pany to Buffalo, and a cousin. On the passage, the 
steward of the ship met with an .accident which 
eri|ipled him, and he therefore called ujiou our 
subject to assist him. After a very rough voyage 
of seven weeks and four days, by North Uiver and 
the Erie Canal, the little party reached their desti- 
nation. 

During his first winter in .\merica, our subject 
was employed to haul cordwood to liulTalo, and 
the following year removed with his father some 
eight miles farther cast, to a farm belter improved. 
However, Mr. Bishop, .Sr., failed to succeed in this 
conntr}', and he therefore sold his pf)sse.<sions and 
returned to his old home, hoping U> recover some- 
thing from the wreck of his fortune there. The 
children then became scattered, depending upon 
strangei-s for a home. Henry went into a grocery 
and i)rovision store in Buffalo, and clerked for the 
firm of N. Willard A- Company until he came to 
Kalamazoo County, Michigan, in the spring of 
183.5. 

Mr. Bishop worked for the same firm two years 
in New Buffalo, selling goods :uid looking after 
their interests as i)art proprietors of the town. In 
the winter of 18;3H-;3;i, he returned to BufTalo, N. Y., 
an<l, during the following spring, CAme West on 
business for a former partner. The business .ac- 
comiilished, he eng.aged to clerk for the firm of F. 
i\s A. Beals, of Schoolcraft, and in August, 1839, 
in comi>any with D. B. Kimberly, bought out the 
business, which he conducted fifti'en years success- 
fully. He came to Kalamazoo in 1862. Here he 
engaged in settling estates, and, for a few veal's, in 
selling dry-iroods with his son, under the firm name 



782 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of II. liisliop it Son. In June, 1847, he married IVIrs. 
Sarah M. Ilinnian, nee Balch, by which union they 
had four children, three of whom died in infancj'; 
the surviving- child is Henry L. Bishop, who de- 
votes his attention to farming. Mrs. Bishop died 
July 8,1891. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop both attended the 
Unitarian Church. Politically, in the earlj- daj-s, 
Mr. Bishop was first a Whig, and he assisted in the 
organization of the Republican party in Micliigan, 
and, during the war, was a staunch Union man. 
He was elected Town Clerk in New Buffalo, also in 
Schoolcraft, and served the county of Kalamazoo 
three years as Superintendent of the Poor, and 
four years as one of the Trustees of the village of 
Kalamazoo. Mr. Bishop is recognized as an hon- 
est, upright citizen, and has the respect and confi- 
dence of his fellow-citizens. 



d****,^ 



"***'5-'^®"**-5^F 



^♦♦"{••5't 




GRACE H. PIERCE. Pierce is a familiar 
name in the annals of Kalamazoo County, 
and has been from the earl}' daj's of its 
^^ settlement, when Isaac Pierce first came on 
the scene and became a conspicuous figure in its 
industrial and public life, to the present time, in 
which the son of that honored pioneer represents 
the family, and is prominent as a farmer of large 
ability and much wealth, who controls extensive 
farjning interests in Climax and Charleston Town- 
ships, m.iking his home on section 4 of the former 
township. 

The subject of this life record was born in Niag- 
ara Count}', N. Y., March 3, 1831, a son of Isaac 
Pierce, who was bom amid the beautiful hills of 
Berkshire County, Mass., July 28, 1803. His 
father's name was Longworth Pierce, and he 
was a native of Rhode Island, where some of his 
English ancestors had settled in Colonial times. 
At some period of his life, he resided in Berkshire 
Count}-, Mass., whence he went to Livingston 
County, N. Y.. in 1811. He hewed out a farm 
from the primeval forests of that region, and, sell- 
ing it in 1830, removed to Niagara County, in 
the same State, and there his life was brought to a 
close at a ripe old age. 

Isaac Pierce was well trained in farming on iiis 



father's farm, and in early m.anliood he became 
possessed of a partly developed farm in Niagara 
County. In 1835, he sold that place in order to 
cast in his lot witli the pioneers of the Territory 
of Michigan. He first visited Kalamazoo County, 
to select a suitable location, and bought a quarter 
of a section of land, on apart of which the village 
of Climax now stands. Returning to New York 
for his family, he came back here the following 
spring, accompanied by his wife and children, and 
made the journey with a wagon and team through 
Canada as the most available route, several weeks 
being consumed before they arrived at their desti- 
nation. The land tiiat he had bought was but 
very little improved, but there was a log house on 
it and into that Mr. Pierce and his family moved. 
He then energetically turned his attention to the 
making of a farm. He was a man of unusual push, 
vigor and enterprise, and with good courage sur- 
mounted every obstacle on the road to the fortune 
that became his by the sheer force of persistent in- 
dustry, seconded by rare powers of discrimination, 
unerring judgment, and a thorough comprehen- 
sion of agriculture in all its branches. He was 
educated largel}' in the school of observation and 
experience, but he had much natural ability 
and very strong mental faculties. He bought and 
sold considerable land and dealt quite extensively 
in stock. In early times, he drove hogs to Ohio, 
and brought back sheep. He passed through every 
phase of life from poverty to wealth, and was one 
of the richest men in the village at the time of 
his death, owning upwards of a thousand acres of 
land around and near the villagg of Climax. 

The father of our subject was prominent in the 
public and political life of his community. He 
was origin.ally an old-line Whig and a strong Abol- 
itionist before and during the war, and so, being 
in sympathy with the Rei)ublicans, he united his 
fortunes with that party, but before liis death he 
went over to the Democrats. He was elected Jus- 
tice of the Peace at the first townsiiip meeting, 
and held that office for a great many years, making 
a careful study of law, and conducting a case with 
ability. He served as a member of the County 
Board of Sujjervisors several terms and represented 
the interests of Climax Township with fidelity. 



1 



.^» -^ 



X. 




/^^^^ c/.ry-u^y^ "^c 



0/^H^e^ /^^^r^^^wC^^T^?/ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



785 



Mr. I'icicc was twice iiKiirii'd. His lir.st wife, 
tlie inollioi' of our .suhject, was liorii in Caiuula 
in lf<()l. She died in 1877. Eleven children were 
Ixun of that marriage: Polly, Loren, Je.inette, ,]ea- 
nette (second). Rowlaiul. Orion; Willard and Luc- 
inda, twins; Angeline, Kli/.alietli. and Horace. Hy 
his second marriage, with Catherine .\rclier. I\Ir. 
Pierce lia<l four children. 

Horace II. I'ierce was in liis sixth year wlicn liic 
family cimc to this county, and lie retains a dis- 
tinct recollection of the pioneer life that <)l)tained 
here in his childhood. He attended school in a 
house that was furnished with jilank benches that 
were sujiported with wooden pins. The school was 
conducted on the rate-liill system, and the teacher 
hoarded around anujiig tiie parents of the scliolars. 
Indians used to come to his home and his mother 
often cooked food for them. He rememliers seeing 
a little Indian run up to tiie taMe and snatch a 
piece of hot meat fron a plate and burn his fingers 
with it. There was an abundance of deer and 
other game, and wolves often disturl)cd the slum- 
bers of the sellhus by their howls, and even bears 
were not uncommon. Detroit was the city to 
which the pioneers mostly went for supi)lies. Tlie 
peojile were principally home-livers, and the skill- 
ful iiand of the mother of our subject spun and 
wove the clothing worn by iiimseif. his brother 
and sisters. 

At the age of twenty- four years, our subject en- 
tered upon his independent course ,as a farmer, 
coming then to this pl.ace, where he has ever since 
dwelt. He has always conducted mixed farming, 
raising a great deal of grain, and paying much at- 
tention to rearing stock of all kinds. He has four 
hundred acres of land in all, two hundred anil 
eighty acres in Climax Townslii]i, and the re- 
mainder in Charleston Townshi|). He lias a model 
farm in iiis homestead, and has it sup|)licd with a 
line classof buildings. In 1 8(58, he erected a frame 
house of commodious dimensions, and well fitted 
up; and he h.as a large frame barn, 4()x72 feet in 
size, besides a granary and other necessary build- 
ings. He derives a good profit from renting out 
a good deal of his land. 

The marriage of our subject with Miss .lulia E. 
Pratt was celebrated S^ejitemlwr 17. 18.') I. They 
3G 



have had five childrt'ii. four of whom are living: 
Hcrliert H., a druggist and grocer in the village 
of Climax; Ida E.. now Mrs. ISest, of Dillon, Mont.; 
and .ludson W. and .lettie F. at home with their par- 
ents. .Jessie died at the age of fourteen months. 
Mrs. Pierce was born in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., 
December 1.0, 18.'57. ami she came to Micliigan in 
18.52. 

Our subject is of a resolute, vigorous, practical 
nature, possessing mucli natural aliiiity, a large 
share of common-sense, and the faculty to plan 
well and to cany out his .sciiemes in a business- 
like manner. He is independent, iiaving a mind 
of his own, and is fearless in exi)ressing liis opin- 
ions. Especially is this true in regard to his political 
sentiments, which are of a radical Hepublic-an order. 
He was once elected to the position of .Justice of 
the Peace, but he refused to accept the honor, as 
he cares not for ofMce. He is well known in social 
circles as a member C)f the Masonic order at Climax, 
and of the Ancient Order of Cnited Workmen. 



t=i 



-S] 



^+^1 




ON. EMERY II. SIMPSON, one of the most 
enterprising and thrifty farmers of Hart- 
ford Township, \an liuren County, was 
born in Orleans Count3', N. Y., .Tanu.ary 17, 
1828, and is the eighth in a family of ten children, 
eight of whom grew to maturity. His parents were 
Asa and Minerva (Fish) Simpson, the father born 
in Onondaga County, N. Y., in 1790, and the 
mother, probabl}' in C:iyuga County, in 1794. Our 
subject's paternal grandfather, .lohn .Simpson, w.as 
of English descent. 

Our subject grew to mature years in his native 
county and received liiseducation in the common 
schools and on the farm. He was married in Or- 
leans County, .January 8, 1851, to Miss Mary A. 
Thompson. In the year 1863 he came with his 
family to Hartford Township. Van lUiren County, 
and located on the farm where he has since lived. 
He was soon elected Supervisor of his township, 
which ollice he held one year, and in the fall of 
1872 was elected to the Legislature and re-electe<l 
in the fall of 188G. He has been rather an active 
politician, li.as served as delegate to many conven- 



786 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tions, and has the distinction of having hehl every 
office for which he has run. 

Mr. Simpson is the possessor of two hundred and 
forty acres of finely- improved land on sections 
24, 13 and 14. He commenced active life at the 
age of twenty-one witli %!100 and all that he now 
owns in due to liis own industry and business 
enterprise. In his iKilitical views he casts his vote 
and iutluence with the Reiiul)liean party. Socially, 
he is connected witli no secret order at all. He is 
a gentlcmau who is lilced by every one who knows 
him for his kind and genial manners. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Simpson have lieen born eight 
children, six of whom are living: Clara B., AVendell 
L., Ada M. (uow Mrs. Slierwood), Nathan F., Frank 
(i. and Fred L. Wendell L. attended the military 
school at West Point, f]oni which he graduated in 
1884. For three years he was on the Western fron- 
tier, and for about the same period was military in- 
structor at the Agricultural College, in Lansing, at 
the same time serving as Professor of iMathematics 
and Mechanics, to which he was elected by the State 
Board. He is now First Lieutenant and with his 
company is located atSackett's Harbor. 

Not only the present, but coming generations as 
well, will be pleased to notice in connection with 
this life sketch a lithograi)liic portrait of Mr. 
Simpson. 



\|^ANSOM NLTTING, who now lives a retired 
IWf life in Decatur, and is classed among: its 
<i*i Vll leading citizens, is a native of the old B.ay 
^^ State, and comes of an earl\' New England 
family of Iri.sh origin, that was founded in Amer- 
ica during early Colonial days. His grandfather, 
David Nutting, served in the Revolutionary War, 
and died August 11, 1818. He was quite wealthy. 
His son Ebenezer, father of our subject, was born in 
Brimfield, Mass., December 3, 1776, and married 
Lucy Bryant, who was born in Plymouth, Mass., 
November 18, 1778, and traced her ancestry back 
to the Pilgrim Fathers. Ebenezer Nutting was a 
farmer and blacksmith by trade. He died in Frank- 
lin County, Mass., September 11, 1847, in the faith 



of the Baptist Church, to which he belonged. His 
wife died in Leverett, Mass., August 19, 1857. 
Unto them were born seven children: Oliver, Bry- 
ant, Lucius, Asa, Harrison, Alden, and Ransom, who 
is the (mlj' one now living, although six of the 
number grew to mature years. 

The birth of our subject occurred in Leverett, 
Franklin County, October 26, 1818, and in the 
public and private schools he acquired his educa- 
tion. We see in him a self-made man, who at the 
early age of fifteen years started out in life for 
himself, and lias since made his own way in the 
world. He learned the tanner's and curiier's trade 
which he followed for about fifteen years in Spring- 
field, Wire Village and Worcester. During that 
time, on the 17tli of .lul^-, 1844, he wedded Mary 
T. Stratton, daughter of Samuel Stratton, a prom- 
inent Massachusetts farmer, their union ))eingcele- 
bi'ated in Gill, Mass. For about five years after 
his marriage, Mr. Nutting continued to act as su- 
perintendent of a tanner3', when his employer 
failed, owing him about t!l,000. It was in 1853 
that he came to the West with his wife and chil- 
dren, and, locating in Decatur, engaged in the tan- 
ning business for himself. For twenty years he 
carried on operations in th.at line, and in his under- 
takings met with signal success, acquiring thereby 
a handsome competence, which now enables him to 
rest from all labors. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nutting were born two chil- 
dren: Addie J., the elder, who was born in Lever- 
ett, Mass., March 7, 1850, died on the 25th of Feb- 
ruary, 1865; and Carrie L., born October 14, 1853, 
makes her home with her father in Decatur. The 
family have here a pleasant residence, supplied with 
all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life, 
which have been obtained through the well-directed 
business efforts of our subject. 

Jlr. Nutting exercises his right of franchise in 
support of the Democratic party, and takes consid- 
erable interest in political affairs. For thirteen 
years he was Supervisor of Decatur Township, was 
a member of the School Boai'd for a number of 
years, and .served as its Treasurer, and was nomi- 
nated for Treasurer of the county, but, owing to the 
Republican majority, failed of election. During 
President Cleveland's administration he was ap- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



787 



|ioiii(c(1 I'o.sliiiaslcr of Dccnt iir. mikI tlic dulii's of 
llial ollli'i' have iicviT liot'ii more faitlifully or clli- 
c'ioiitlv (liscliarjiod tlian iiiuk'i' liis ailministialion. 
lie iii:uli> a iioiiiilai- ollicci-, and won the coninicnda- 
tion of nil cont'oinod. Ik- lias fr('i|ucntly sewed as 
Cliairnian of llu- Dcniocratif Coiinly Convention, 
and liis opinions aie leoeived with deference in the 
(councils of his party. For some years Mr. Nutlinsr 
has sutTered from asthma, whieh has beeni much 
worse of late. 



i>-^r<! 




■(QV^ 



OBEHT .IIt'KMNG,an eminently worthy 
citizen of Kalamazoo County, and a pros- 
t*i \\\ perous farmer of Comstook Township, re- 
l^siding on section 6, was horn in Xorfulk- 
shire, Knglandjin the village of Ilitehani, September 
2, 1821. Robert .lickling, his father, was a native 
of the same place, born May 2, 1791. In 1835, lie 
emigrated with his familj- to Overbeck, Canada, the 
journey across the water and into the interior of 
the country being accomplished in seven weeks and 
three days, lie became an early settler of the 
town of Woodstock in Upper Canada, and there 
spent the rest of his da^'s at his occupation as a 
farmer, dying April it, 1872, at a good old age. 
He was a son of Valentine Jickling, who was an 
Knglishinan, ;in(I born in the same shire a< him- 
self. 

The mother of our subject was Mary Lee in her 
maiden days, and slic was born in 178K in the same 
English shire as her husband and other members 
of the family. She died December 10, 18:51, at 
the age of foi'ty-three years. She bore seven chil- 
dren, two of whom died young, one in infancy 
and one at the age of seven years. John and 
George are residents of Canad.-i; Sarah is the wife of 
Abrara Bray, who resides near Woodstock, Canada; 
Mary is the wife of William Everets of the village 
of Mitehell, Canada. After the death of the mother 
of oursidiject, his father married Mary Whitby in 
1832. She was born in England, December 30, 
1S()7, and became the mother of ten children, as 
follows: William F., who has been on the police 
force in Chicago for nineteen years, and who was 
a soldier in the Civil War; Elizabeth, wife of Will- 



iam .MeClain, of Manitoba; .lohn 1).. a lesident of 
.Jasi)er County, Iowa; Susan, wife of William 
Wood, of Canada; Thomas, a resident of Canada; 
Rowland, deceased; .Samuel, who was a member of 
tht! Seventeenth Michigan Infantry during the late 
war, and is now at Annai)olis; Hannah and Re- 
becca deceased; Joseph B., a resident of Manitoba, 
lie of whom we write is the third son and third 
child of his parents. He remained at home with 
them until the family came to America, and he 
w.ns then bound out to David Ford, with whom he 
came to Michigan, and remained with him un- 
til he was twenty-six years old. .\t that age, he 
was married in (Talesbiirgh tt) .lulia Ann, the oldest 
child of Fa\ and Lura (Johnson) Aldricli,tlic mar- 
riage ceremony l)eing performed by George Sim- 
mons, December .5, 1847. And thus for more than 
forty-four years they have lived and labored to- 
gether in a wedded life that has brought them as 
much joy as usually falls to the lot of mortals, and 
among its attendant blessings arc the eleven chil- 
dren born to them, namely: Adeline, born Oct- 
ober 1, 1848, and the wife of Frederick Shay, of 
Richland Township; Marquis, born August 2, 
1850, now a farmer of Richland Township; 
Lura, born Octolter 3, 1852. and the wife of 
Joseph Newell, of Richland Township; Mary, born 
October 2(5, 1854, wife of Gordon 15. Brig- 
ham, of Richland Township; Sarah, born ^lay 
25, 1857, married Henry Tolhurst, of Ric-hland 
Township, and died May 9, 1888; Ella, born 
March 13, 18C0. wife of Sabin B. Nichols, of Kala- 
mazoo;Alberl, born August II, 18(>2, foieman of the 
Dewing Manuf.acturing Company, at Kalamazoo; 
Walter W., born Sei)teinber 28, 1H('>1, residing with 
his parents; Emma, liorn June 10, 18(57, died May 
22, 1889; Clara E., born December 29, 1869, wife 
of the Rev. John Humphreys, pastor of the 
Congregational Church at Rylander, Wis.; How- 
ard B., born October 20, 1873, a student at the 
Business College at Kalamazoo. The wife of our 
subject w.as l)orn six miles from the town of Angel- 
ica, Allegany County. N. V., and she came to 
Micliigan with her parents at the age of four years. 
The journey w.is made with an ox-team, and led 
through the famous Maumee Swamp. The family 
was among the first to settle in Charleston Town- 



788 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



ship. Mrs. Jickling's father and mother were na- 
tives of New York, as was her paternal grandfather, 
Abram Aldrich, and he too was an early settler of 
Kalamazoo County, coming here in 1833, and 
taking up land from the (Tovernment. 

Mr. Jickling located where he now resides after his 
marriage, buying the land of his old cmploj'er, Mr. 
Ford. There were no imiirovements on the place 
except a small log house, 18x20 feet in dimen- 
sion, and the roof covered with shakes. lie and 
his wife lived in that humble abode nine j'ears. 
All the furniture they had when they set up 
housekeeping was just barelj' sufficient for their 
wants — a primitive cook-stove, a chest, that served 
as a table, and a few other indispensable articles. 
The surrounding country was a wilderness, and 
tliere were no roads or scarcely any evidences of 
civilization, and our suliject and his wife liad to 
face many a hardship and to endure many trials 
l)efore the land was brought into its present fine 
condition, and provided with neat buildings and 
everything to facilitate farming. INIr. .Tickling has 
now a fine farm of one hundred and ninety-two 
acres, all of which is under cultivation, but about 
twenty acres. One hundred and forty acres of 
this land have been cleared by himself. Mv. Jick- 
ling has made a name and a place for himself in 
his adopted township second to that of no other 
man, and he is greatly respected by the people 
among whom he has lived for so many years. In 
his political relations, he is a Republican. He has 
helped forward the cause of education in this lo- 
cality in his capacity of School Director, which of- 
fice he has held many terms. 



1 






'OHN H. DIX, ex-Sheriff of the county, now 
residing in Kalamazoo, has the honor of 
being a native of the county. He was born 
^<^fJ in Schoolcraft-, on the 13th of J.anuary, 
1842, and is the third in the family of four chil- 
dren whose parents were .luhn and Sallie C. 
(Brown) Dix. Both were natives of the Green 
Mountain State. The Dix family is of English 
descent and the mother of our subject was of 
Scotch lineage, her father being Putnam Brown, a 



farmer of the Empire State, born of Scotch par- 
entage. John and Sallie Dix became earlj- settlers 
of Kalamazoo Count}', Mich., locating in School- 
craft where the father engaged in merchandising 
and also carried on farming. He likewise kept a 
hotel in an early day and built the woolen mills at 
Three Rivers. His death occurred at that place in 
1843. His wife is still living in her eighty-fourth 
year and resides in Schoolcraft. 

Our subject has spent almost his entire life in 
this county and has been identified with its up- 
building and its history' from an earlj' day. His 
primary education, acquired in Schoolcraft, was 
supplemented by a course of study in Cedar Park 
Seminary, a Baptist school, and having thereby 
fitted himself for teaching, he pursued that profes- 
sion through four winter seasons. In 1864, he en- 
listed in the naval service of his country on board 
the United Stales gunboat "Nymph ' ' on the Missis- 
sippi and Red Rivers and took i)art in several skir- 
mishes. After a j'ear's service, he received his dis- 
charge on the 27th of June, 1865, and returned to 
the North. 

Entering the United States Mail Service, Mr. 
Dix devoted his energies to the faithful discharge of 
the duties of that position, which he filled for four- 
teen years, his route l3'ing between Cleveland and 
Chicago. For three years, he continued to hold 
the position under President Cleveland, but was 
then removed on account of being an "offensive 
partisan." He then took a trip to Salt Lake 
City, Utah, ynd after spending six weeks in travel 
returned to the county of his nativity. On the 
Republican ticket, he was nominated for the office 
of County Sheriff and, when the election returns 
were received, it was found that he was the people's 
choice. In January, 1888, he assumed the duties 
of the office .and by acclamation was nominated 
for a second term but this time lost the election by 
fifty -one votes, owing to a combination of the 
Patrons of Industry and the Democrats. AVhen 
his term had expired, ho retired to private life. 

Mr. Dix has been twice married. His first union, 
celebrated in 1871, was with Miss Ida Burnett of 
Schoolcraft, whose death occurred in February, 
1875. The lady who now bears the name of Mrs. 
Dix was in her maidenhood Miss Ella Dibble, of 



^!«.^?: 





PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



791 



Sandusky, Ohio, (laiiijlitcr of Daniel I)it)l)li'. Tiicir 
union has l)eeu l)lcs.se(I with two chiUhon: Jlary C 
and John Waivonian. Socially, Mr. Dix is a mcm- 
l)cr of tho Knij^iil-s of Pythiius, and the IMaccahecs, 
also of I'ost No. ol);i, G. A. H., of Schoolcraft, lie 
is not now actively engaged in business but is a 
stockliolder in the Kalamazoo Corset C'onipauy. 
His residence in the county covers a period of lif I3' 
years and he h.is therefore witnessed the greater 
part of its growth. He' h.os taken a coniniendalilo 
interest in everything ijcrtaining to its welfare 
and adv.ancemcnt and his duties of citizenship 
have been ever faithfully performed. 



AMKS .M. DAVIS, ,Iudge of Trobate, is one 
of the most inlluential citizens of Kalamazoo. 
While his life is (piiet and unostontatiousi 
chielly occupied by the labors incident to 
his profession-lhat of law-yet it is no exaggeration 
to say that few men have effected greater prac- 
tical good or acconijilislied larger results for the 
well-being of their fellow-citizens. 

1 1 is a noteworthy fact that many of the em- 
inent men of this and other Stales were born and 
reared on farms. The biography of Mr. Davis, 
whose portrait adoins the opposite p.ige, furnishes 
another instance of this kind. His early yeai-s 
were passed ui)on his father's farm in Lake County, 
Ind., where he was born September 11, 1842. His 
father, Samuel C, wa.s Ijorn in Carroll County. 
(Huo, in IKIG, and married Mary .T., daughter of 
.losepli McSpcrren, a Pennsylvania farmer, who 
w.is of .Scotch-Irish descent. His <x'cupation was 
that of a farmer, and his life, which was an hon- 
orable and upright one, proved the pos.session of 
the sturdy principles impl.anted in a long line of 
Knglish ancestors. 

In IH 10, Samuel C. Davis removed from Ohio 
to Lake County, Ind., .settling near Crown Point, 
the county-seat, and engaging in farming. His 
wife pas.sed from earth in 18GG, but he still sur- 
vives in good health at an advanced age. Of his 
live children. .lames M. wiis the second in order of 
birth. His iMuhood days were spent in almost con- 
stant allendauce in the schools and academics of 



his State. After completing a course in the com- 
mon-schools of Crown I'omt, he entered the .aciid- 
emy of that town and later w.as a student in the 
N'alparaiso Male and Female College. His school- 
ing was linished in the Asbury (now Dc Pauw's) 
University, where he was graduated in 1868. 

After teaching school for a short time, Mr, 
Davis entered the law department of the Univer- 
sity of Michigan, where he studied one year, then, 
in the spring of 1870, opened a law ollice in Kala- 
mazoo and has continued in the pr.actice of his 
profession to the present time. In 1872, he was 
elected .Justice of the Peace, and two years later 
was appointed Circuit Court Commissioner for a 
terra of two yeai"s, and, being re-elected, served 
four years in all. ^laj- 2, 1883, he received the 
appointment of United States Commissioner for 
the Western District of Michigan, which office he 
still holds. His election .-is .ludge of Probate took 
pl.ice in 1888 and he assumed the duties of the 
office .Lanuary 1, 1889, for a term of four years. 

March 22, 1867, .ludge Davis was married to 
Miss Estella, daughter of Thoma.s 15. Kldred, of 
Clima.x, this State, and they are the parents of 
three children, namely: Dora, Thomas K. and 
Perc}' L. The .ludge and his estimable wife have 
a pleasant home at No. 136 Thompson Street, 
wherein they entertain their many friends with 
gracious hospitsility. They are membei's of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he litis held 
various offices. He has also served as President of 
the County .Sunday-school Association for two 
years. His fii-st Presidential vote was cast for 
Abraham Lincoln and he hius continued ever since 
a stanch adherent of the i)rinciples of the l{e[)ub- 
lic.an I'arty. 




ANIHL SPICEK. One of the most suc- 
cessful groceries in this section of country 
is carried on by D. Spicer it Co., of Paw 
Paw, who have been conducting a praspcr- 
o us busine.ss since 1881. Possessing a thorough ap- 
preciation fif the demands of the trade, and niaking 
a careful study of the markets in oider to |)laee 



792 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



before customers the choicest goods olitaina)ile, it 
IS not strange that Mr. Spicer has built up an ex- 
tensive business and is known as a reliable mer- 
chant. 

Mr. Spicei- was born in Orleans, N. Y., Septem- 
ber 26, 1840, and is the son of Darius H. and 
Dorcas (Pratt) Spicer, natives of New York and 
Vermont, respectively, lie was reared on a farm 
in his native county until he was eighteen, in the 
meantime receiving a common-school education, 
and then came West to this State, locating in 
Plymouth, Wayne County, and engaging to work 
on a farm. In February, 18C0, he commenced to 
travel for a firm dealing in fanning mills and 
safes, and making general collections on outstand- 
ing indebtedness, until 1863. 

After visiting Michigan, Indiana, Illiuois and 
Wisconsin in the interest of his business, Mr. Spicer 
came to Van Buren Count_y, where he began re- 
cruiting for the army. lie enlisted in .lulv, 1861, 
joining the Twenty-eighth Michigan Infantry in 
Compan}' C. He saw service in the F'irst Division, 
Second Brigade, Twentv-third Army Corps, was in 
the battles of Nashville, Alexandria, and others of 
minor importance. At the battle of Kingston, 
March 8, 1865, he was wounded in the right wrist 
and was confined in a hospital from that time until 
the close of the war. He commenced service as a 
private but later received the commission of Sec- 
ond Lieutenant, and now on account of injuries 
sustained, he receives a [lension of ^H per month. 

After the close of tlic war, Mr. Spicer once more 
engaged as a traveling man and for five years sold 
farming niaciiinery, etc. During that period, he 
was married, November 29 (Thanksgiving Day), 
1866, to Miss Araminta, daughter of Thomas A. 
and .Tulia Granger, whose sketch may be found in 
another portion of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. 
Spicer are the parents of one child, Harry, who was 
born in Lawton, September 23, 1879. After his 
marriage, iMr. Spicer resided in Lawton until April, 
1880, where he clerked and also engaged in buying 
and selling produce. 

Mr. Spicer owns one hundred and eighty acres 
in Lawton, of which forty-four acres are planted in 
fruit trees, thirty-two being in grapes and ten in 
peaches and cherries. After locating in Paw Paw, 



he engaged for a time in shipping apples, and 
flnallj', in 1881, commenced in the grocery bus- 
iness, which he still continues. Politically, ho is a 
Republican and has filled various local offices, hav- 
ing been a member of the Village Board for six 
years, besides serving in other capacities. He be- 
longs, sociall3' to the ludeiiendent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and the Grand Armj- of the Republic, and 
is now serving as Assistant Quartermaster-Generel 
of the Department of Michigan, to which he was 
elected in Muskegon in 1891. 



AVID B. MERRILL, who is one of the most 
extensive manufacturers in the State, is Pre- 
sident of the Merrill Milling Company. 
They have four mills, two located at Kalamazoo, 
one three miles south of Kal.amazoo and one at 
Plainwell. which bear the names of "Kalama- 
zoo," "Cold Stream," "Eagle," and "Plainwell 
Mills," respectively. The company began business. 
March 1, 1887, with a capital stock of $100,000, all of 
which was invested in the business. Their mills 
are supplied with the roller process and have a- 
capacity of six hundred barrels per day, or .an 
annual cai)acltj' of one hundred thousand barrels. 
The original of this sketch started out in his 
present business in 1858, buying the Kalamazoo 
Mill. Three year later, he became the proprietor 
of the Cold Stream Mill, in 1872 purchased the 
Plainwell Mill, and in 1876, the Eagle Mill. His 
first partner was George W. Fish, with whom he 
continued for a j^ear and a half, and then became 
.associated for three years with F'rancis H. Chase. 
At the end of that time, W. II. McCourtie became a 
member of the firm, continuing as such until 1882. 
David B. iMerrill was born in Peru, Clinton 
County, N. Y., on the 6th of .Tune, 1833, and is 
the son of Arthur 11. and Rhoda (Stearns) Merrill, 
natives of Claremont, N. H. Our subject was the 
youngest in the parental family of nine children, 
of whom four sons are now living, two making 
their home in Illinois, and one in Peru, N. Y. lie 
was given an academic education, and taught three 
terms of school, commencing when fifteen years of 
age at Peru. Later he taught two terms at Long Is- 



PORTK.VIT AM) BIUGKAPHICAL RECORD. 



793 



land. Tie then rleiked for a twelvemonth in a gro- 
cery store in New York City, at the end of which 
time he returned to I'cni and became bookkeeper 
in a miU. He oci'upied that position for two years, 
and for a similar period carried on a general nier- 
ch.andise business at Clintonvillc. 

He of whom we write came to Kalam.azoo in 
April. 18,')M. and eight years later, in company with 
Mr. McCourtie, platted an addition of twelve .acres 
to the city. In 18()."), he purchased a one-half in- 
terest in the Stuart .\ddition, where he erected a 
number of (hvclling houses. Later he became the 
|iroprietor of a tract of one hundred and seventy- 
two acres, twelve of wiiich he platted and sold the 
rest in .acre lot.s. l-"or live years, Mr. Merrill was 
an extensive stave manufacturer, and success h.as 
crowned his efforts in every branch of work. In 
politics, he is a Republican. 

^liss ,]ulia Hatch became the wife nf our subject 
in IMoG. She pa.^ised from this life in Aiiril, 18.59, 
at Kalamazao, and in 1 Mil 1. ;\Ir. Merrill was married 
to Mrs. Annie La Due, of Milwaukee, Wis. She 
was the daughter of S. 1!. Davis, an old resident of 
this city, who ran the first line of stages from 
Detroit to Chicago. He w.a.s well known to all the 
people of this vicinity, as his death occurred only 
.about ten years ago, which sad event w.as occa- 
sioned by his being thrown from a wagon, his head 
striking a tclegrai>h [lole and killing him insUint- 
ly. Mrs. Merrill died August 11, 18!)0, at 
I'etoskey. She had become the mother of one 
daughter, l<la, now the wife of (!eorge Winans, a 
carriage nianuf.'icturcr. Mr. Merrill had liorii to him 
one son by his lirst marriage, Charles li., who died 
in 1876, aged nineteen years. 

September 15, 1891, the original of this sketch 
was married to INIiss Ida L. Uowley, of this city, 
and the daughter of Mrs. .1. .\. Rowley. Miss Ida 
was for live ycare in the em|)loy of Mr. Merrill as 
his stenographer. They are members f)f the Fiist 
Congregational Church, of wliieh society our suli- 
ject has been Trustee, an intliicntial member and 
lilieral contributor for thirty years. He is a Direc- 
tor and heavy stockhfilder in the First National 
IJank of this city ami is otherwise interested in 
public enterprises. 

.Mr. Merrill vi>itec| Scoll:ind and Kn^land din- 



ing Jlay and .Tune of 1891. He has one of the 
most desirable mtxlein residences in the city, which 
is presided over by his refined and intelligent wife. 
It is pleasantly located at No. 410 West Lovell 
Street. 



■^4- 



"'^ T 



¥I1,LI.\.M II. CONVERSE, an influential 
[)ioneer of Kalamazoo County, Ross Town- 
ship, residing on section 12, was born in 
Cayuga County, N. Y., December 10, 182(>. He is 
a .son of .Tosiali and Betsey ( Lal)erteaux) Converse? 
the former a native of New England. With the 
exception of two years spent in the milling busi- 
ness, he has spent his entire life in farming pursuits 
and is a thorough and practical .agriculturist. 

In 1853, Mr. Converse came to Kalamazoo 
County andat first was employed on different farms, 
but one year after settling here, he |)iirchased one 
hundred acres of land in Ross Township, which he 
still owns. He was married, .August 8. 18.')5, to 
IMi.ss .Sarah M., daughter of Harvey and .Vlsamena 
(Downing) Cooley,and a native of W.ayne County, 
N. 1'., born August 7, 18.'! 1. Her parents, who 
were natives of New York, emigrated in 18;5(;, to 
Calhoun County, this State, the journey being 
made overland to the new hoiiieliy w.ay of Canada, 
by wagon. 

When Mr. Cooley .settled in Calhoun County, 
the nearest neighbor was six miles away, and the 
land was covered with a dense forest grf)wfli. He 
entered one hundred and sixty acres of l;uid from 
the Government, the [nice being ^l.'2^> per acre, 
and settled in the woods of Bedford Township, 
where he cleared and cultivated one of the l)est 
farms c)f the county. He served as Supervisor of 
the township, and w.as in other ways closely iden- 
tified with the progress of the county. In their 
old age, he and his wife removed to Battle Creek, 
where, surrounded by the comforts of life, they 
passed their closing days. 

Through his tireless exertions. Mr. Converse 
cleared and improved his farm and is now the 
owner of one hundred and forty acres, comprising 
one of the best estates of the county. In the pub- 
lic life of the township, he is always interested and 



794 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is known as a firm Republican. He has served as 
Higliway Commissioner, and is a member of Ross 
Grange No. 24, of wliicli lie has been Treasurer for 
many years. He contributes liberally to the sup- 
port of the Methodist Ejiiscopal Church, of which 
his wife is a member. 

Mr. and Mrs. Converse are the parents of five 
children, as follows: Eliza, wife of Dr. W. H. 
Ilaughey, of Battle Creek; Henry C; Minnie, who 
married William Greer; William H. and Frank. 
Mrs. Converse is one of eight children, three of 
whom are now living, viz: P. J., of Chicago; Mrs. 
Converse, and Cyrus, of Barry County. The posi- 
tion occupied by Mr. Converse and his excellent 
wife in the social circles of the community is a 
high one, and their influence is felt in moulding 
the opinions of others. 



\fl AMES C. BENNETT is the senior member 
of the firm of James C. Bennett & Son, 
dealers in boots and shoes in Kalamazoo, 
' Mich. The business was established in 1859, 
by S. O. Bennett, father of our subject, and carried 
on by him, in company with liis sons, L. T., .J. C. 
and John, foi several years. Ilis death occurred in 
1884, in his eiglitieth year. The following was 
given in the History and Directory of Kalamazoo 
County, issued in 1861): "S. O. Bennett & Sons, 
manufacturers of, and dealers in, boots and shoes 
at No. Ill Main Street. The firm began business 
under this name in January, 1866. S. O. Bennett, 
however, came here in 18.59, and began trade in 
the fall of that year. In December, 1867, the store 
which he had purchased and fitted up was des- 
tro3'ed by fire, but with characteristic enterprise lie 
began to rebuild in April, and in August finishc<l 
the handsome and commodious brick store now oc- 
cupied by the firm at No. Ill Main Street, which 
is a favorite and popular place for the purchasers 
of sole goods of every kind. S. O. Bennett has 
been a most valuable citizen, contributing by his 
enterprise and liberality to the wealth and beauty 
of Kalamazoo. The firm is composed of S. O. Ben- 
nett, father, and James C. and John, sons, gentle- 



men thoroughly versed in the conduct and require- 
ments of the shoe trade, and- citizens of position 
and influence." 

James C. Bennett, whose name heads this sketch, 
is the eldest son of Stephen O. and Sarah (Cailen- 
der) Bennett. The father was born near Saratoga 
Springs, N. Y., and the mother in New York City. 
She was a daughter of AVilliam Callender, who was 
engaged in the West Indian trade. They were mar- 
ried in New York City, where Mr. Bennett en- 
gaged in mercantile pursuits for several years. In 
1832, he removed with his family to Lorain County, 
Ohio, and afterward to Cleveland. In 1841, he 
took up his residence in Racine County, Wis., 
where lie carried on general farming and stock- 
raising until 1859, when became to Kalamazoo and 
established the boot and shoe business as alxive 
stated. 

Our subject was born in New York City, August 
13, 1831, acquired his early education in Ohio, af- 
terward attended the academy at Racine, and com- 
l)leted his school life in the University of Wiscon- 
sin. He then engaged in teaching for two years, 
and afterward in farming in AVisconsin for ten 
years, but in 1826 came to Kalamazoo, Mich., 
joining his father in liusiness. Another store was 
established in Grand Kapids, and in 1873 James C. 
became sole proprietor of the Kalamazoo store, 
while the father took the other. He continued 
alone in business until 1884, when he admitted to 
partnership his son, Lorenzo T., and the firm name 
was changed to James C. Bennett it Son. They 
carry a large and complete line, and have a well- 
ordered establishment, which is the oldest concern 
of the kind in Kalamazoo Count3'. Their store is 
22x100 feet, and three stories in height, and is 
built on the site of that which was burned. They 
do a strictly cash business, and have a large and 
constantly increasing trade, which they have won 
through industry, perseverance and the courteous 
treatment which marks their intercourse with their 
customers. 

In 1853, Mr. Bennett wedded Miss Margaret 
Thompson, of Racine County, AVis., daughter of 
Robert Thompson, a wealthy farmer of that county. 
He was for many years superintendent of the Mon- 
sou Woolen Mills of Monson, Mass., which is the 



"^^^ 










^ci/ti^^e^i^ 



PORTRAIT AND BICXJRAPHICAL RECORD. 



797 



l)irtlil)lace of Mrs. Bennett. Five cliildreii liiivc 
1)0011 liorn to our subject .and his wife, two sons 
.111(1 three daughters: ]Marv K., Lorenzo T., S. Jen- 
nie, Isal)ella G. and Robert S. The parents are both 
ineniliers of tiie First Baptist C'liurch, in which Mr. 
Bennett h;us lield the olliee of Deacon since 18(57; 
also that of Trustee for ten years. lie was for nine 
years Superintendent of the Sunday-school in R.ay- 
mond. Wis., and, since coming to Kalamazoo, has 
been a te.aelier in the Sunday-school, and an active 
worker in the church here. lie was also Superin- 
tendent of the iiublic schools in Racine County. He 
has led an hoiior.ible, upright life, thereby winning 
the confidence and regard of all with whom he has 
come in contact, and of the citizens of Kalamazoo, 
we know none more worthy of representation in 
this volume than our subject. 










A.I. WYLLYS CADAVKIJ- HANSOM, 

who is a prominent and iulluential resi- 
dent of Kalamazoo, w.as born at Towns- 
hcnd, Windham County, Vt, April 28, 
His father was Gov. Epapliroditus Ransom, 
whose biography will appear on another p.age in 
this volume. His mother bore the maiden name of 
Almira CadwoU, daughter of Wyllys Cadwell, a rei)- 
rescntative citizen and merchant of Montpelier, Vt., 
who was among the first settlers of the new capi- 
tal after its removal from Vergennes, which had 
been the seal of Government since the admission 
of the State intt) the Union. 

In 1834, (iov. Ransom emigrated to .Michigan, 
having been preceded here by his brother and 
sister, and, locating in Kalamazoo, began the prac- 
tice of law. This now prosperous city at that 
time was little more than a hamlet, containing 
about twenty houses and one hundred iuhabitant-s, 
but being founded mostly 63' New Knglandere, 
who brought all their usual thrift and enterprise 
to the tiisk of building up the infant village, it 
rapidly increased in imporUmec and population, 
.and w.as soon provided with churches and good 
schools. Among the latter was a branch of the 
State University where our subject was prepared 
to enter the Sophomore class at the main institu- 



tion at .\nn Arbor, in isi."). lie w.as there gradu- 
ated three years later, and was ai)pointed Private 
Secretary to his father in the executive ollice, in 
which capacity he continued to act until the close 
of the ollici.al term, in 18.50. 

At the expiration of the time above mentioned, 
our subject entered the oflice of the Auditor-Gen- 
eral under Hon. .John J. Adam, who was verj' 
prominent among the early ollicers of the State, 
.and who was a man of exceptional ability in the dis- 
charge of his public duties. Mr. Ransom remained 
in his ollice for two years, when he returned to Kal- 
amazoo, and was here engaged in business pursuits 
until 1857, when, having been tendered an import- 
ant position in the ollice of the SurveNor-General 
of Kansas and Nebraska, he left Michigan for new 
fields of duty. 

Mr. Ransom reached Kansas iu the most critical 
period of its history, and although a Democrat in 
politics, he at once upon his arrival there joined 
the Free State party, and on one or two occasions 
narrowly- escaped severe consequences from his 
open denunciation of pro-slavery outrages. In 
1858, the Surveyor-tieneral's ollice being removed 
, to Nebr.aska City, our subject accompanied it 
thither and remained on duty, a portion of the time 
as chief clerk, until the fall of 1800, when he went 
to Ft. Scott, Kan., in charge of the Register's De- 
partment of the United States Land Ollice for the 
Osage District, located at that i)lace. He discharged 
the duties of thai important oflice until April, 
1861, when, uiion the fall of Ft. .Sumter, he at 
once entered the services of the LTnion as First 
Lieutenant of Company K, Second Regiment Kan- 
sas Volunteer Infantry — a regiment organized for 
three-months' service under President Lincoln's 
first call. Upon the |iromotion of his Captain to be 
Lieutciiaut-CoU)nel, at the organization of the reg- 
iment, Mr. Ransom w.as commissioned to fill the 
vacanc}'. 

July follwiiig, Ca|>t. Ransom was detailed by 
Gen. Nathaniel Lyon to raise the .Sixth Kan.sas 
Cavalry Regiiiiciil, which service he performed in 
a brief time, and was commissioned Major of the 
same in March, 1H()2. .Vlmost immediately there- 
after, he waj* given a separate command iu the 
field, and for nearly two years was engaged in th* 



798 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



most arduous and perilous service, in pursuing 
and fighting the numerous bauds of guerrillas 
that infested the .States of Missouri and Arkansas. 
He was present and participated in the battles of 
Hickory Grove, Lone Jack, Cedar Creek, and on 
the pursuit of the Rebel General, Jo Shelby, upon 
the occasion of his raid into Missouri, in 1863. 

Our subject was mustered out of the service in 
IMarch, 1865, meanwhile serving in the capacity 
of Chief of Ordinance of the District of the Front- 
ier, and once as Judge Advocate on the staffs of 
Gen. Thomas Ewing, Jr., Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, 
Gen. George Sykes and Gen. James G. Blunt. Re- 
turning from the army, Maj. Ransom located in 
Kansas City, Mo., where he was engaged in the 
sale of real estate. Soon, however, he was ap- 
pionted by Gov. Fletcher, to the position of Clerk 
of the Circuit Court of Jackson County. This 
was the period of the re-construction of Missouri as 
a free State. In July, 1866, he was attacked in 
the streets of Kansas City by a party of his old 
bushwhacker enemies, who at once fired on him. 
After a fight which lasted some minutes, Maj. Ran- 
som fell, severely wounded in three places. He 
has never fully recovered from the effect of that 
outrageous attack. 

During the year 1865, Maj. Ransom was Presi- 
dent of the Kansas City & Cameron Railroad Com- 
pany. Four years later he took up his residence 
in Lawrence, Kan., as Auditor and Assistant Treas- 
urer of the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston 
Railroad Company, where he remained until 1877, 
when he accepted the appointment of Auditor of 
the Chicago & Lake Huron Railroad Company, of 
Michigan, and, returning to Michigan, located at 
Port Huron. He made his home in that city until 
1881, when he was appointed Deputy-Commissioner 
of Railroads of Michigan under the Hon. W. B. 
Williams, of Allegan. He held that position 
through five administrations, and retired to priv- 
ate life at the expiration of his term of otlice, in 
1891, and returned to his old home in Kalamazoo, 
where he is still residing. 

Maj. Ransom, himself a ripe scholar, h.as always 
taken a deep interest in educational affairs, and 
was President of the Board of Education for many 
years at Lawrence, Kan. In politics, our subject. 




though early educated in the Democratic faith, has 
voted the Republican ticket since 1860. He was 
married, in 1853, to Miss Mary E., eldest daughter 
of the late Dr. William Mottram, a prominent phy- 
sician of Kalamazoo. Mrs. Ransom has shared the 
fortunes of her husband through his eventful ca- 
reer, even to camp life, where she became a prime 
favorite with the soldiers. Seven children have 
been born to them, all of whom are living with the 
promise of honorable and useful lives before them. 
The portrait of Maj. Ransom appears on another 
page of this volume. 



,^^\ RS. ADELIA L. BRIGHAlM. This hon- 
ored and esteemed lady of Richland Town- 
ship, Kalamazoo County, is a native of 
the State of Vermont, where she opened 
her eyes to the light December 14, 1828. Her par- 
ents were William L. and Jerusha (Harris) Granger, 
natives also of Vermont. Her paternal ancestors 
were of English stock, as is also the ancestry on 
the mother's side, and the grandfather Granger was 
a hero in the Revolutionary War. 

When five years of age, Mrs. Brigham with her 
parents removed to Canada, settling near Chatham, 
the mother dying soon after their arrival in that 
Province. The father survived until the fall of 
1886, when he too died. At the age of nine years, 
our subject came with her father and family to 
Kent County, Mich., and resided in that county 
until fifteen years old when the family came to 
Kalamazoo County, settled in Richland Township, 
and with the exception of about three years slie 
has been a resident here since. She attended the 
first academy established at Grand Rapids and re- 
ceived a veiy good education. 

The original of this sketch was united in mar- 
riage, July 2, 1846, to Barna L. Brigham, a native 
of the Bay State. Mr. Brigham was reared in his 
native State, was a cariienter and joiner and erected 
a number of buildings in Richland Township, and 
all the buildings, with the exception of one, on his 
farm where his esteemed widow now resides. After 
their marriage, this couple settled on their farm in 
Richland Township, he having owned the place a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAVHICAL RECORD. 



799 



uuniber of years previous. Mr. Brigliain developed 
and cleared it and made of it one of the finest and 
most altr.ac'tivo farms in the township and it is to- 
diiy a stimding monument to his industry and hard 
labor. He saw mueh pioneer labor and w.as called 
from tills life to enjoy the recompense due his long 
and useful career in ISTfi. lie w.as a man highly 
esteemed and much lionored lor his sterling quali- 
ties and honesty and in his death the count\' lost 
one of its inHuential and intellectual pioneer citi- 
zens. He w.as not connected with any church, but 
w.as a man who was a Christian and wanted to be 
just in everything. 

Mrs. ISrigham resides on the home farm of one 
hundred and sixty-one acres and ranks among the 
first pioneer women of the township. To her 
and her husliand seven children were born: fior- 
don 1).. Charles H., AViliiani L.. Frances E., .Jennie 
.1., Adelia L. and Anna M., who are all well liked 
by all who know lliem. The father of this family 
was a kind husliand and loving father and an 
obliging neighbor and enjoyed the confidence of 
the business comniunitv. 



y 



r 




I LAS W. KENDALL. ( )np of tlie men who 
has been prominently interested in the de- 
velopment of Oshtemo Township, Kalama- 
zoo County, is this gentleman. He is a 
son of Homer S. Kendall, a native of Berkshire 
Cctunty, \'t., where he w.as born in IH()<). 'I'he 
father was an only son, and liis faMier w.as also a 
native of New England who died when Homer wa.s 
but a young Ikjv, leaving him the care of his mother. 
He at first worked by the month, receiving but k'^ 
per month in return for his hard labors. He then 
learned and followed the tra<le of a inillvvright, in 
wliicli he was (juite successfuL He was married to 
Beulali Scott, a native of Windham, Vt., and a 
daughter of Uufus .Scott, the ceremony taking 
place on New Year's Day of 1824, in Allegany 
County. N. V. 'i'hey came to Michigan in 18.56, 
bringing live children, our subject being the young- 
est. The father settled in Oshtemo Township, this 
county, in IHST, where he l)ought eighty acres on 



section 31. He died October 22, 1891. He w.as an 
active and prominent man in his younger days in 
all public movements. His good wife died on the 
Kith of March, 1872. 

Silas W. Kendall, the subject of this sketch, had 
his birth in -Vllegany County, N. Y., .September 21), 
18 16, and there spent his boyhood days attending 
the common schools. He came to this State with 
his parents and was married, in 1873, to Lucy S. 
Drummond, a daughter of Jacob Drummond, an 
old settler and one highly esteemed by his many 
acquaintances. Mrs. Kendall is a pleasant, sociable 
and motherly woman, and is highly spoken of by 
all. Our subject is .an active man and quite popu- 
lar and h.as run for Supervisor of his township a 
number of times, but, being in the minority has 
failed to secure an election. In his politics, he 
alliliates with the Democratic party. 

He of whom we write has erected a fine house 
on the estate consisting of eighty acres on section 
34, and everything around shows the thrift and 
energy of the owner. Mr. and ]Mrs. Kendall have 
one child, to whom the3^ have given the name of E. 
Vernon, who is now nine years old, the pride and 
hope of the family. Mr. Kendall has two brothers 
and one sister now living. J. W. is living in Kal- 
am.azoo City, Smith II. in Pine Grove Township, 
and Nancy S. Thompson is a widow living in Kal- 
amazoo. His sister Electa died in Dakota. .1. W. 
Kendall w.-is a soldier in the Twenty-fifth Michi- 
gan Infantry in the late war and served his coun- 
try three years. 



.^-^-^ 



"^^33J 



i>-^<! 



LCIV^ 



-^,1 NDKIAV .1. HOLMES, dentist, a member of 
i@0| the popular firm of Holmes k iMoflfett, was 
IS torn -Vugust IH, 1H34, in the vicinity of 
Willoughby, I>ake County, Ohio. He is 
the second son and seventh child in a family of 
eight born to Ezra and Maria (I'elton) Holmes. 
The father w.as a native of Connecticut and tlie 
mother of New York, and were married in Living- 
ston County, of the latter-named State. 

The parents of our subject came West to Laki' 
County, Ohio, as early as 1830, where Mr. Holmes 
was engaged in general farming and daiiyiug. 



800 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



manufacturing a fine qualit^^ of cbeese, for which 
article he took first inemiuni in the county and 
State fairs. He p.asscd from this life in 1861, 
when in his sixty-fourth year. His good wife had 
preceded him to the better land many years, her 
death taking place in 1837. in Lake County, Ohio. 
After the death of his mother, the father of our 
subject was a second time married, the lady of 
his choice being Maria Peters, who is now deceased 
and who had become the mother of five children. 

Andrew J. Holmes received his primary educa- 
tion in the common schools of his native town, 
and later attended the Kirtland Academy at Kirt- 
land. Ohio, .\fter being graduated from that in- 
stitution, he taught school for two years and then 
began the study of dentistry at Willoughby, Ohio. 
After completing his course in that profession. Dr. 
Holmes began the practice of dentistry in the 
above-named city, where he was more than ordin- 
arily successful in building u[> a lucrative practice. 

In January, ISG'.t, the original of this sketch 
went to South Haven, this State, where he re- 
mained for two years and then came to Kalamazoo 
in 1871, where he has since been a resident. 
Dr. Holmes is quite extensively interested in real 
estate, and, in addition to the property which he 
owns in this city, is the proprietor of a good farm 
at Grand Forks, Dak. At one time he was interested 
with P. Poyneer, under the firm name of Poyneer 
& Co., dealing in fanning mills and selling them 
throughout the Eastern States. He was thus em- 
plo3-ed during the ^ears of 188.3-84, but since that 
time gives his attention exclusivelj' to the practice 
of his profession. 

Dr. Holmes was married, in March, 1868, to Miss 
Marion E. Webster, of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Mrs. 
Holmes was born in Kirtland, Lake County, Ohio, 
and was the daughter of Trucsdale and Mary 
(Peterson) Webster. Our subiect and his wife 
have become the parents of one son, Frank W.,who 
is now a student in the dental department of the 
Michigan University. 

Socially, Dr. Holmes is a Knight of Pythias and 
a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- 
men. In church matters, with his wife, he belongs 
to the Unitarian denomination, in wliicli body he 
was a Trustee. Mrs. Holmes now holds that posi- 



tion, however, and the church is presided over by 
a lady minister, Mrs. Bartlett. The beautiful home 
of our subject and his wife is located at No. 703, 
West Main Street, where they entertain their 
friends, by whom they are held in universal es- 
teem. 






So~ 



IHKE W. NOYES, Assistant Adjutant-Gcn- 
er.al of the Department of Michigan, G. A. 
iii^> R., was born in Lcroy, Genesee Count}-, N. 
-^ Y., April 22, 1830. He traces his lineage 
back to the time of William the Conqueror, when 
his ancestors came from Normand^'to England and 
settled at Salisbury. At an early day in the his- 
tory of the colonies, reinesentatives of the family 
emigrated hither and located in New Hampshire, 
where were born the parents of our subject, David 
W. and Olive (Allen) Noyes. The mother was 
a distant connection of the famous Ethan Allen, 
so that both as pioneers and patriots the members 
of the family have labored for the development 
of the Union. 

In October, 1831, our subject was brought by his 
parents to this State, where he was reared on a 
farm in Macomb County, and attended school 
whenever opportunity' offered. However, his edu 
cation was principall}' gained under the instruc- 
tions of his father, who was a te.acher as well as a 
farmer. When he arrived at the age of twenty- 
one, he hired out to work by the month, making 
an agreement that he was to receive as much as 
was paid by any one in town. Later, he attended 
the Disco Academy and in the winter of 1851-52 
taught school. At the close of his term of school, 
he engaged to work on Government surveys in the 
Upper Peninsula, and during the following winter 
clerked in a country store. 

In March, 1853, INIr. No^'es sailed from New 
York for ]\Ielbourue, Australia, and, after a voyage 
of one hundred and live days, landed at the des- 
tined port on July 4tli. For a month he was em- 
l)l03'ed by an uncle of George Francis 'I'rain as 
clerk in a bonded warehouse, and after (piitting 
that pl.ace went into the gold mines, where he 
worked witii varying success until February, 1855. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPHTCAL RECORD. 



801 



lie found at that time lie h:ul iiiuiu'v enough to 
pny his pMssnijc homo, and, accordingly, he em- 
l)arkod for London, whicii he re.ached after one 
hundred and forty-two days on the ocean. Among 
his feiU)w-|)as.senger.s was an uncle f>f William K. 
Gla<lsl()ne, Charles Ewart by name. It was l)erl)y 
Day when he arrived in London, and after making 
a short visit in that city, he sailed from Soutli- 
hami)ton and landed in Jscw York during June. 

From New York, Mr. Noyes proceeded to Bos- 
ton, thence to the former home of his father in 
New Hampshire and from that place to Niagara 
Falls. In July, 1855, he returned to his father's 
home in Macomb County, this State, ami, after vis- 
iting at home for a short time, went to Chicago 
and entered Bell's Coninicrcial College, from which 
he was graduated with second honors in a class of 
fifty. In tiie spring of 185G, he cng.agcd with a 
lumber lirm, l>y the name of Ad.ams, Blinn <fe Co., 
as book-kce]icr and general manager, and was sent 
by them across the lake to South Haven, where he 
had charge of their interests, managed their store 
and w.as foreman of their employes at that place 
The i)anic of 1><57 not only bankrupted the firm, 
but caused liim to lose his entire salary and the 
money he had loaned his employers. 

About that time, when !Mr. Noyes w.as, perhaps, 
suffering more from adverse circumstances than at 
any other |)eriod of his life, he wjis married, Janu- 
ary 10, 1853, to Mettie L., the daughter of Howe 
and Harriet (Lampliear) Covert. At the time of 
her marriage, ]\Irs. Noyes w.as a resident of South 
Haven, but her native place was in Ovid, Seneca 
County, N. Y., where she was born March 2, 1839. 
Ten children have been born to Mr. and IMrs. 
Noyes, one of whom died in infancy. Arthur J. 
is engaged on the street railroad in Chicago; 
(ieorge W'., born Kcbruary 22, 1H61, resides in 
^landan, N. Dak., and is one of the foremost taxi- 
dermists in the Lhiitcd States; Bertha E. is the wife 
of K. J. Harrington, a farmer of I'aw Paw Town- 
ship; David W. lives in Paw Paw, where he is 
clerking in the establishment of J. C. Warner; Al- 
liert, who is blind from the effect of injury re- 
ceived when ten ^-ears old, remains under the p.a- 
rental roof; Ralph G., who is also a taxidermist and 
resides in D.akota: Harrv S. is a student in the Paw 



Paw High School; Joe and Merta remain at home. 

In 1859, Mr. Noyes p(u-chased eighty .acres of 
wild land near South Haven, upon which he lo- 
cated in the spring of the following year. He en- 
gaged in cutting wood and averaged a cord each 
d.ay during the winter months. On December 2, 
1862, he enlisted in Coiiiiiany I), First Michigan 
Sharpshooters, and went into cami) at Kalamazoo. 
During the following month, he went to Dear- 
born Arsenal, near Detroit, and iii .Inly, with his 
regiment, marched to Indiana, following the INIor- 
gan raiders through that State to the Ohio line 
and engaged in several sharp skirmishes. After 
doing provost duty in Indianapolis for a time, he 
was ordered to Detroit to prevent draft riots. 

The regiment received orders in August to 
march to Chicago and guard .Morgan's men at 
Camp Douglas, and thence, JIarch 23. IHOl, they 
proceeded to Annapolis, Md., to join I'.mnside's 
expedition. They crossed the Hapidaii Kiver and 
engaged in the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 
1864, going into .action. May fitli, with seven hun- 
dred and thirty-eight enlisted men and thirty-six 
commissioned otlieers. They participated in all 
the eamp.aigns of the Army of the Potom.ac and 
during the siege of Petersburg occupied the near- 
estapproach to the lebel lines, guarding the mouth 
of the mines run under the rebel works. When 
the city fell, the regiment planted the tirst Hag 
over the ruins. 

At .Spottsylvania, on May 13th, Mr. Noyes was 
wounded in the left arm and. on July 30tli, re- 
ceived injuries at the blowing up of the mine. A 
shell exploded near him which caused p.artial par- 
alysis of the right side, deafness in the right ear, 
paralysis of the right larynx, and broke two toes 
in the left foot. On September 30th, at Peebles farm, 
he w.as again wounded in the left limb above the 
knee and was t«ken prisoner, being kei)t at Libby 
Prison for a few daj'S and thence removed, on Oc- 
tober 6th, to Salisbury, where he remained one 
m(mtli. Together with others, he planned escape, 
but the plot being discovered, he w.as removed to 
Danville. Ya., where he wa.s held until February 
and tlien returned to Libby Prison. 

On February 22, 1865, Mr. Noyes was paroled. 
and going to the hospital at Annapolis, soon ob- 



1 



802 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX"ORD= 



tained a leave of absence and eanie home. On 
April 15tli, before he had learned of the assassina- 
tion of President Lincoln, he was impelled b.y a 
strong inward feeling to return to the army, and 
meeting his company, did duty until July 28th, 
when he was mustered out and participated in the 
Grand Review at Washington. He had enlisted 
as a private, and by a series of promotions passed 
from Orderly .Sergeant to First Lieutenant and 
Captain. Before receiving his commission for the 
latter position, he was appointed Adjutant, in 
which c.'ipacit}' he was serving at the time of his 
resignation. 

LTpon returning home, Mr. Noyes began to clear 
and improve his farm, on which he resided until 
1872. He is a prominent Republican, and, in 1857, 
was elected Townshii) Clerk; in 1860, Justice of 
the Peace and. in 1862, Supervisor. His first vote 
was cast, in 1852, for John P. Hale, and four 3'ears 
later he supported John C. Fremont. In 18G7,he was 
elected Supervisor of South Haven, which posi- 
tion he retained until 1870, serving as Chairman 
in 1869-70. He served two terms as Register cf 
Deeds and has served as Justice of the Peace for 
about five 3'ears. For a number of \ears he was man- 
ager of a general store in I'aw Paw, finally buying 
out the stock. In Ma}^ 188G, he was appointed assis- 
tant book-keeper in the land office at Lansing, and 
served m that capacity until May, 1890, when he 
was appointed State Trespass Agent. In Januaiy, 
1891, he resigned that position and the following 
March was appointed to his present responsible and 
influential position in the Grand Army of the Re- 
public, and has since been appointed by President 
Harrison to the position of Postmaster at Paw 
Paw. 



■' < < ^ "1 <i <^» .° 



<il felLLTAM CLARK RANSOM, M. D.. lo- 
\jij// cated at South Haven in April, 1881, and 
W^ 'li's since become one of the leading busi- 
ness men of the place, as well as a jjopular phj'si- 
cian. He is a member of the firm of Hempstead 
Bros. & Ransom, clotliing merchants, and is also 
a dealer in real estate and interested in commerce 
on the lakes. Di-. Ransom was born in Belmont 
County, Ohio, December 6, 1828, a son of James 



and Elizabeth (Anderson) Ransom, the Ransom 
family being ()f Irish ancestry. Samuel Ransom, 
the grandfather of our subject, was a soldier in 
the Revolutionary War and was never heard of 
thereafter, it being supposed that he was killed by 
the Indians. 

James Ransom, the father of our subject, was 
born in Union County, Pa., in 1806, where he 
learned the trade of a blacksmith and emigrated to 
Ohio. There he married Elizabeth Anderson, a na- 
tive of Maryland, born near Baltimore, in 1809, and 
of Scotch ancestiy. They resided in Belmont and 
Guernsey Counties, Ohio, until 1836, then remov- 
ing to what is now Blackford County, Ohio, where 
Mr. Ransom cut a road ten miles into the dense 
forest and settled down live miles distant from 
any other white man. Here he cleared a farm and 
made a iiome. He died in 1862, his wife surviv- 
ing hini until 1873. They had thirteen children, 
twelve of whom attained to mature j^ears, married 
and reared families. 

The subject of this sketch is the eldest of the 
parental family and one of three sons who chose 
the medical profession. Two sons became merch- 
ants and one a contractor and builder. On attain- 
ing his majority. Dr. R.ansom worked one year for 
a livestock dealer. In 1850, he w.as seized with 
the gold fever and started for California via New 
Orleans, Cuba, Mexico and the Sandwich Islands 
and thus after a journey- of nine months ar- 
rived in San Francisco without any money. He 
worked one year on a ranch at iiil25 per month. 
He then took a claim on what is now the site of 
San Jose, which he sold for $6,000 and deposited 
the money in a bank. This failed and he thus 
lost all his hard-earned wealth. He then worked 
a few months in the mines, accumulating $1,500, 
which he loaned a merchant, but through his dis- 
honesty again lost all his savings. He was not 
discouraged, however, in spite of all his hard luck, 
and immediately set about retrieving his fortunes, 
taking up a new line of work. He had never at- 
tended school to amount to anything, but in his 
boyhood days, during his leisure moments, he was 
fond of j)erusing medical works and when he went 
to California carried a number of these with him. 
He now entered a private hospital at Sacramento. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



803 



wlii'ie lu' workod Iwo years, tlu'ii went witli tlie 
Siirgcon-CJi'iieral and a coiiipaiiy of militia into 
Nurllicrn Califoiiiia and Orcfrnn, liaviiij^ care 
of the sick soldiers for foui- years. At the end of 
this time, lie went onto an Indian Heseivation in 
Del Noite County, .Sinitii River N'.allcy, Cal. 

In l.sdi. Dr. Hansom pureliMsed *I00 worth of 
dings and sailed for the Island of Otaheite in the 
southern I'aeilie ( )eean. The journey was made on 
an American schooner (carrying the Otaheite Hag) 
to Otaheite. The voyage to China and Africa was 
made prior to this on a man-of-war. lie stopped 
at the capital, Papeiti, of the island and eared for 
some whale fishers who were there siek. lie next 
went to the Feejee Islands, New Zealand, and 
Australia, where he shipped for ^'alparaiso, Chili, 
landing on the Gth of March, IHC"), and remained 
until July Ifi, 1865, there hearing for the first time 
of the capture of Richmond and the assassination 
of President Lincoln. Prom VaI|)araiso, he sailed 
to Callao, Peru, where he remained two weeks, 
then went tc) (^tiiiteel, P^cuador, and made a visit to 
(^uito. He then sailed to Panama and from there 
to New York and in the fall of 1H().") returned to 
his old home at Hartford, Ind., and hung out his 
shingle as physician and surgeon. Dr. Hansom 
now took a course in the Cleveland Medical Col- 
lege and in 1870 was graduated from the Indiana 
Medical College, remaining at Hartford until he 
came to South Haven. 

After his removal to South Haven, Dr. Hansom 
practiced his profession and also engaged in deal- 
ing in real estate and soon hecome a prinninent 
factor in the Imsincss of the town. In 1884, he 
built a schooner loaded with produce and with his 
family on hoard started for New ( )rleans to visit the 
o.Kposition. The trip required one hundred days 
as he hunted and fished along the route. He sold 
the cargo and hoat at New Orleans. He has since 
built three other boats and sold them at the place. 
He h.as built the "Harvey Hansom," which sails on 
the lake, and has been interested in other vessels. 
Since 1888, the Doctor has been a member of the 
firm of Hempstead Brt>s. A- Hansom and has built 
several residences in South Haven. Dr. Hansom 
was married. .laniiary 1. 1866, to Emily Hodson, 
dauiihter of Samuel and Phiebc Hiidsun. She was 



born in Grant County, Ind., November 22, l>sl8. 
They are the parents of one son. Thomas Harvey, 
who w.as born in Hartford, Ind., August ;3, 1870, 
and w.as graduated from the Indiana College of 
Physicians and Surgeons in 18!»1, a few days be- 
fore he was twenty-one years of .age. He is now 
associated with his father in practice. Dr. Ransom 
is a stanch He|)ublii'an liut cannot be called a i)oli- 
tician as he takes but little interest in the work- 
ings of '• the machine, " and h.as never sought 
public oltice. He became a member of the Odd 
Fellows in 1855, h.-is p.asscd all the chairs in both 
the subordinate and the encampment lodges and 
served as Deputy Grand Master in Oregon and in 
Indiana. He is a member of the Scientific, .Medi- 
cal, and Business Societies of South Haven. 




ILLLVM S. DOWNEY, Sheriff of Kalama- 
zoo County, claims Ireland as the land of 
''^j his nativity, and is one f)f the worthy citi- 
zens which that country h.as furnished to Mich- 
igan. His birth occurred in the city of Belfast, 
IMareh 2. 1852, and he is the eldest son of William 
and Mary (.McConnell) Downey. In 1802, his par- 
ents crossed the Atlantic to (Quebec, and thence 
came direct to Michigan, locating on a farm in 
Kalamazoo County, where Jlr. Downey engaged in 
agricultural pursuits until his death, which oc- 
curred October 6, 1872. He took <iuite a promi- 
nent part in public affairs, an<l was very active in 
the campaign of Seymour and I'.lair. He was a 
strong believer in the doctrines of the Presbyterian 
Church, and the views of .loliii Knox. All who 
knew him respected him for his honesty of purpose 
and fidelity to the right. Ilis wife died in Ireland 
in 18G1. The family numbered twc) sons and a 
daughter: James A., now of Chicago; Maty, wife 
of John Gilmer of the firm of flilmer r.rothers, 
dry-goods merchants of Kalamazoo; and William 
S., of this sketch. 

Our subject w.as trained in the labors of the farir. 
and acijuired his education in the public schools, 
and in the I^ptist College of Kalamazoo, which he 
attended for two vears. He then beL;:in earninsT 



804 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his own livelihood, and for four years was an em- 
ploye in the Michigan State Asylum for the Insane, 
after which he took a trip tiirough the West, and 
spent some time in Leadville and Gunnison City, 
Col., remaining away from home for nearly two 
yeai'S. 

On his return to Kalamazoo, Mr. Downey was 
united in marriage to Miss Maria Grimes, daugh- 
ter of .Tohn Grimes, an old resident of Sclioolciaft, 
Mich. The lady died in 1884, leaving a little 
daughter, Julia May, then only ten months old. In 
June, 1891, Mr. Downey was .again married, his 
second union being with Lizzie Cody, of Toledo, 
Ohio, who was born near Howard City, Mich. This 
worthy couple are well and favorably known in 
Kalamazoo, and rank high in social circles. 

Under Mr. Montague, Mr. Downey served for 
two years as Deputy Sheriff, and was then elected 
Constable, serving for three years. He was the 
only one elected on the Democratic ticket, and in 
1891 he was elected Sheriff of Kalamazoo County, 
receiving a majority of fifty -one votes in a county 
where there is a Republican majority of one thou- 
sand. This plainly indicates two facts: his great 
personal popularity and the confidence placed in 
his ability. He entered upon the discharge of the 
duties of the oflieeon the 1st of Januar3', 1892, and 
is proving a capable and trustworthy official. He 
has always taken quite an active part in local poli- 
tics, and is a stalwart advocate of Democratic prin- 
ciples. He is connected with several civic soci- 
eties, being a member of Kalamazoo Lodge, No. 22, 
A. F. &A. M.; Saladin Temple Nobles of the Mys- 
tic Shrine; Deloit Clinton Consistory Ancient Ac- 
cepted Scottish Rite; the Knights of Pythi.as; Burr 
Oak Lodge, No. 270, I. O. O. F; and the Indepen- 
dent Order of Red Men. 



WILLIAM L. WELSH. The character of a 
people is displayed in their dwellings and 
public buildings. Be they educated or 
ignorant, resthetic or depraved, elevated or de- 
based, the beauty or ugliness of their architecture 
is a sure criterion by which to judge the public 
taste. No city of its size in the entire country can 



boast of so many handsome edifices for the home 
life of its people as has Kalamazoo. Its broad ave- 
nues and boulevards are lined with stately edifices, 
constructed according to the modern style of 
architecture in brick, stone and wood. 

The efforts of many minds and hands have con- 
tributed to this general grand effect, but it is safe 
to say that no man is entitled to greater credit 
than the gentleman whose imme introduces this 
sketch. With a natural inclination toward the 
contemplation of mechanical designs, and the early 
training in company with his father, he soon de- 
veloped a taste for architectural ornamentation. 
lie has attained a name second to none as a super- 
intendent and builder, and his interior finish and 
decorations are surpassed by none, equalled bj' 
few. 

A native of England, Mr. Welsh was born in 
Devonshire, November 13, 1842, and is a son of 
Joseph and Eliza (Lenthorn) Welsh. When about 
nine years old, he came with his parents to Can- 
ada, settling at London, where his father followed 
the trade of a carpenter. At the age of twenty- 
two, he came to Kalamazoo and engaged as a car- 
penter, his connection with his father continuing 
until the death of the latter, in October, 1879, at 
the age of sixty years. The widowed mother died 
three years afterward. 

The parental family comprises five children, 
William L., being the eldest; Thomas resides in Kala- 
mazoo; John makes his home in Colorado; Rich- 
ard lives in Montana; Sarah, formerly the wife of 
T. H. Gilbert, died at Leadville, Col. In 1869, our 
subject began as a contractor, and has continued 
thus engaged until the present. He erects all 
kinels of structures, and takes contracts for brick, 
stone or wood. He employs from five to twentj- 
men, and has built some of the finest buildings in 
the cit}', among them the elegant residence of Mr. 
Lawrence. 

June 29, 1868, Mr. AVelsh was married at Kala- 
mazoo to Miss Isabella Priest, who w.as born at 
Beverly, Canada, and is descended from Scotch and 
American ancestors. .She resided at Beverl3- until 
her removal to Kalamazoo about 18.58, and prior 
to her marriage was occupied as a teacher. For 
some years past, she has been an invalid and un- 





(/ Jy^ y74^2j^'2f<2^^---7</^^^-jj/7<iM^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



807 



able to give much attention to either literary or 

cliiiivli work. :iltl:ougli sill' is a inoiiiher of the 
Jletiiodi.sl Church. She lias two fliiklreii: Freder- 
ick diaries, a fresco painter of Kalamazoo; and 
Cora Pauline, a yonno; lady of rare heauly of face 
and inin<l. and at present a student in tlie High 
.Scliool. The family re.sidenee at No. 11;") W. Dut- 
ton Street is a model house throughout, and pos- 
sesses all the essentials of modern comfort on an ex- 
tensive scale. 



• gGJ- " ^ - -fj 



-^ 



i^ LDER JAMES HENRY HAMMOND, pas- 
1^ tor of the Christian Church of Decatur, 
w!is born in (Ircenc County, N. Y., April 1, 



1847, and is of English descent. His grandfather 
was .lonatlian Hammond and his father horc the 
name of Nathaniel. The latter was horn in E.ast- 
ern New York, October l.*), 181,5, and married 
Caroline Sears, also a native of the Empire State. 
By trade he was a cabinet-maker and followed 
that occupation during the greater part of his j 
life. He died in Ulster County. N. Y., in 185fi, ! 
and the death of his wife occurred in Delaware j 
Count}', N. Y., in 1883, whither the family had j 
removed after the death of the fatiier. I 

All of their eight cliildreii grew to mature years 
and live are still living: R. S. is a resident of ! 
Delaware County. N. Y.; Nancy .lane, widow of 
.lohn .Merciiant, resides in Delaware County; Frank 
died in that county in 1883; D.aniel 1'". and David 
F.. twins: tlie former died in 18S2,aiid the latter re- 
sides in Delaware County: Herbert S. makes his I 
home in Dakota; and Hector N. die(l in Delaware 
County, in 1H70. 

When only seventeen years of age, .lames H. 
Hammond enlisted for the late war as a member 
of Company M, Fifteenth New York Heavy 
Artillery, on the 8tli of February, 186 1. The 
regiment was sent to join Grant in his campaign 
and partici|>ated in all the important engagements 
until the close of the war. Our .-subject Wiis wound- 
ed in the capture of the Weldon Railroad, August 
18. 1864, by a minie ball, which p.assed through 
his right side. He was then sent to the hospital 
at City Point, and afterward to Lincoln Hospital 
37 



at Washington, where the surgeon said that had 

the ball gone one-sixteenth of an inch farther, it 
would have caused his death. As it is, he lias 
never yet fully recovered from his wound. He 
was honorably discharged on the 22d of August, 
1865. 

When the country no longer needed his services, 
Mr. Hammond returned to Delaware County, N. 
Y., where for a time he worked on a farm and 
then entered Stamford Seminary to prepare him- 
self for teaching, which profession he afterward 
followed for a number of years. On leaving New 
York, he emigrated to Ogle County, 111., and after- 
ward engaged in teaching for two terms in Rock 
Island County, that State. It was there that he 
united with the Christian Church and formed the 
resolve to devote himself to the ministry. He 
entered the Bible College connected with Ken- 
tucky University, a school of the Christian Church, 
and after a time engaged in preaching for one 
year in Dubuque, Iowa. He then returned to 
school and was graduated from Bible College in 
Lexington on the 14th of .June, 1877, .and carried 
off .second honors in his class. His first call, sub- 
sequent to that time, was from the church in !Mid- 
way, Ky., where he remained a year and then 
went to Pompcy Hill, N. Y., the former home of 
Horatio .Seymour. His next charge was at Grand 
Rapids, where he remained four years, during 
wliich time he did effective work in that place and 
w.as largely instrumental in building up the church. 

January 1, 1 883, Elder Hammond was united m 
marriage, in Paw Paw, Van Buren County, to 
Mary Grace, daughter of Le (Jrand R. AnderMUi, 
one of the earliest settlers of this county. Unto 
them have been born three children: Mary Gr.nce, 
born Feliruary 27. 1887; Clara Susie, born Jan- 
uary 21, 188il; and Ue (J rand .\.. horn April 6. 
1891. 

On leaving (Jrand Rapids, Mr. Hanunond lie- 
came pastor of the church in Painesville, Ohio, 
where he labored a year and then ,aecej)ted the 
[losition of Stale Evangelist of Michigan. A year 
later he took charge of his father-in-law's farm 
which he operated for two years and at the same 
time (illed the pulpit in Bangor for several months 
and held a number of revival meetings. His next 



808 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



pastorate was at South Bend, Ind., and after about 
two j'ears lie went to Mt. Ayr, Iowa, where he 
preached one jear. In Jul}-, 1890, he came to 
Decatur and lias since \xen pastor of the church 
at this phice. It is a new organization with 
about one hundred members and has been greatly 
built up by the labors of Elder Hammond. The 
first year he devoted part of his time to the church 
in Kalamazoo, but now gives his entire time to the 
congregation here. He is alike esteemed by his 
own members and those outside of the church. 
.Socially, he is a member of the Grand Army Post 
and of the Good Templars' Society. During nearly 
his entire residence in Michigan, he has been a 
rainnber of the State Board of Missionsand is now 
President of the Christian Missionary Association 
of the State. 

In connection with his sketch will be noticed a 
lithographic portraitof Mr. Hammond. 



eARL W. WILLISON, who operates a saw- 
mill in Decatur, was born on the 15th of 
April, 1842, in Licking C'ount3', Ohio, and 
comes of one of the old families of Maiyland. 
His great-grandfather, Jeremiah Willison, was a 
native of Lancaster County, Pa., and married Miss 
Sarah Death, by whom he had a large family. He 
removed to Maiyland, and was Crier of the first 
court ever held in Cumberl.and. The grandfather 
of our subject, John Willison, was born in Cum- 
berland, and wedded Miss Sarah Moore, a ladj' of 
Scotch descent. He followed farming in pursuit 
of fortune, and died in 1851. The following 
children constituted his family: Elitlia, Elisha, 
Larry, Asbury, Isaiah, Singleton and Abel. 

The father of our subject, Abel Willison, was 
born in Flintstone, Md., August 15, 1802, and his 
marriage to Melinda Castile, a native of Bedford 
County, Pa., was celelirated in 1833. He made his 
home in the city of Cumberland, and engaged in 
farming. He died in the faith of the Methodist 
Church, November 22, 1867, having survived his 
wife only eight days. She, too, was a member of 
the Methodist Church. Seven children oraced 



their union, all of whom grew to mature years: 
Thomas J., of Illinois; Eliza M., wife of Robert 
Holvie, of Wabash County, Ind.; John W., of Pre- 
ble County, Ohio; Mary H, who died in early 
womanhood; David L., a resident farmer of South 
Dakota; and Martha E., wife of James Acton, of 
Preble Count}^ Ohio. 

In the Buckeye State, Carl Willison spent the 
days of his boyhood and youth, his educational 
advantages being limited to the privileges of the 
common schools. At the age of eighteen, he started 
out to earn his own livelihood, and in the fall of 
1860, with his brother J. W., went to Illinois, 
where he was emplo3'ed as a farm hand until the 
spring of 1861. Prompted by patriotic impulses, 
he responded to the country's call for troops, en- 
listing in Company B, Eighth Missouri Infantry, 
under Capt. D. P. Greer. The trooi>s were first 
sent to Cape Girardeau, Mo., and thence to Ken- 
tucky, where they took part in the battles of Ft. 
Donelsoi>, Shiloh, siege of Corinth and of Vicks- 
burg, and the battles of Memphis, H0II3' Springs 
and Jackson. At the latter place, Mr. Willison 
was taken sick and sent to the hospital. On ac- 
count of disability, he was discharged at Padueah, 
K}'., in July, 1863, and went to his brother's home 
in Indiana. Subsequently, he went on a visit to 
his parents in Ohio, after which he re-enlisted, join- 
ing Company B, First Indiana lleav.y Artillery. 
He participated in the siege and capture of Ft. 
Morgan, in August, 1864, and tliecapture of Spanish 
Fort. After the close of the war, he was discharged 
in January, 1866. 

Mr. Willison then returned to his iiome in Indi- 
ana, whither his parents had removed in the mean- 
time, and in October of that year he came to 
Michigan, locating in Cass County, where for one 
year he worked in a sawmill. We next find him 
employed in a similar manner in Decatur Town- 
ship, where he remained until 1872. On the 16tli 
of April of that year, his mill was dcstroj'ed by 
fire, and he went to Howard City, Mich., where he 
engaged in the manufacture of shingles for one 
year. He then again carried on a sawmill, and en- 
gaged in the mill business in Cass County for a 
j'ear, when he removed to Dowagiac, Mich., where 
he operated a sawmill, and was employed in a fac- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



809 



tory for ciiiht yciirs. At Ihc cxiiiinlidii of that 
tiiiii", lu' camo to DwaliM, wlicic liu has since re- 
sided. Again iiis null was linrned, on the Gth of 
October, 1891, hut wiMi ihaiaoteristic energy lie 
rehuilt and tiie new mill was (ilted out with all 
the modeiii iniprovenients and machinery. He is 
now enjoying a good Imsiness, which is e<nislantl\- 
increasing. 

Mr. Willison and Miss Mary K. Warner weiv 
married in .Inne, 1H7(I. The lady is a native 
of Decatur Township, and a daughter of .Joseph 
Warner, one of the early settlers of the county. 
Their union lias heen hlessed with two children: 
Mal>el, horn October 25, 1872; and Mollie, horn 
August li), 1881. 

Mr. Willison takes consideralile interest in civic 
societies, holding ineniliership with the Masons, the 
Odd Fellows, Kniglits (jf r3thias, and Grand 
Army Post, and li.is filled all the offices in the 
second-named organization. He is a stanch advo- 
cate of Ke|)ul)liean [iriuciples, taking a deep inter- 
est m the growth and success of his party, but lias 
never been an ollice-seeker. Although he has met 
with reverses, he is now doing a lucrative business, 
and by his industry, enterprise and good manage- 
ment, has acquired the competence which places 
liim among tiie substantial citizens of tiie com- 
muiiitv. 



d****^ 
=)•}••{•**'? 






bijoux MALLOW, one of the prosperous .and 
well-to-do farmers of section 1, School- 

tj craft Townshii), Kalamazoo County, is a 
I ■ native of Alsace, France, now a part of 
Germany, where he iiad iiis birth September 25, 
1825. His father, a farmer wiio bore the name 
of I'eter, came to America in 1811, jjcing forty- 
two days on the ocean. He settled near IJiirr 
Oaks, Mich., and died there four months later, 
wlien sixty years of age. lie ami his good 
wife, C'iiristina Mallow, were members of the 
Lutheran Church and the parents of six children, 
namely: Catherine. Sarah, I'eter, (Jeorge, Chris- 
tena, and John. 

Our subject is the only member of the familv 
now living, and he came to America with his fa- 



ther when about fifteen years old. He had studied 

both (ierman and French In his native schools, 
and soon learned the Kiiglish langu.age after com- 
ing here. After the death of the father, our sub- 
ject lived with a brother one winter, when he 
started out foi- himself, working ten years by the 
moiilli. He at lirst received *G a month, and 
linally received *12 a month. He worked in La- 
(i range County, Ind., three years, and, .as soon as 
he had saved sufficient money, he |nirchased 
eighty acres of his present farm in 1845. Seven 
acres were cleared, and a plank house alreadv stooil 
on the place. 

Mr. Mallow was married and settled here in 
1852, the wedding taking pl.ace May 18, to Miss 
Mary E. Davis, a native of Ohio. By this union 
they became the parents of five children, four of 
whom grew up: Homer. .Sarah (now deceased), 
Effie K. and Clara. Mrs. Mallow died in 1804, 
and in November of the following year, our subject 
took as his second wife Catherine Clipfell, a na- 
tive of the Empire State. I5y this union three 
children have been born: Charles (deceased), Fred 
and Mary. Mrs. Mallow is an estimable lady and 
has taken great pains to educate her children, 
helping and encouraging them in c\c]y way pos- 
sil)le. She has been a true helpmate to her hus- 
liand, and much of their success is due to her dis- 
cretion and intelligence. 

AVhen Mr. Mallow settled here, there was not 
much development. Deer and bears roamed at 
will in the forests, and the foruier were so tame 
that they used to come into his garden. He h.as 
always been a very industrious man, and is now 
the deserving possessor of live hundred and 
eighty acres in different parts of this and St. Jo- 
seph Counties. Two hundred acres conii)ose the 
liome farm, where he carried on mixed farming, 
raising (juantities of grain, and has fed a great 
many cattle. He is now retired from active 
life and is enjoying the fruits of his early la- 
boi-s and tlie coniforl,s and luxuries wealth af- 
fords. 

In the year 1860, Mr. Mallow erected his pres- 
ent fine fr.ame residence, and also .several lame 
barns. He is inclined to the Congregational 
faith, to which church his wife belongs, .and he is 



810 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a stanch supimrter of the same. He assisted in 
building l)oth the Congregational and Metliodist 
Cliurchcs at Vicksburg. Politicall}', he is a Demo- 
crat, and has been a member of tlie Board of Re- 
view a number of times. He attriliutes his success 
in life mainly to close attention to business af- 
fairs, economical habits and sagacious judgment, 
and b}' these has not only made for himself a 
splendid competency, but has gained the respect 
and esteem of the entire community. 



-^]. 



^-« 



cs_ 



[^~ 



0" HARLES STRATTON, a soldier in the 
Tnion Arm}', who served hiscountrv nobly 
. during the late war, is a native of Otsego 

Township, bom of one of its earliest pioneer fam- 
ilies, and is to-d.ay one of the foremost of the skill- 
ful and enlightened farmers .and stock-raisers who 
are carrying on the large agricultural interests of 
this part of Allegan Count}-. 

Mr. Stratton was born October 2.3, 1842, and is 
a son of Thomas Sti'atton, who was one of the first 
settlers in Otsego Township west of Pine Creek, 
and is still an honored resident of this county, 
whose entire development he has witnessed, bear- 
ing his part in promoting its growth .and solid pros- 
perity. He underwent all the hardshij)S and pri- 
vations incident to pioneer life while improving 
his farm, but with it all he found many compen- 
sations, among which was the fine opportunity 
that the forests, swamps and prairies, in their 
original wildness, afforded him for hunting, in 
which he took a keen delight, as he wiis an expert 
marksman and many a deer has fallen at his un- 
erring aim, as he luas been known to shoot three 
in one day. 

A native of the Green Mountain State, Mr. Str.at- 
ton,.Sr., went to live in Wayne County, N. Y., in 
his boyhood, and remained there until 1832, when 
he set out for the forest wilds of the Territory of 
Michigan. He was without means, but he was en- 
dowed with health, strength and a good capacity 
for labor. He worked out for some months at 
first, but soon took up a tract of Government 
land in Otsego Township, which he sold ere long, 
and returned to New York. He remained two or 



three years in that State, and then, coming back 
to Michigan, took up a fine piece of land on the 
opposite side of the line from where he was for- 
merly located. This farm he cleared and im- 
proved, and is still living upon it, at the age of 
seventy-nine years. He has been a Steward in 
the Slethodist Episcopal Church for many years 
.and is an exemplary Christian. The companion 
of his early manhood and later yeai's has departed 
this life, dying in .lune, 1886, m her ^eightieth 
year. She was a faithful Cluislian, and for many 
years a devoted member of the Methodist I^pisco- 
pal Church. 

Our subject is the second of the four ciiildren 
born to his i)arents, all of whom are living. He 
obtained his education in an old-fashioned log 
sclioolhouse, and grew up surrounded by pioneer 
infiuences. In his youth he assisted his father on 
the farm, and also worked out. The breaking out 
of the war excited his patriotism, and, though but 
nineteen, nay only eighteen, years of .age, he en- 
listed September 13, 1861, as a member of the First 
Michigan Engineers and Mechanics. He served 
three years, and proved a very useful soldier in 
that branch of service, which was such a necessary 
adjunct of the army. He took direct part in only 
one battle, that at Lavergne, Tenn., as his duty lay in 
other directions. His regiment w.as employed in the 
important work of preparing roads, constructing 
bridges, etc., for the convenience of the troops. 
Mr. Stratton succumbed to the effects of exposure 
and hardship .and May 1, 1863, M'as placed on the 
sick list of hospital No. 1, at N.ashville. Before 
he had recovered sufficiently to go on duty again 
with his regiment, he made himself useful in var- 
ious ways about the hospital, .and w.as finally con- 
nected with the commissary department. He was 
discharged in October, 1864, after he had returned 
to his regiment, as his term of enlistment expired 
on that date. 

After the war, our subject returned to his old 
home in Michigan, and bought his present farm in 
186.5. It was heavily timbered, but he h.as cleared 
it all himself, and has one hundred and twenty 
acres of .as fine farming land as can be found in 
all Otsego Township. It is beautifully located on 
section 31, and is fully supplied with modern im- 




■-3g»&^ay:i 



RESIDENCE OF DANIEL WH ITE, SEC . 9 .ALLEGAN TR, ALLEGAN CO., MICH. 




"Mrrjir, HOMCSTEAD PROPERTY OF O.^.SCHOKKO ^ SEC. at ., i , J.'iOt^ L TP,KLLLG/^;. ou.^ivllCH 




RESIDENCE OF CHARLF.S ST RATIO N SEC 31. , OTSEGO TP, ALLEGAN CO., MICH 



1 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



813 



provemcnts, including a good set of buildings and 
the line fraino residence that he erected in 18Hit, 
which is complete in nil its ai)pointmcuts and a 
view of whicii is shown in connection with this 
sketch. 

Our sul)ject w.as married to the wife who presides 
ovi'r this pleasant iiome in 1865. To them have 
lieen horn two cliildren, Wilfurd C. and Harvey 
N., to whom thcv have given good educational ad- 
vantages. Mrs. Stratlon, who hore the maiden name 
of INIary K. Seining, is a native of Wayne County, 
N. Y., hut she was reared mostly in Michigan, as 
her parents brought tier here when she was only 
seven years old. 

Mr. Stratton has always fnllillcd his duties as a 
citizen, and, although he has never asiiired to 
ollicial honors, is Justice of the Peace of this 
township, having been elected to this ofHce two 
years ago. Ilisstrong temperance principles have led 
him to abandon the Reimhlican party to identify 
himself with the Prohibitionists. Both he and his 
wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Chinch, (if which he has been Steward almost 
every j-ear since 18()5, and he has been a power 
for much good in the upbuilding of his church. 



r 



,.SC.\R S. SCHORNO. To have the esteem 
of one's fellow-men, and especially of those 
who know you most intimately in the 
everyday relation of neighbors, is worth niiich, and 
to gain it is the worthy ambition of any honorable 
man. We may trul}' say that the gentleman 
whose name appears at the head of this sketch has 
attained this desideratum, as he is well spoken of 
l)y all who know him, and has honorably attaintid 
to a broad and true friendship with many. 

Mr. Schorno was born in Fillmore Township, 
Allegan County, on the farm where he now re- 
sides, October 23, 1816. His parents were Anton 
and Mary (I'ncks) Schorno. The father was a 
native of Switzerland, in which country he re- 
mained until tlie age of twenty years, when he 
went lo Oermany and there met and married 
Mar\ I neks. 'I'o them were iKtrn thirteen chil- 



! dren, eight sons and five dauglitei-s, one of whom 
I died in infancy. They made the trip to the 
United States in 183,"), and, after spending one 
winter in New York, came to Michigan and were 
among the first .settlers at Siiigai)ore, where the 
father licl|)ed to erect a sawmill and the first light- 
I house. He then purchased land in Killmore 
Township, on which our subject makes his honu'. 

Anton Scliorno worked in Saugatnck, .MIegan 
County, for four years, in the employ of Wells ife 
Johnson and otheis in the lumber Itnsiness, and 
hauled lumber from that place to erect his house. 
He lived six miles from the nearest neighbor 
and eleven miles from market. His circum- 
stances were such, however, that he hired a teacher 
to come to his home and educate his children, and 
in this manner the}' were enabled to gain a good 
knowledge of books, whicli vva,s more than could 
be said of the avcr.age |)ioneer's children. The 
mother of our subject died in Fillmore, Jlay 14, 
1861. The father passed away March 18, 1879, 
and at his death left an estate of two hundred and 
j seventy-five acres. His interest i.n educational 
I matters is shown by the fact that he served as 
School Director for a number of years. lie also rend- 
ered his township good service in the ca|)acity of 
Township Treasurer, Justice of the Pe.ace and 
I Highway Commissioner. Although not a memlier 
I of any church, he always tried to do to his fellow- 
I men as he would be done b}-. Two brothers 
of oursubject are in Washington and two in Port- 
land, Ore. 

Our subject was reared on the home farm and 
at the death of his father he purch.ased the inter- 
est of some other heirs of the estate and now tiwiis 
one hundred and twenty acres of the original 
homestead. When a young man, he spent three 
years in K.ansas, returning Iheiiee to the old home. 
January 1, 1880, he took unto himself a wife and 
helpmate in the person of Mi.ss Amelia Kirschnian, 
who was born October 26, 1859. Her |)areiil.s were 
Adam and Mary Kirschnian, who were of Ooriiian 
descent and early settlers of Ann Arbor. After 
coming to Manliiis Township, Allegan County, 
the mother died, February 7, 1881; the father is 
' still residing at that pl.ace. 

Mr. and Mrs. Schorno have bi-come the parents 



814 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of fonr children, namely: Josephine, Elsie A., 
Ernest O. and Mj'rtle, all of whom are living. Mrs. 
Schorno died November 2, 1889; she was a lady 
held in high esteem by her neighbors and asso- 
ciates. In addition to carrying on general farm- 
ing, our subject breeds Short-horn cattle, and lias 
some very fine animals on his place. He is enter- 
prising and energetic and fully deserves the high 
estimation in which he is held by his townsmen. 
Socially, he is a member of Unity Lodge, No. 191, 
F. & A. M. In politics, he is a Democrat, but has 
no ambition to hold office, preferring to give his 
time and attention to his farm labors. He has a 
substantial and convenient residence, a view of 
which accompanies this sketcli, but for memory's 
sake has still standing on tlie farm tlie old 
''shanty" in whicli he was born and which was 
erected in 1841. He has the best wishes and 
kindest regards of all who know him. 




ANIEL WHITE. The estimable gentle- 
man to whom we would now call the 
attention of our readers is one of the 
prominent farmers of Allegan Township. 
He has accumulated a sufficiency of this world's 
goods to enable liim to live comfortabl}' on his 
beautiful farm of forty acres, on section 9. lie 
was born in Wayne County, N. Y., .January 9, 1817, 
and is tlie son of .Tohn and Nancy A. (Landon) 
White, natives respectively of Connecticut and 
Rhode Island. 

The parents of our subject were married in 
Oneida Count}-, N. Y., but farmed in Wayne 
County until their death. Their family of chil- 
dren numbered six, of whom our subject was the 
youngest, and is the only one now living. He was 
given a good education in tlie schools of his native 
town, and lived at home until reaching his major- 
ity, when he combined with his occupation of a 
farmer the trade of a boot and shoemaker. He 
continued to reside in Wayne County until tlie 
spring of 1854, and for a short time previous to 
his locating in Allegan County, engaged in the 
mercantile business. His present fine farm bears 



excellent improvements and is in every way a 
credit to its enterprising proprietor. 

Daniel White was married, October 28, 1852, to 
Miss Pliebe, daughter of Orrin and Elizabeth 
(Prosceous) Parsons, natives respectively of Con- 
necticut and New York. Mr. Parsons was in early 
life a miller, but passed his later days on a farm in 
Wayne County, N. Y. His parents were .Joel and 
Pliebe (Bailies) Parsons, natives of the New Eng- 
land States. They reared a large famil3',and lived 
and died in New York. Mrs. White was one of a 
family of twelve children, eight of whom are liv- 
ing and named: David, Paulina, Mrs. White, Sarah, 
Wealthy A., Laura E., Edward I^. and Priscilla M., 
respectively. 

Our subject is not an adherent of an}' creed, but 
believes in science, and is a liberal thinker. He 
rather inclines to the doctrines advocated by 
Robert Ingersoll. In politics, he is a Republican, 
and his cordial, kindly spirit makes him warm 
friends and stanch adherents. Elsewhere in this 
volume will be noticed a view of the pleasant 
homestead occupied by Mr. White. 



y... DELBERT C. MARTIN, editor and sole 
KM owner of the Trve Norther im; is not only 
ih the leading newspaper man in Paw Paw, 
but occupies a prominent position among 
the journalists of Southwestern Michigan. His 
ottice, which is located in the IMasonic Block, con- 
tains every convenience for the rai)id completion 
of work, and steam power is used m driving the 
(tresses. The prominence to which he has attained 
in the newspaper arena is the result of his enter- 
prise and perseverance, and from poverty in his 
boyhood, he has arisen to a position of influence 
and prominence. Aside from the ownersliip of 
the True Northerner, he has a half-interest in the 
Hartford Daij Spring and the Bangor Advance and 
Refledor. 

Mr. Martin traces his ancestry to Germany, 
whence his great-grandfather emigrated to Amer- 
ica. His parents, Lawrence and Amanda (Ciiat- 
lield) Martin, were natives of Pennsylvania, wiiere 
the former operated as a tanner. Misfortunes 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



815 



caused llic loss of his property and when he came 
to Michijjaii in l?<.')(j lie was a poor iiinii, willi mily 
fifty cents ill his possession and having no knowl- 
edge of any oilier trade than that of a tanner. 
However, he soon liecaiiie an exi)ert in the use of 
till? axe, and cleared tlie lifty acres of land 
which he took up. About 1803, he went into the 
army, leaving his wife and two children on the 
farm. 

In Siismiclianiia Cuiinty, Pa., our sul)ject was 
horn, November 13, 1850, and when about six years 
old accompanied his parents to this State. He w.as 
reared to manhood under adverse circunistaiiecs 
and through his youth fought a constant battle 
ag.'iinst poverty. When attending school in Law- 
ton, it was his custom to arise at four o'clock in the 
morning and begin his studies for the day, that he 
might have time to attend to his work as janitor. 
One lesson was always learned while on his way to 
school, .\fter he tinished the course in the Union 
school at l.awton, he eng.iged as a teacher during 
one winter and later was a student at the State 
Normal for one year. 

On .laniiarv 1, 1S7(), Mr. Martin was married t<i 
Miss Cora, ilaugliter of Klisiia and Allie (Killuirii) 
Durkee, of Lawton. Mrs. Martin was born in Paw 
Paw, .\pril IK, lK.').'i,and is a lady of great culture, 
familiar with the Latin and (ierman languages, as 
well as being an English scholar. Prior to her mar- 
riage, she was a teacher in Paw Paw, beginning in 
the |)riinary department of the public school and 
working in every grade until she was finall}- elected 
Principal of the High School. .Vfler her union 
with our sul)ject, she aided him in his school work 
and for eight years taught with him. I-'or one 
term Mr. Martin was eng.'iged as t<'aclier in White- 
hall, and for seven succeeding years was Siijierin- 
tendent of the schools of llangor. Next he returned 
to l.awton and for two years was Superintendent 
of the school where he had once been janitor. 

After continuing as a teacher for about ten 
yeai-s, Mr. Martin entered the newspaper luisincss 
by purcha.siiig a one-half interest in the Tnw 
^ortJienit'f and has since followed journalistic work. 
.Mthoiigh the duties connected with the successful 
management of his paper are large, he still finds 
time to look after other matters and iiai* become 



thoroughly versed in the German language. He 
has also spent some time in the study of law and 
could be admitted to the bar at any time should he 
desire. For live years he has been a meml)cr of 
the County IJoard of School Examiners, of whicli 
he was Secretary three years. When only twenty- 
one, he became ideiitilied with tiie Masons, since 
which lime he has .•itl;iiiu'd to the 'riiirty-sccoiid 
degree. In his political atliiialioiis, he is a stanch 
adherent of the Republican party, of which his 
paper is the organ. 



I ' I i r^r i^ TV 



■^[EROME D. H.VMILTON, M. D. This pro- 
minent iihysiciaii and surgeon of Paw Paw, 
was born at .Scotts, Kalamazoo County, 
.Tniy !), 18()2. He was the son of Monroe 
M. and Caroline Hamilton, natives of New York. 
The father was a pioneer of Kalamazoo County, 
and is at [iresent residing on a farm entered from 
the (Jovernmeiit b}' the grandfather of our subject, 
Uriah Hamilton. 

When only fourteen years of age, our subject 
entered (■aleslniigh Higli School, about six miles 
from his home, lie studied for three yeare in 
that institution, and left just two months before 
graduating, in order to enter the medical depart- 
ment of the Michigan l'iiiversit\' in the f.all term 
of 1880. He prosecuted his studies there the fol- 
lowing two years and then entered the Detroit 
Medical College from which he received the de- 
gree of Doctor ot Medicine in the spring of 1884. 

Dr. Hamilton was married February 17, 1884, 
about two weeks before his graduation. The 
maiden name of his wife w.as .leniiie NewlK)ld, 
of Detroit. She was born at Fair Grove, this 
State, May 7, 1862. Our subject began the prac- 
tice of his profession at Martin, .MIegaii County, 
where he built up an enviable reiiulation as a 
|)hysician and remained until 1890. He came to 
Paw Paw in April of that year and is ranked 
among the eminent and skillful doctors of that 
city. He also owns the Wolverine Pharmacy, 
which is one of the finest drug stores in this vi- 
cinity. 

The gentleman of whom we write is a Repuli- 



816 



POKTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lican in politics, but prefers to devote his time to 
his profession ratiier than to public affairs. Al- 
though not a member of any Church, Dr. Hamil- 
ton is a regular attendant at the Presb3teriau 
Church, with which denomination his wife is con- 
nected. The doctor is a member of the State Med- 
ical Society, al'^o of the State Pliarmaceutical So- 
ciety. 



^SCAR F. COLEMAN. Tliis gentleman, who 
1 a prominent citizen of Kalamazoo, is suc- 
cessfully engaged in a variety of business, 
being a tire, life and accident insurance agent, also 
Justice of the Peace, a dealer in real estate and a 
money-broker, having his place of business lo- 
cated at No. 114 South Burdick Street. He was 
born at Newark, AVayne County, N. Y., .June 2, 
1827, and is the son of John and Jane (Reury) 
Coleman. The father was born in New York and 
is of Irisli and English descent, while the mother, 
who is also a native of the above-named State, 
comes of good old German stock. 

The fatlier of our subject was a millwright, who 
also learned the carpenter's trade. In 1836, he 
came to Michigan, and, locating at Jackson, helped 
to erect the first mill in that place. In 1838, he 
came to Kalamazoo County, and in 1862 removed 
to Wayland, Allegan County, where his death oc- 
curred five years ago, when in his eighty-first 
year. Mr. Coleman built the mill at Homer, this 
State, and also the AValdbridge mill at Kalamazoo. 
The mother of our subject died the j-ear after lo- 
cating in Jackson. 

Oscar F. Coleman worked at his trade of a car- 
penter for a time and then assisted his father in 
building a vessel at the mouth of the Kalamazoo 
River. The parties for whom they were working 
failing, our subject shipped as cook on a boat for 
one summer. The succeeding year, he assisted in 
completing the vessel, and on the outbreak of the 
Mexican War, he enlisted, in 1847, and raising a 
company of volunteers at Kalamazoo, was attached 
to Col. Stockton's regiment and joined Gen. Taj-- 
lor's army at Vera Cruz. They were later sta- 
tioned at Cordova and Orizaba and participated in 



the bombardment of the latter-named place. His 
regiment was also engaged in guerrilla warfare and 
served in the army until the treaty of jicace was 
signed, when he was mustered out at Detroit. He 
had asked to be discharged at Vera Cruz, as he 
wished to visit the gold region of California, but 
his Captain brought him home, together with his 
brother John M. 

October 9, 184U, Mr. Coleman was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary J. Sweezy, of Cooper, this 
county. lie continued to work at his trade until 
1852, at which time he went into the employment 
of L. D. Strong as head clerk for four years, and 
then entered into partnership with Mr. Strong,with 
whom he was interested for a number of years. At 
the same time, he was elected Township Treasurer. 
In 1856, our subject opened a first-class restaurant, 
which he conducted successfully- until the close of 
the late war. 

Mr. Coleman being in poor health, It was found 
necessary to change his business, and in 1867 he 
became proprietor of a general store in (Jslitenio. 
A short time after locating there, he was made 
Postmaster of the village and agent of the Michi- 
gan Central Railway; he also had charge of the 
American Express of that place. After being thus 
occupied for a time, Blr. Coleman returned to his 
family, which he had left in Kalamazoo, and again 
engaged in the grocer}- business. 

In 1857, the original of this sketch was elected 
Township Treasurer for the second time, and was 
re-elected to that oftice again in 1873. In the lat- 
ter-named year, he defeated the same man who 
caused him to lose the ollice in 1872. In 1875, 
Mr. Coleman disposed of his grocery and has since 
been doing a general insurance business. He was 
elected Justice of the Peace in 1889, and re-elected 
in 1891, for four years. He also acts as Notary 
Public and is one of the most prominent business 
men of the city. 

The residence of our subject is located at No. 
714 West Lovell Street, where he has made his 
home since 1850. A Whig in former da\'s, our 
subject votes the Republican ticket and is quite 
active in camiiaigns. With his wife, he is a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has 
been for the past thirty ^ears. The family of our 




\ 







PORTliAlT AAD lilOGliiVl'lllCAL RKCOliU 



819 



siiltjecl incliidos flio followinu; cliildrcn: Aiiu'lia A.; 
Millie, wlio is Mi,s. K. E. Comfort, her imsband Ije- 
iiii,' Sii|ieriiiteiuleiit of tlie Mexican Central Hail- 
road and residing' at Juarez, Mex., wliieli lias been 
his home for the past eight years; Kiinice, who 
married Charles 11. Crylc. who keeps a stalionerv 
and hook-store at Kalamazoo; Willis A., a wholo- 
salo dealer in meats in Kalamazoo, is a member of 
the linn of Pierce A' Coleman; Minnie 11.. wlm is 
stenographer in the pensit>n otliec of Col. Koote; 
and Carrie K., who has been a teacher in the ^'inc 
Street School for the past four or live years. 

Socially, Mr Coleuuin is identitied with the Ma- 
sonic order, belonging to Lodge ><'o. 22, at Kala- 
mazoo, lie also belongs to Kalamazoo Chapter, No. 
l.'{, and reniusular Commandery Xo. 8. lie has 
been very activ(! in lodge work and has p.assed all 
the chairs in liotli Chapter and Commandery. He 
ha.s attended the National Conclaves and is Senior 
Warden in Blue Lodge an<l Nobles of the Mystic 
Shrine, lie occupies a high position in JIasonic 
circlts and devotes a great deal of time and atten- 
tion to the same. 



*• « ^1 



m^m 



1^ 



^OSEIMI 11. WHITE. Among the pro.sper- 
ousfarmersof .\llegau County, a [irominent 
position is occui)ied by the gentleman whose 
portrait appears on the opposite page, and 
who is successfully prosecuting his chosen calling 
on section 1 1, .Monterey Township. He is a worthy 
representative of a family well known in Scotch 
history, his ancestors on the maternal side being 
numbered ann>ng the tirst Scotchmen who pro- 
claimed their allegiance to the Calvinistic doctrine, 
and were exiled to Ireland in consequence of their 
religious views. 

The genealogy of the White family is as follows: 
(1) Thomas White, born in England in I'llll), came 
to America about 1625 and settled in Weymouth, 
Mass.; (2) Capt. Josepli, born in Weymouth, Ma^ss., 
in ltj;?o, settled at Mendon, Mass.; (8) Thom.as, 
born in April. ll>65, settled in I'xbridge; ( t) 
Samuel, born in I'xbridge, September 21, 170(1; 
(5) Paul, born December K 174 L was the father 
of three sons, namely: Elijah, born l''eliiuaiy 1, 



1769; Calvin, .August 30, 1771 ; and Paul, January 
2G, 1777 (()) Jtmas, born in Saltoii, Mass., Novem- 
ber 19, 179,'), the latter being the father of our 
subject. 

Jonas White was united in marriage with Jliss 
Sarah, daughter of Lemuel McGregory, a native 
of Scotland, and after their marri.age the young 
couple located in .Massachusetts, where Joseph II. 
was born October in, 1«2I. In 1823, the father 
removed from Massachusetts to Portage County, 
Ohio, the journey l>eing made with ox-teams, and 
occupying six weeks. The various members of 
the family have been noted for their intellectual 
ability and literaiy attainments. A sister of our 
subject, Emily, was considered the best speller in 
that .section of Ohio in earl^- days; another sister, 
Mary E., who died at the age of thirty-four years, 
was for years a prominent teacher in the Cleve- 
land .schools; Prof. Emerson E. White, who 
resides in Cincinnati, is the author of AVhite's 
System of School Publications. 

At the time his father removed to Portage 
County, Ohio, Joseph II. White was two years old 
and he resided there until he was thirty. At the 
.age of twenty-one, he started out in life for him- 
self, with no ca|)ital but his industrious habits and 
rugged health, lie came to Michigan when he was 
thirty years old, settling in Allegan County, where 
he has since resided. 

On the 21th of Decemljer, 1841, our subject 
was united in marriage to Jliss Harriet Clark, 
of Troy, Ohio, and they became the parents of six 
children. Frances C. is the wife of Henry W. 
(4eorge, and resides in Findlay, Ohio; ^lartha and 
Mary are twins, the lirst-named being the wife of 
Enos Smith, of Allegan, and the latter the wife of 
Samuel Cumniings, also a resident of Allegan; 
Charles E. married Nora Oilkson, and makes his 
home in Allegan; Calvin E. chose as his wife 
Molly (iould, and lives in Cincinnati, C)hio; 
Orville (J. married Katie IJaxter, and lives on the 
old homestead. 

.\pril 14, 1887, ."Mr. White was again married, 
his wife being the widow of Ephraim Jarvis, and 
the daughter of Harvej- Town. She is the mother 
of twelve children, six daughters and six sons, 
eight of whom are living. The family residence 



820 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



X 



is a beautiful rural home on section 14, and the 
surroundings are those of plent}' and comfort. 
The farm includes one hundred and twenty acres 
of good land, finely iniitroved, and ranks among 
the best estates in the township, toward the de- 
velopment of which Mr. White has rendered effect- 
ive service. He belongs to the Grange, and is in 
syrapath}' with the principles of the Republican 
party. 



^^ 



^^ 



y~;n.LIAM II. COBB, Chief of Police in 
Kalamazoo, was born at Orwell, Vt., Nov- 
„ ,, ember 1, 182.5, and is the son of Horace 
and Tiiankful (Bascomb) Cobb, natives of the 
Green Mountain State. IliTis'the second of three 
sons, of whom the 3-oungest died in infancy and 
the eldest, James B., is represented elsewhere in 
this volume. His father was a second time married, 
choosing as his wife Aliigail Nichols, and by tliat 
union became the father of two children: .Jane F., 
who resides in Grand Rapids, and Mary A., who is 
deceased. 

The father of our subject served as a valiant 
soldier in tlie War of 1812, and afterward received 
eighty acres on a soldier's warrant. He removed 
from his Vermont home about 1832, making settle- 
ment at Brighton, N. Y., where his death occurred 
in 1850. At tlie time of the removal to New York, 
our subject was a lad of some seven years and he 
grew to manhood in the P^mpire State, remaining 
at home until 1854 and conducting the farming 
ojjcrations. 

In 1853, Mr. Cobb came to Kalamazoo and pur- 
chased a farm on the "Indian Fields," four miles 
south of the city, upon which he settled in the 
spring of the following year. It continued to be 
his home until 1886, when he removed to Kalama- 
zoo and estal^lished his present home at No. 916 
S. West Street. During the past fourteen years, he 
engaged in liuying wool in connection with his 
brother, James B., and handled between four hun- 
dred thousand and eight hundred thousand pounds 
annually, giving tlie matter his close attention prior 
to the acceptance of his present ollice. 

Mr. Cobl) has purchased the farm of one hun- 



dred and thirty acres adjoining his old homestead 
and there he conducts fanning operations after tlie 
most approved methods. For ten years he has 
l)een President of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance 
Company, and for manj' years served as President 
of the Kalamazoo Agricultural Society, it being 
largely through his influence that it was revived 
and became prosperous. He is also one of the 
Directors of the State Agricultural Society, and 
chairman of the committee that erected the public 
buildings in Detroit and Kalamazoo. He was Al- 
derman for the Third Ward for two years, Presi- 
dent of the Council, Chairman of the Committees 
on Finance and Streets and Bridges. 

In April, 1891, Mr. Cobb was appointed Chief of 
Police by tlie City Council. At the time, he 
was lying at home very ill and the Council waited 
a week to see whether he would live or die, Init as 
his illness took a favorable turn, the appointment 
remained in effect. He gives liis position his en- 
tire attention and keeps the police force up to a 
high standard, much of the effectiveness being due 
to the direct personal attention and supervision of 
the Chief. He is by no means a partisan, but is a 
stanch Republican in his political affiliations and 
uses his influence for the party of his choice. 

The marriage of Mr. Cobb, in 1850, united him 
to Miss Laura Ann Wilson, of Brighton, N. Y., 
and their children are named as follows: Horace. 
Charles Oscar, .James Bascomb and William Henry, 
all of whom are deceased; Harriet Thankful, and 
Horace E., who is a traveling salesman for a New 
York firm. Harriet married C. F. Rude, of the 
hardware firm of Foster, Stevens ife Company, of 
Grand Rapids. Charles married Claia Pomeroy, of 
Kalamazoo, and died at the age of twenty-four. 
One cliild was born of his marriage, Sharley, now 
nine years old, who since the death of her mother, 
in 1890, has made her home with our subject. Mrs. 
Cobb passed from this life March 21, 1892, dying of 
broncliial pneumonia. 

Mr. Cobb is a Trustee in the First Presbyterian 
Cliurch and a man of great l)eiievolenee and char- 
it3'. He is one of the charter members of Portage 
Lodge, F. & A. M., and a prominent member of 
social circles, where liis versatility of talent and 
genial disposition render him a valuable acquisi- 



POliTKAlT A^D lilOGliAl'lIICAL RKCORD. 



821 



lion. lie received a (lii)loiiia from tlie Kal.'uiiazoo 
AirriciiUural Society for liaviHL;: liii' licst,-iiiaiiai;ctl 
and coiuliicled farm, and a visitor to liis place 
will sec at a glance lliat the reward was justly 
licstowed. 



ij^ AiMl'KT. HAWKINS. The oldest resident of 
^^^ X'ickslmrg, and one wlio is liigiilj" respected 
lil/jft for liis long and self-.sacrificing services in 
l)elialf of the place, which he has seen grow 
from a liamlel with only a few houses to a pros- 
perous village of fourteen luuidred inhabitants, is 
the genlleinan who is alTectioiiatel\' known as 
"'S(iuirc" Hawkins. He was born in C'olebrook, Coos 
County, N. H., .laiuiary 7, 1816, and is of English 
descent. Tradition says that tiie family was first 
rei)rescnled in America by a 30utii of tliat name, 
who was kidnapped and brought to the United 
States in the care of the cai)tain of a ship, during 
Colonial times. The family name was originally 
spelled '-Holkins." 

.b)sei)h Hawkins, father of our subject, was born 
near Hartford, Conn., and at an early daj- settled 
in the nt)rlherii part of New Hampshire, where he 
engaged in farming until 1821. He then removed 
overland to the Western Reserve, and settled in 
Ashtabula County, Ohio, on what is known as the 
North Ridge, one and one-half miles from the 
shores of Lake Erie. The journey from Uulfalo 
to Erie, N. Y., was made by sled on the ice down 
Lake Krie. The day before reaching Lake Erie, 
the ice tliawed and separated so that it w:is !".lmost 
impossible to land. The shore was Steep and rug- 
ged, but by throwing felled trees across the oi)en- 
ing along the shore and throwing a bed cord out, 
the members of the family were hauled ashore in 
safety. 

In Ohio, where he was one of the pioneers, .los- 
eph Hawkins develoi)ed a farm, and remained 
there until his death — at the age of seventy-eight. 
His wife was ^lahetibel Terry, a native of Connect- 
icut, a lady of extraordinary intelligence and 
al)ility, and noted for hor goodness of heart and 
watchful care over her family. She reared to ma- 



turity nine children, six sons and three daughters, 
all of whom are deceased excejit the subject of this 
notice, who is the youngest member of the family. 
One brother died recently at the age of ninety, and 
the mother jjassed away at a good old age. 

Our subject recollects some of the events of the 
journey to Ohio, where he w.as reared in a dense 
wilderness of hemlock woods, and educated in the 
primitive log sclioolhouses of that period, the like 
of which, at this enlightened day, would .astonish 
the 3-outh of our piiljlic schools. The schoolhouse 
was built of round logs, with large open iiieplace, 
stick and mud chimney, slab benches, .and punch- 
con lloors, and the school was conducted on the 
rate-bill plan, the teacher boarding around among 
the pupils. 

At the age of twenty-three 3'ears, Mr. Hawkins 
walked from his Ohio home to Beloit, AVis., and 
spent two years in the Rock River country. Re- 
turning to Ohio, he was married, and, in the fall 
of 1844, came to Michigan in a covered wagon, 
spending some months with relatives in St. .Joseph 
County, this State. He then came to Mckshurg, 
and settled on the corner of Main and Prairie 
Streets, where now stands a two-story brick block. 
A house or two and a sawmill at that day consti- 
tuted the village, and deer roamed at will about 
the country, while Ijears were not uiifreiiuently 
•seen. 

In 1847, Mr. Hawkins was appointed Postmast*'r, 
a position which he held more than three years. 
He also kei)t a tavern and boarding-house for 
eight j-ears, and for four years was engaged in 
improving a fort^'-acre farm in Brady Townshii). 
During the second terra of President (Jrant, he 
was again appointed Postmaster, acting in that ca- 
pacity for eleven years, and serving altogether 
under eight administrations. He is a stanch Re- 
publican, and a man who.se judgment and intelli- 
gence arc everywhere recognized. I"\ir twent^-- 
live years he has served as Justice of the Peace, 
and, while occupying that position, has decided 
many important cases, only one of which h.as ever 
been reversed by a higher court. 

November 12, IMIo. Mi-. Hawkins w.a.s married 
to Marinda .\niiis, who w,as born in Clarendon, 
Orleans County. N. V., February' 27, I8I9. Her 



822 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



parents, Thomas and Sallie (Bruce) Annis, were 
natives of New York State, who settled in Aslitabula 
County, Ohio, in 1837, and there developed a 
farm. They finally removed to St. Joseph County, 
this State, and there died, the father when only 
forty-seven, and the mother at sixty-four years. 
They had a family comprising nine children, one 
of whom, a daughter, died in infancy, and the 
others, six sons and two daughters, attained to 
mature years. Four of the family are now liv- 
ing. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins are the parents of three 
children: Ellen E., who married II. Foster, of 
Missouri, and is now deceased; .Joseph E., who mar- 
ried Ida Potter, and is a farmer and celery grower 
near the village of Vicksburgh; and .Tessie B., who 
married B. F. Keed, a clerk in the School Seat Fur- 
nishing Company, at Battle Creek. November 12, 
1890, our subject and his estimable wife passed 
their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Mrs. Hawkins 
is a member of the Congregational Church, and 
highly esteemed among her neighbors. 

During the past five 3'ears, Mr. Hawkins has 
been cultivating celerj* on his farm near the vil- 
lage. He there has thirteen acres of celery marsh, 
which is said, by experts, to be the best in the 
State, and is so arranged as to be conveniently ir- 
rigated from springs and ditches. During the 
season of 1891, the product was six thousand 
dozen, and it is the expectation of- Mr. Hawkins to 
increase the amount each year. He now ships to 
Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington and other promi- 
nent markets. 



YtpsDWARD II. DENNISTON has had a hand 
lU] in the making of Kalamazoo County and 
/I I — ^ has built up here one of its many attractive 
homes, beautifull}- located on section 6, Pavilion 
Township, where l;e has a finely equipped farm, 
which he devotes to general agricultural purposes, 
having it well stocked with thoroughbred Durham 
cattle and Merino sheep. Mr. Denniston was born 
in Roscommon County. Ireland, March 2, 1821. 
The family for generations lived in the North of 
Ireland, and his fatlier, .John Denniston, was a na- 



tive of the city of Londonderry. He was reared 
to the life of a farmer, and in 18.36 emigrated to 
this country. He located first at Northampton, 
Hampshire County, Mass., but shortly after he 
went South to prospect for a suitable place of set- 
tlement. He finally returned northward and bought 
a farm on the old Buffalo road, between Batavia and 
Alexandria, in Genesee County, N. Y. That was 
then a newly settled region, forming a part of the 
Holland Purchase. Mr. Denniston settled on his 
land in the fall of 1838, and developed the greater 
part of it, devoting himself assiduously to the hard 
task of cutting trees and placing the soil under 
cultivation. In 1857, he removed from that place 
to this county, and lived retired in the city until 
his death in 1859, at the age of sixty-four years. 
He was a sound Democrat in jiolitics, and both he 
and his wife were valued members of the Episcopal 
Church. His wife, whose maiden name was Alice 
Dowling, and who was also a native of Roscom- 
mon Count}^ Ireland, died at the age of seventy- 
four years, and both are sleeping their last sleep in 
Maple Grove Cemeterj', Comstock Township. They 
were the parents of five sons and two daughters: 
Edward, William, John, James, Thomas L., Alice 
(Mrs. Scott), and Anna (Mrs. Sowden). 

Edward Denniston, of this biography, had the 
advantages of a liberal education, of which he laid 
the foundation at an Episcopal college at Elphiii, 
Ireland, and after he came to this country with 
his parents at the age of fifteen, he attended the 
High School at Northampton, Mass. He was thus 
equipped for the battle of life, which he began on 
his own account when still scarcely' more than a 
boy, by acting as shipping clerk for his uncle, 
James Denniston, a jobber on Williams Street, New 
York City. He was engaged in that capacity two 
years, and then spent one year with his father in 
Genesee County, N. Y'. He did not like it there, 
however, and as the other boys were old enough 
to be helpful, he took his affairs in his own hands 
again, and, without his father's knowledge, once 
more set his face away from home to enter upon 
an independent career. His father at that time 
thought him too young to go away by himself, but 
he was a liigh-s)iirited, venturesome lad, with 
plenty of the sturdy, self-reliant traits of his ances- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



823 



try to insure liissiicoes.s in wliatever lie inifjlit under- 
take, lie \v:is without means, so he wsiiked to Buf- 
falo, earrying: his bundle of clothes, and in that city 
he sold his extra suit to a second-hand dealer for 
enouuh money to pay his passage to Detroit. On 
hoard the hoat he made the acquaintance of a man 
will) had a load of leather that he was goins to take 
to .Vhoolcraft, and he rode to that i)oint with liirn. 
lie arrived in this county, June 1, 1840, and thus 
saw the country in its primeval wildness, at least 
the greater part of it, as it was still in the hands 
of the pioneers, and settlements were few and scat- 
tering. Kalamazoo was a small village with hut one 
or tw(j stores and but comparatively little of the 
land had been improved. 

After his arrival, amid these unaccustomed 
scenes, young Dcnniston lost no time in securing 
work, obtaining a situation of Mr. Chaffee on "In- 
dian P^ields" at ^9 a month. He was so engaged 
until he had earned eighty acres of land in pay- 
ment for twenty months of steadj' labor, but he 
did not settle on it, continuing to hire out by the 
month for seven years, until 1847, when lie located 
on an eight}--acre tract of land on Gourdneck Prai- 
rie. He busied him.self in improving that jil.ice about 
eighteen months, and then sold it in order to go 
to TtTre Haute, Ind., where he obtained a position 
as clerk and weigh-master in a pork-packing estab- 
lishment. He w.is there until the winter of 1841t, 
when he joined a company bound for the gold 
regions of California. He and his companions 
journeyed down the Mississijipi River to New Or- 
leans, where they diverged from their intended 
route on account of the cholera that w.as then rag- 
ing, and, hiring an old German with an unsafe boat 
to transport them to the mouth of the Rio Grande 
River, they crossed Mexico on mules, and finally 
arrived at their destination in .June, 1849. Our 
subject worked some in the mines, but was not suc- 
cessful at that. He next bought into a company 
that had been formed for the puri)o.se of turning 
the North Fork of the American River to seai-ch 
for the precious metal in its bed. This enterprise 
was prosperous until the Hoods came and swept the 
works awa3% and Mr. Denniston lost all he had. 
Nothing daunted by his misfortune, he went to Sac- 
ramento, and. borrowing ^iJOO of a friend, bought 



four yoke of oxen and ,a wagon, with which to do 
teaming and to carry people to the mines. The first 
week he made over !fc600,and buying another team 
coniitH'nced to transport goods. He iiiadea good deal 
of money and invested -isT.OOO in cattle at the head 
of the Sacramento River, where he went into part- 
nership with a ranchman. He and his friend were 
doing finely when six months later the linlians 
swooped down upon them, killed some of their 
men, and drove off all their cattle. Mr. Denniston 
w.as thus nnancially ruined again, but he got a few 
more cattle together and started in once more with 
the same result, as in less than a month the Indians 
made another raid and left hiin with but a few 
straggling cattle, one horse for stock and 11,000 
in money. Tiring of his rough, adventurous life 
on the frontier, in the summer of 1851, he retr.iced 
his footsteps eastward, bringing back with him a 
sick man to Terre Haute. Ind.. and then returned 
to this county. 

After coming back liorc. Mr. Denniston went to 
Wiscf)nsin to invest in some land and bought two 
hundred and forty acres. He soon returned to 
marry, in the spring of 1853, and, selling his land 
there, located on his present farm in Pavilion 
Township, buying one hundred and twenty acres 
of it then, of which ten acres were cleared, on 
which stood a log house He now owns a quar- 
ter-section of fine farming land, of which one 
hundred and forty acres are improved. His farm 
is amply provided with buildings, modern in archi- 
tecture and appointments, including a large frame 
residence, built in 1871, and several commodious 
and conveniently arranged barns, the first built in 
1859, another in 18()G, and two in 1883. 

Our subject was first married, March 17, 18.53, 
to Miss Margaret Hawkins, who was born in (ien- 
esec County, N. V., October 7, 1821. Four boys 
were born to them, of whom two are dead: George, 
and one that died in infancy. The othei-s are Jesse 
K. and Kdward C. August 2, 1871, death removed 
the loving wife and tender mother. I n October, 
1873, Mr. Denniston was again married, this time 
toLydiaJ. IJeckwith, who was born in Washington 
County. N. Y., June 4, 1818. She has thoroughly 
identilieil herself with his interests and looks care- 
fully after his comfort. She is a Christian, and a 



824 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



member in high staiuling of the Methodist Cluirch. 
Mr. Denuiston is a man of wide expeiieuee, and 
his life career furnishes anotlier of tlie numerous 
examples that we find in this volume of what our 
self-made men have accomi)lished by persistent 
effort, directed by a good knowledge of men and 
affairs, and an accurate judgment in business mat- 
ters. Wealth has crowned his labors, and at the 
same time he has been potent in advancing the 
growth of the township, favoring all measures that 
would in an}- way benefit it, and doing it good ser- 
vice as a public official in various capacities. In 
politics, he is first, last and always a true Repub- 
lican. Socially, he is identified with the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows. 

V/ EBEUS CORNELIUS CIIAPIN, M. D. 
I (® '^'''* fi^'i'iicr prominent physician of Kala- 
jlL^ mazoo was born in Gilbertsville, Otsego 
County, N. Y., July 5, 182.3, and died in Kalama- 
zoo, November 20, 1885, of heart disease. The 
Chapin family has long been identified with the 
history of New England. We find that Deiicon 
Samuel Chapin, who was a native of Wales, settled at 
Sprir.gfield, Mass., in 1642, and it is probable that 
he resided in the United States some years prior 
to that time. In 1654, he was made a magistrate, 
and assisted in keeping the records pertaining to 
the early settlers. His death occurred in 1675. 
His descendants to the present daj- have been iden- 
tified with Springfield. 

Josph and Martha Chapin were the grandparents 
of our subject, their son Joseph being his father. 
He and his wife, Fannie Farnum, were natives of 
Panisa, Mass., and were the parents of nine child- 
ren, of whom Lebeus was the fourth. When he 
was nine years old, he accompanied his parents to 
Wattsburg, Erie County, Fa., and settled on a farm, 
where his father died in 1844. 

AVhen our subject was about seventeen, he en- 
gaged in the carpenter's trade, working with his 
brotliers, and, after a time, found his wa}' back to 
the old home in Massachusetts. When nineteen, 
he was in the employ of the Howe Truss Works, of 
Buffalo, N. Y., and four j-ears afterward went 



South, engaging as a teacher in Mississippi, until 
the climate affected his health to such an extent 
that he found it necessary to return North. Hav- 
ing a natural aptitude for schoolroom work, he 
continued to teach, and was thus engaged at Mun- 
son, Mass.. after which he entered Amherst College 
in 1848. 

When about to enter the junior year, our sub- 
ject transferred to Yale College, from wliicli he 
graduated in 1852. He then resumed the profes- 
sion of teaching, and for two years was Principal 
of Guildford Academy, at Laconia, N. H. Leav- 
ing that institution, he accepted a professorship in 
Yale College, succeeding Dr. Olmstead as Professor 
of Chemistrj' and Physics. He was drawn toward 
the subject of medicine, and, after acceptably teach- 
ing in that great university for five years, he en- 
tered its medical department as a student, and 
was graduated in 1864. 

A surgeon's commission was at once offered 
the Doctor by the United States Government, 
which accepting, he was stationed as Hospital 
Surgeon, at Beaufort, S. C, and later was trans- 
ferred to Burlington, Vt., from which place he was 
mustered out, in 1865. He then engaged in general 
practice at his home in New Haven, until he came 
West in 1867. The wife of his brother, Rev. Lu- 
cius D. Chapin, Professor of Physics in the State 
University at Ann Arbor, was formerly a Kalama- 
zoo lady, and our subject w.as led to locate in this 
city through her influence. Before settling here, 
however, he traveled over much of the AVestern 
territory, visiting Rockford, 111., and other cities. 

For fourteen years. Dr. Chapin devoted himself 
assiduousl.y to the demands of his patrons in Kal- 
amazoo. Having a cheerful disposition, his friend- 
ship w.as sought for and pi-ized, and his attention 
to details, and kind solicitude for his patients, 
drew liim to them, and formed cords of friendship, 
severed only b}- death. In 1871, he became con- 
nected with William Lawrence in the manufac- 
ture of agricultural implements, and the business 
assuming liuge proportions, he henceforth devoted 
much of his attention to it up to the time of his 
death. 

The summons cftme unexpectedly and cast a 
shadow over every home in the city. His noble 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



825 



tniits of i-lianu'ter had endeared liiin to tlie coin- 
immitv, and I'vei V one felt 1 lis loss as that of a 
personal friciul. His body was lioine to its last 
home with the hij^liest eivic honors, and various 
societies passed earnest resolutions of resiwet for 
his memory. 

'I'houjjrii never .1 politician, tlu' sympathies of 
Dr. Chapin were witli tiie Hepuhliean paity. He 
was for a lonu' lime closely identified with the 
educational interests of the city, being' a memlier 
of tiie Sciiool Hoard. His experience eminently 
tended to make him a valualile addition to tliat 
body, where his opinion (formed only after due 
deliberation) always had weight. Ilis early train- 
ing had been in the Prcsb3'terian Cluiich.but din- 
ing his later life he w.as A'estryman of St. Luke's 
Episcopal Cliiireh, the views of which more nearl}- 
coincided with his belief. A thorough student, 
he w.as versed in various literatures an<l languages, 
and wielded the pen witli easy gr.ace and purity 
of diction. 

Lofty in his t.astes and elevated in every 
tliouglit, the Doctor was a fitting companion to 
the wife whf) survived him a short time, and the 
family of intelligent children whose every impulse 
and ambition lie w.as wont to guide, and to whom 
he was a loving father. He was married, April 25, 
1h:)'.I, at Cincinnati. Ohio, to Mrs. Sallie Elliot, the 
widow of William II. Elliot, of New llavi'ii. and 
whose maiden name was Sawyier. She was born 
in Chillieothe, Ohio. December 29, 1829, and died, 
May 21. 1889. The children are: Kitz Henry, 
Eaiinie. Bell and Maud. 



itkM: ARION C. SHERWOOD. The (inn of 
.Sherwood, Griswold & Co. conducts an ex- 
tensive business at Allegan, and carries a 
complete stock of dry-goods, clothing, 
boots and shoes, carpets, etc. The firm w.as estali- 
lished in IHfiG and in 1871 removed to their jires- 
enl location on the corner of Locust and Hubbard 
.Streets. Tlie establishment was destroyed by fire 
in 1881 and they then built their present elegant 
store, one of the finest in this part of the .State. It 



is a brick structure, .")2x8') feet, of which they oc- 
cupy two lloors, the remainder l)eing tilled with of- 
fices, etc. 

They also eng.aged in the lumber business, in 
1878. under the name of .Sherwood & (Iriswold, 
and manage an extensive business, carrj'ing about 
one million feet and being one of the largest lum- 
ber firms in the .Slate. The members are directors 
and stockholders in the First National Hank of Al- 
legan and li.ave an interest in extensive tracts of 
farming and pine lands. 

Mr. Sherwood was born in Otsego Township, Al- 
legan County, .laniiarvl 1.1 83.3, being one of the first 
male children born in the county. His parents were 
Hull and .hilia A. (Crittendon) Sherwood, natives of 
Western New York. His father was a carpenter and 
contractor by trade and was a pioneer of Michigan, 
coming here in 1832. The paternal grandfather 
was Hull Sherwood, a native of Massachusetts, who 
came to Michigan in 18.30, and settled in t)tsego 
Township, Allegan County. The grandfather was 
a farmer by occupation and built the first grist and 
sawmill on Pine (reek, which are still known as 
Sherwood's Mills. Here he lesich'd until his death. 
He w.as a wealthy man and owned a large amount 
of Land. He had a family of ten children, all of 
whom became residents of Michigan. He w.as a 
Whig in politics, and a man of great energy and 
intelligence. 

The father of our subject remained in Michigan 
some fifteen years, then returned to Hochester, N 
Y., where his death took place in 18.j;3. His wife 
returned to Michigan and is now a resident of Ionia 
County. The maternal granilpareiiLs of Mr. Sher- 
wood were Chauncy and Olive (Scott) Crittendon, 
natives of M.assachusetts, where the father was a 
large farmer. They removed to New York State 
and settled in Brighton, Monroe County, where he 
si)ent the remainder of his life. They were the 
patents of six children, of whom three are living: 
Alvira A. (Mrs. Sherwood), who is living in Otsego 
Township, this county, aged eighty-five ycai"s; Ju- 
lia y\., the mother of our subject, who is now 
eighty-two years of age, .and Wallace W., of Brigh- 
ton, N. Y., aged seventy-three. Mr. Crittendon 
w:us a Minute-man in the War of 1812, and w.as 
called out, but saw no active service. The Slier- 



826 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



woods' are descendante of the Euujlish and Seotcli. 
Our subject's father was a Whig and served as .Su- 
pervisor of Otsego Townsliip, Allegan County, 
being the first one to fill that ofHce in that place. 
He had a family- of four children, three of whom 
grew to maturity: Marion C; Adaline W. (Mrs. 
Crittendon), residing at Lyons, Ionia County, and 
Nathan B., residing at the same place. 

The subject of this sketch attended the district 
schools in his native township until fourteen 
3^ears of age. when he spent some time in the 
school at Brighton, N. Y., afterward becoming a 
student in the Henrietta Academy, at East Henri- 
etta, in that State. In 1848, he became a clerk in 
a store at Rochester, N. Y., where he remained for 
nine j'ears, after which he came to Chicago, where 
he was eng.aged in the drug business, on the cor- 
ner of State and Monroe, which he carried on for two 
yeai'S and a half, when he sold out and in 1861 
CAme to Michigan. He spent some two years 
clerking in Otsego and Plainwell, then removed to 
Allegan, where he was occupied in the same wa}' 
for two j'ears more. During tlie war, he went 
South as a sutler for a regiment, returning from 
there in 1865 to Kalamazoo, where he was em- 
ployed in a dry-goods store. He then came to 
Allegan and engaged in business for himself. 

The marriage of Mr. Sherwood took place Sep- 
tember 19, 1866, when he was united to MLss Mary 
M. Griswold, a daughter of S. L. Griswold, of Al- 
legan. Three children have been born of this 
union: Rub}' M., Martha G., and Bernath P. Mr. 
Sherwood coincides with the Rei)ublican party in 
his political views and is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity. He is a Trustee of the Congregational 
Church, of which he, his wife and eldest daughter 
are members. Thej- take an active part in every- 
thing conducive to tlie best interests of the cliurch 
and the communit}' in which tliey live. 

In 1888, Mr. Sherwood built in Allegan a resi- 
dence of which he may trul}' be proud. Among 
the elegant homes that may be found here, it ma}- 
be justly said that there is none in which the 
architect has reflected greater credit upon himself 
or where the proprietor has displayed more correct 
idea of the harmonious and beautiful tlian in this. 
The amjile grounds are well laid out. with plants 



and shrubs to heighten the general effect. The 
barns and other outbuildings are in keeping with 
other portions of the estate. The interior arrange- 
ments are all that could be desired for beauty and 
convenience. The parlors and hall are finished in 
oak, the dining-room in cherry, while the floors of 
the hall and dining-room are inlaid with colored 
woods. The upper story is finished in ash. The 
home has all the modern improvements, is ele- 
gantly furnished throughout, beautiful pictures 
gi-ace its walls, while the articles of vertu and 
bric-a-brac give evidence of culture and refine- 
ment. Within this lovel}- home, Mr. and Mrs. 
Sherwood welcome their friends and dispense gra- 
cious hospitality with a generous hand. 



^>-^^<i 




APT. ROLLIN C. DENISON, deceased, was 
born at Castleton, Vt., Januar}' 29, 1823. 
JJ and was the son of Mason N. and Phebe 
(Ward) Denison, natives also of the Green Moun- 
tain State. He spent his early life in his native 
State, and after removing to AVashington County, 
N. Y., was married, June 25, 1846, to Miss Caroline 
C. Penfield. Mrs. Denison was a native of Pawlet, 
Vt., her natal day being October .30, 1825. 

The original of this sketch came to Kalamazoo 
County, this State, in April, 1844, where he en- 
gaged in the mercantile business, and also operated 
a flouring mill for three j'ears. He then removed 
to Barry County, where he again started in the 
milling business, at the same time conducting a 
grocery store. His next removal was to Dow.agiac, 
where for nine years he carried on a grocery store. 
On the outbreak of the Civil War, our subject or- 
ganized Companj' M, First Michigan Cavalrj', and 
was made its Captain. He led his company in the 
fight at Cedar Mountain, and soon after was sent 
home to recruit before the battle of Antietam. 
His health being so impaired, Capt. Denison was 
not able to return to the front, and in 1863 was 
made Provost-Marshal, with head(piarters at Kala- 
mazoo, and continued as such until the close of 
the war. 

Capt. Denison, after the cessation of hostilities, 
eng.aged in the livery business. He was soon. 




^^^4 





1 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



829 



liowever, sent to I'tali as I)i'[mty I'i'ovost-JI;usli;i!. 
uiulcr Provost Ararslial Maxwell, for two and a 
half j-ears. and, until 1876, lie was in the (lovcrn- 
inont emiiloy. His death occurred March 4, 188.5, 
having heen a prroat sufferer for years. In politics, 
he w.as an active Uepulilioan, .uid durinir the war. 
few men did more toward raisma: troops lliaii did 
Capt. Denison. 

'I'lie family of our sulijee.t included Mai'y. 
Mrs. George McDonald, whose hushand is a 
druggist, and Horace P., assistant lM>okkeei)er for 
the Michigan Uuggy Company. Socially, the Cap- 
tain was a Kniglit Templar, and w.is a liighly 
respected citizen and a warm friend. His remains 
lie luiried in the Mountain Home Cemetery. The 
parents of Mrs. Denison were Horace and Caroline 
(Chandler) Pentield, natives of Pawlet and Kair- 
lield,^'t. The father was a saddler hy irade and in 
1848 came to Michigan, dying in 1864. His 
widow is still living, and makes her home, at the 
.age of eighty-seven years, with Mrs. Denison. 
The latter-named lady had two lirotheis. (iiiy and 
John Penfield. and one sister. .John died at Raii- 
toul. 111., in Octolier, 188H. fJuy makes his home 
at Iterkelev, Cal. 



ZKL K. n.VHTLKTT. the humorist, whose 
portrait is presented on the o[)posite page, 
was born in Ilin.sdale, Berkshire County, 
Mass.. November 27. 1827. His father's 
name was .luliiis liaitlett, of Revolutionary aiite- 
cedenls. The family moved in 1832 to Cuniiiiing- 
ton. Mass.. a <iii;iiiit secluded hamlet, since famous 
.OS the birthplace of William Cullen Urvant. It 
was then noted, like many other small towns in 
that and adjoining counties, for the fxld eliaracter- 
istics of some of its old-time citizens, whieh left 
their impression upon the boyish mind of the 
future humorist, and afforded him a uevi'r-failing 
source from which to draw and (lictiiie forth many 
of his after '•Sketehes of New England." He 
moved to Michigan with his father's family at the 
age of ten years, aflerwanl going to New York 
City to attend school. He went from there to the 
Cuinmington Academy in Massachusetts, where he 
.•is 




puisue<l Ills studies for awhile, then, armed with a 
llatleriiig tcsliniouial from Prof. Gilbert, he went 
to rittstield, Mass.. and clerkcil in a book-store 
there, bis brother. Dr. C. E. Hartlett, being at that 
time a student in the IV'rksliire Medical Institute, 
and a class-mate of Dr. Holland's. Dr. .Tolin 
Todd, the author of the "Students' Manual." and a 
noted divine, even in those days, was settled there, 
(ieoige Oscar IJartlett, the first publisher of The 
Merchants' Magazine^ now the famous Hunt's Mei'- 
i-hont's Morjazine; also .lulius L. Bartlctt, the tal- 
ented clerg3'man, were his brothers. They were 
also writers of rare ability. 

At the age of aboutsixteen. young Hartlett went 
to Boston to seek his fortune, and fortunately ol>- 
tained a situation with Crocker it Brewster, at 
that time the leading book-sellers of Hoston. Here 
he remained for nearly ten years, advancing in a 
few yeare to the position of head salesman of the 
house. It was here that he had the opportunity 
of meeting most of the famous literary and noted 
men of New England. Daniel Webster was a fre- 
quent visitor at the sttue of Crocker it Brewster, 
who were his intimate friends, and then f)Ui- youth- 
ful humorist used to visitand "hobnob" with the 
"(iodlike" Daniel, and amuse him while he might 
be waiting the arrival of the linn. He remembers 
at one time trying on his hat, which was a large 
one; Daniel Webster was noted for the size of his 
head, as (Trover Cleveland is for the size of his 
neck. There were giants in those days. Rufus 
Choate, Everett. Emerson. Longfellow. Whittier, 
I'hillips, Lyman Heecher, Garrison. Holmes, Moses 
Stuart. Whii)i)le. Robinson, Lowell, Wood, the bot- 
anist and others, since famous in the world of let- 
ters, were frequenters of the old store of Crocker 
it Brewster. 

Eortunate in an early contact and ae<]uaiiilance 
with such as these, it imparted a literary turn of 
mind to the subjectof our sketch, and having un- 
limited access to books and an insatiable thirst for 
reading, he was stoiinghis mind with material from 
which to draw upon in after years. The old firm 
of Crocker it Hrewster eelel)rated the seventy-fifth 
anniversary of their iissociation together, the old- 
est firm, where both original partncre were living, 
in the I'nited States, probably in the worlil. Mr. 



830 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Brewster still survives. Horace Greelej^'s advice 
to young men to "Go West" w.as having its effect 
at that time and Mr. Bartlett moved to Detroit 
and formed a partnershii) there with a book-selling 
house, and D. M. Fcrrj-, the triple millionaire 
"Seed Man" of the world, then a boy, was their 
clerk at the time. Mr. Bartlett, at the age of 
twent3'-six, married .leannctte L. Packard, the 
daughter of I'rof. IJussell Packard, of Albany, N. 
Y. From Detroit Mr. Bartlett moved in 18.54 to 
Kalamazoo, Mich., and eng.aged in the book and 
baazar business for twenty 3'ears or more. He was 
continuously in the Ixjok business for over thirty 
years. He was prominent in business and social 
circles and over ready to aid in any cnter[irise for 
the benefit of Kalamazoo and for the interest of 
others. Although a stanch Republican, he was not 
a partisan in politics and would help to get a politi- 
cally, or really blind or crippled Democrat to the 
polls on election day as readily as though he was 
of his own political faith, and, what was stranger 
still, would help him home again. 

He was a valued contributor to many of the early 
Boston newspajjers forty jears ago. It is only 
until lately that he has begun to make his mark in 
the literar3' world, as many of his writings have re- 
mained in manuscript for many years, but when- 
ever brought to the light they have not only at- 
tracted the highest eonunendation from the press 
of this country, but have reached England on their 
merits and a number of them have been pulilished 
by one of the largest book houses and newspapers 
in London. Asa humorist, he has been compared 
most favorably with hving, Mark Twain, Bill Nye, 
Burdette and Will Carleton. 

The following are among tiie best known pro- 
ductions of his pen, some of whicli have achieved 
national popularity: ••The Comic Angler," "Hum- 
ors of the Rod and Gun," "The Frogs of Saginaw," 
"Deacon Bigelow's Struggle with a Gigantic Mus- 
kallonge," all of which have been published in F^^ng- 
land. His Boston lectures at Faneuil Hall on "The 
Humors of the F'rog," "Legends of Lightning 
Bug and Sleep>- Hollow," "The Young American 
Mustache," "The Snorer," "Horrible Death of the 
Mince-Pie Eater," "The Judge and the JMilkmaid," 
"Scauldam.ann, or, the Traged}- of the Turkish 



Bath," "A Tale of Constantinople," "Tiie Giant 
and the Cake of Yeast," "Sketches of Eccentric 
Character of New England," "Wit and Humor of 
the Times," and many others, newly revised and 
greatl}' enlarged and illustrated editions of which 
are contemplated. A prominent New York mag.a- 
zine has been in correspondence with him, desiring 
to make arrangements with him as a regular corres- 
pondent and to publish his biography' with his 
portrait as a frontispiece. 

We close this sketch with the following testimo- 
nial from Hon. George Willard, cx-member of 
Congress: 

"The productions of Mr. A. E. Bartlett, the 
gifted humorist, I have read with great interest 
and pleasure. Some of his recent books and manu- 
scripts certainly possess rare and conspicuous 
merit. 

"The writer is fortunate in his remarkable fidel- 
ity to nature, in his rich and delicate humor, in 
his abounding sympathy with the topics treated, 
and in the uuwa^'ering felicity of expression ap- 
jiarent in all the products of his pen. These pro- 
ducts appear to me to be among the ver\' best 
yielded in the field of humorous literature in our 
country." 



/ I ' I ' Ml 




OLOMON S. FOX, present Supervisor of 
Wayland Township, Allegan County, is 
one of the pioneers of this section of coun- 
trj', where he has occupied a prominent 
position and holds an enviable record, not only as 
an enterprising and worthy citizen, but as a brave 
soldier who did his part in the AVar of the Rebel- 
lion. He was born in Marlboro Township, Stark 
County, Ohio, April .30, 1844. His parents, Samuel 
and Catherine (Fox) Fox, were natives of the 
same State, his father being a carjienter bv trade, 
who also operated a mill, and in his later years fol- 
lowed the occupation of a farmer. 

Our subject came to this State at the age of 
twenty-three vears, and engaged in teaching, in 
connection with which he also carried on farming. 
He had a good education, having attended the 
common .schools during his 3'ounger days, and also 
for a while the Normal School in Ohio. After com- 
ing to Michigan, he taught for twelve terms in the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



831 



public schools, mnkino; a good record as a teacher. 
During this tiino, he bougiit a tract of fort^y acres 
of unimproved land, upon which he worked dur- 
ing the suninicr inontlis, clearing and inii)roviiig it. 
In 18G2, he enlisted, August IH, in Company D, 
One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Infantry, going 
at first to Cincinnati, and being in the Army of 
West Virginia for one year. In 1863, with his 
regiment, ho was sent South, a part of the time do- 
ing mechanic's work, and a part of the time guard 
duty. He was in some of the engagements during 
Hood's campaign, and was in the pursuitafter Gen. 
Forrest, an<I at Murfreesboro. He saw much of the 
hard i)art of a soldier's life, being often engaged in 
skirmishing with bushwhackers. He received his 
discliargc in .Inly, 1865, and remained in Ohio the 
following two years, when he came to Michigan. 

Mr. Fox was married, November 1, 1866, to Mag- 
gie A. (ilass, of Ilomewortli, Ohio, the daughter of 
John Gl.ass, a carpenter and farmer of that place. 
By this marriage, nine children have been born: 
William II., Minnie R., (irace L., Nora II., Karl ,1., 
Hoy S. S., Lee \'erne, Clark L. and (iu3,all living. 
Ill 1882, Mr. Fox entered the employ of Mr. Lee 
Deuel, of Uradley, as a salesman, in which occupa- 
tion he has continued ever since. During the 
years when the law provided for a Township fSu- 
perintendent of i)iiblic .school, our subject held that 
oHice all the time, with the exception of four 
months. He li.as also held the oflice of School In- 
spector, and is at [iresent .lustice of the Peace and 
Township Treasurer of Way land Township. In 
l)olitics, he is a Republican. 

Mr. Fox and his family hold a high pl.ace in the 
estimation of this community, in which they have 
so long resided. 



ILLIA.M lil SKI UK, a self-made man, resid- 



\\\ ^ //' ing on section 21, IIo|>kins Township, Al- 



y 

^^ legan County, is a son of Abram Huskirk, 
Sr., a native of Preble, Cortland County-, N. V., 
where he was born in 1795. The mother of our 
subject was Nancy (iarrison, a native of Seneca 
County, N. Y.. who with her husband removed to 



Ohio, in 18.38, settling in Lorain County for a short 
time. The father bought a small [liece of wild land 
in Avon Township, and lived on it three j'eai-s. 
He then solil this and took up another tract which 
he cleared and sold. His next move was to Mich- 
igan In 1853, where he settled on a farm ail wild, 
witli no improvements whatever. He lived there 
until his death, January 11, 1881, at the age of 
eighty-five years. His wife died April 18, 1872, 
al the age of sixty-seven years. 

The parents of our subject had born to them 
eleven children, seven of whom now live: Abram; 
our subject, Peter, Isaac, Daniel, Jane and Klipha- 
let. Allan (deceased) and Daniel both served in 
the Civil War in a Michigan regiment. 

Our subject was born December i, 1825, in Sen- 
eca County-, N. Y. He was reared on a farm, and 
had but very meager chances for an education 
His parent* were poor, and he stayed at home 
assisting them on the farm until twenty years old, 
when he went to Ohio and commenced working 
out by tiie montii. He was united in marriage, 
July 23, 1847, to Sophia Saddler, a daughter of 
Christian and Elizabeth (Root) Saddler, both n.a- 
tives of Erie County, N. Y. They moved to Ohio 
in 1836, and settled on a farm in Cuyahoga County, 
where the}' made a permanent home. The father 
was a soldier in the War of 1812. He died in 1872, 
and the mother two years previous. The}- had 
eleven children, nine living. Their daughter, Mrs. 
Huskirk, was born April 25, 1826, in New York. 

When our subject w.os married, he bought a piece 
of land in Dover Township, Cuyahoga County, 
Ohio, and improved and lived on it until 1851, 
when he came to Michig.an and took up one hun- 
dred and sixty acres, where he now lives. It w.os 
all a vast wilderness, and there were but very few 
improvements in this locality. He erected a log 
house, and considered himself in good circum- 
stances for that d.ay. He now owns one hundred 
and thirty acres, .and has eightj'-two acres cleared 
and fenced, and highly improved. He erected a 
handsome house in 1870, at a cost of iji3,000, and 
on his place carries on general farming and dairy- 
ing successfully. 

Mr. and Mrs. IJuskirk are the parents of seven 
children, six living: Thomas C. married Ellie Hen- 



832 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGllAnilCAL RECORD, 



nett, and lives in Kalamazoo County; Alva L. mar- 
ried Celia Richmond, and lives in Wayland Town- 
shiji, this county, and has four children; Henry 
F. married IJlIian Iloyt. and lives in Wayland 
Townsliii), an<l is tlie father of one child; Lizzie E. 
is the wife of .lay Crabh, of this township, and 
they have two children; Clara A; and John D., 
who married Eilitli Lane, has one child, and 
resides at (Irand Rapids. Our suiiject and his 
wife are members of the Congregational Church, 
and in politics he has been a Republican, but is 
now asUanch Prohibitionist, having always been a 
temperate man. lie lias served on the local School 
Board, and lias given his children the best of edn- 
cati(»ns, they all having l)een students of the High 
School. Henry was graduated from the Michigan 
Agricultural College in 1877; Tliom.as C. is a doc- 
tor of medicine; and .John D. is a veterinary sur- 
geon. 



im 



eHARLES BROTT. This respected citizen of 
the fanning community of Geneva Town- 
ship, Van Buren County, is successfully 
prosecuting his calling on section 1. He Is de- 
scended from two brothers f)f that name, who came 
from Holland .and located in New York City in an 
early period of the liistor}' of that city. Charles 
Brott, grandfather of our subject, came at an early 
day to Ohio, and from that State to Michigan, 
whare he died. The father of oursul)ject, Reynolds 
Brott, w.as born near Sj'racnse, N. Y., about 1800. 
He grew to maturity in his native county, and, 
when starting out in life for himself, traveled on 
foot to Ohio, where he settled on a farm in Lake 
County. 

The mother of our subject bore tlie name of Ma- 
lona Abbott, and by her union with i\Ir. Brott, 
eleven children were born, of whom Charles was 
the fonrth in order of birth. Tlie original of this 
sketch was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in Sep- 
tember, 1832, .and w.as reared just across the line 
in Lake County. In 1855, he came to ^'an Buren 
County, this State, and purchased a tract of one 
hundred and two .acres of wild land. A year later, 
he w.as married to Miss Saiihionia, daughter of 
Hiram Chappcll. and to them have been granted 



three children: Hiram grew to mature years and 
died of consumption in 1883; Sarah married Will- 
iam Myers, and resides in Allcg.an County, this 
State; and Lucy I. w.as the third in order of liirth. 

In 1863, Mr. Brott enlisted in the service of the 
Union, and in 186+ joined the Third Michigan 
Cavalry and served with his regiment until the 
close of the war. He was on board the ".John Ham- 
ilton" when it blew up on iMoljile Bay, but escaped 
injury. The winter of 18G5-66, he spent in camp 
at San Antonio, Tex. He enlisted .as a blacksmith, 
and kept one hundred and ten horses shod. At 
the close of the war, Jlr. Brott returned to the 
peaceful jiiirsuits of farm life, and has since given 
his attention to the cultivation of the soil. 

In politics, he of whom we write is a true-blue 
Republican. With his family, he is a member of 
the Evangelical Church, and socially is connected 
with the Masonic fraternity. He also belongs to 
Abraham Lincoln Post, No. HI, O. A. R., at Bangor, 
and is a gentleman who is highly esteemed in <ien- 
e\a Township for his upright and honest life. 



■y'OSIAH ,J. MILLER, This gentleman, who 
is one of the prosperons .and enterprising 
farmers of Bloomingdale Township, Van 
' Buren County, was born, November 10, 
1826, in Milford Township, Somerset County, Pa., 
and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Flick) Mil- 
ler. His grandfather, Henry Miller, was a farmer 
.and cooper, and p.assed his entire life in Pennsyl- 
vania. He married Miss Elizabeth Kizer, and they 
reared a family of five sons and six daughters, all 
of whom grew to maturit}'. The maternal grand- 
father of our subject was Frederick Flick, a native 
of Somerset County, Pa. 

John Miller, the father of onr sul)ject, w.as born 
in Somerset County, Pa., and, about 1854, reni(i\ed 
to M.acon County, 111., where he located on a farm, 
.and died about six months later. His family 
had remained behind in Pennsylvania, where the 
mother's death took place. She was a good woman, 
and a member of the Presbj-terian Church. The 
family of this worthy couple consisted of three 
children: Josiah .1., Lydia. and Mary A. 



PORTRAIT AND lilUCiliArillCAJ. RECORD. 



835 



I 



Our suliji'ct was reared upon a farm, and had 
hut fi'w advanlayi's for an t-ducation, gaining what 
knowh'dgi' he possessed more from reading and 
ohsi'ivatioti. than frt)ni the .study of texl-hookfi. 
IK' was early oliiiired to earn his own living, and 
worked u|><in a farm until nineteen years old, 
when he learned the trade of a eoo|ier. In tlie 
spring of lK.j(i, he eanie to Miehigan and liought 
one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 
2!1, Itloomingdale Townshii), this county, for which 
he paid ¥SII0, cash, rnfortunately, the man from 
whom he liought the land was dishonest and had 
given a mortgage on the place, although he claimed 
it was free from encumhranee. Mr. Jliller 

I searched the records but there were no claims to 
be found. \l the end of four years, the land was 
st>ld in the Court of Chancery as there w;is no re- 
lletnption. Mr. .Miller then bought it again from 
the man who entered it. lie has cleared and 
improvi'd his land, and has it under a high state 
of ciillivntion, and has also erected a line residence 
and liarns. He has made his way in the world en- 
tirely unas-sisted, exce[)t l)^- his faithful and de- 
t voted wife. 
Mr. Miller was marrii-d, .January ."), 18;">t, to 
Catherine Darr. She was horn in Somerset County, 
I'a., .Inly 21, l.s.i,'), the daughter of Philip and I 
Margaret (Shenamen) Darr, who were natives of 
Somerset County, I'a. The father, wlio worked at 
shoe-making and carding, was a member of the 
Lutheran Church. Their childi-en were Klizalieth, 
Mollie, .Margaret; Henry, who died when twenty- 
one yeare of .ige; Mary, Ann M., Sarah, Catherine, | 
and riiilip, who served during the late war, and 
died while in the army. The father of tliis fam- 
ily ilied ill Pennsylvania in l.S(;,s, at the age of 
eighty years, and his wife sometime later, when 
eighty-seven years old. 

The grandfather of Mrs. Miller, Tragut Ferd- 
inanil Shenamen, attended school in (iermany when 
lietween the ages of seven and fourteen, and later 
>tu(iied medicine. When alK)Ut twenty-one years 
old, lie came to this country, soon after which he 
entered the army to serve during the Revolution- 
ary War. and was under (ien. (ieorge Washington. 
After the war, he settled in Pennsylvania, where 
he purchased a farm of one hun(h'ed and sixty 



acres, and there passed his remaining years. I'nto 
him and his wife, whose in.-iiden name was Mary 
Margaret Faust, were Itorn the following-named 
children: Henry, .Maigaiet, Catherine, Sarah, Dan- 
iel, Christian, Ferdinand, Frederick, .lohn, and 
IJenjamin. 

.Seven children have been horn to our subject 
and his wife, .as follows: ,\llen, who resides at 
LaGrange, Ind.; JIargaret, the wife of Charles 
Allen, who lives at Deliance, Ohio; .Simon; Abel; 
Sarah E., who die<l at the age of three years; Mary; 
and .1. ])., who died when fomteen years old. Mr. 
and Mrs. Miller were ft)rmerly Lutherans, but are 
now members of the Disciples Church. They arc 
liigldy esteemed in the cornniunity in which they 
live, and are among its most popular residents. 
A view of the i)lea.sant homestead of Jlr. Miller is 
shown on another page. 



aHAKLES POTTEW COV. In every de- 
^ partmeut of work, whether of a business, 
' political or social nature, Mr. Coy has for 
years been a prominent citizen of Kalamazoo. He 
is descended from worthy and patriotic ancestor, 
and is the third in line of descent from a Scotch- 
man who removed from the "Land of the Thistle" 
and settled in Connecticut. 

The grandfather of our subject, David Coy, w;is 
a Revolutionary soldier and fought the battles of 
liberty with valor and patriotism. He attained to 
a ripe old age, dying when ninety-nvc yeai-s, five 
mouths and ten days old. His son, who was also 
named Da\id P.. was a prominent man in Myron, 
N. v., where he served as Supervisor for twentv- 
one years and in other positions of honor and 
responsil)ilit\'. He died in that place when in his 
sixtieth year. 

The .second among live children born to l>:ivid P. 
and Hannah (Sprague) Coy was Charles P., who 
w.is born at Byron, X. Y., March 17, 1«2L His 
youth was spent on his father's farm liul when he 
liecame of age, he settled in .Stafford Township, 
(lenesee County, N, Y,, and was married .lanuarv 
1 I. LSI!), in that township, to .Miss Martha Kel- 



836 



POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECOED. 



logg, a native of New York and the daughter of 
Russell and Harriet (IMiller) Kellogg. 

In 1853, I\Ir. Coy removed to the vicinity of 
Marshall, this State, and purchased a farm comjjris- 
ing about four iiundred acres. Later he settled 
on a farm near Albion, whence he removed to 
Battle Creek and for nine years followed farming 
operations near that city. He did not locate in 
Kalamazoo County, until, after m.akinga tour of 
the Southern States, he decided that this county 
offered the best prospects for investment. Ac- 
cordingly, he bought a large farm on Gull Prairie, 
in 186.5, and there made a specialty of wheat, in 
which he was very successful. He disposed of the 
farm in 1881 and, moving to the city, has Iiere 
since resided. 

A Repulilican in his politics, Mr. Coy has served 
his fellow-citizens in various official capacities. He 
was Supervisor while at Battle Creek and assisted 
in furnishing troops during the war. He is a stock- 
holder in the Kalamazoo National Bank and owns 
considerable real estate in the city, the value of 
which is constantly increasing. In his religious 
preference, lie inclines to the belief of the Pres- 
byterian Church, whicli he and his wife attend. In 
every opinion of importance lie holds decided 
opinions and concedes to others the same right 
which he demands for himself — that of liberty of 
thought. He and his wife have one daughter: 
Marion C, wife of Charles F. Davis, of the firm of 
P. C. Davis & Comi)any, of Kalamazoo. 









n RA V. HICKS. There is scarcely any enterprise 
I in Kalamazoo which contributes more directly 
ii\ to the prosperity' of its citizens than the Hicks 
Carriage Company. The present works were estab- 
lished by our subject in November, 1890, and 
since that time he has been successfully engaged 
in the manufacture of toj) and o|)en buggies 
and carriages of the latest and most approved 
styles. 

The carriage manufactory and otHces of the coin- 
pany are located in a fine building, 50 x 175 feet in 
dimensions, and three stories in height. The 
machinery is the latest and most highly improved. 



and the vehicles, which are of a superior quality 
and finish, are shipped to different points through- 
out the State as well as to other portions of the 
country. Forty skilled employesare kept through- 
out the year and the business is growing very .sat- 
isfactorily. 

New York was the native State of Mr. Hicks, 
who was born in Tompkins CVninty, July 17, 1834. 
David, his father, was also a native of the Empire 
State, and engaged as a manufacturer of farm im- 
plements. A good business man, of keen foresight 
and great force of character, he was prominent in 
his community and exerted great influence among 
his fellow-citizens. The mother was known in 
maidenhood as .Tanc ^'an Wager and was born in 
New York. James Hicks, grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was of English descent on his father's side 
and through his mother traced his ancestry to Hol- 
land. 

Ira v., who was the second of foiu' children, 
passed his bo3'hood in the Empire State, receiving 
only a common-school education and early as- 
sisting his father in his work. When sixteen years 
old, he commenced to learn the trade of a carriage- 
maker, at which he served an apprenticeship of 
three years. He then worked as a journeyman and, 
in the prosecution of his trade,went to Willoughby, 
Giiio, then to Cortland, N. Y., where he was em- 
plo3'ed by the Cortland Wagon Company, of Cort- 
land, for four years. 

In 1881, IMr. Hicks came to Kalamazoo and 
aided in the organization of the Kalamazoo Wagon 
Company, his partners being F. W. Meyers and 
M. H. Lane. The business of the company was 
the manuLacture of buggies, in which Mr. Hicks 
engaged with great energy and remarkable success 
until July, 1800, when he sold out. His private 
affairs have engaged his attention so closely that 
he has mingled little in the political life of the 
city, although he adheres to the principles of the Re- 
iniblican party and casts his ballot for its can- 
didates. 

When at leisure from his business cares, Mr. 
Hicks finds his greatest pleasure in the society of 
his wife and children, at their home. No. 507 
Stewart Avenue. Mrs. Hicks, who prior to 1854 
was known as Sarah Casar, was born and reared 



PORTRAIT AM) ];10(;RA1'1I1CAL RIXORD. 



837 



iiiTuiupkins County, X. v., and is a daughter of 
.lacoh and I'",li/.alp('tli ( Nottinuliain) Casnr. Slio is 
a lady of supcridr Mtlainnu'nls. a (ii'votcd liclii- 
inate, and a tiMuU'r niotlicr to licr lliicc MirvivinL; 
children: llonry. assistant inaii;ii;(M' in the works; 
Llovd and Nottio. {■"lanUic died in l.S.Sl). 



"SD 



^-^ 



[==» 



IIARI.KS a. HAI.DWIX. the ellicicnt I'ost- 
' mailer of N'ickshurij;, is well known throuyli- 
i^ out tliis section of country as tlie editor and 
jnopiielor of the Cirmmcrcial, a hriij^ht and spicy 
|)aiier which is indei)en(U'nt in politics and de- 
voted to the social and liusiness interests of the 
coninuinity. In former years, it was published in 
Kalamazoo and for six months prior to purchasint; 
it, Mr. Baldwin was local correspondent fiom this 
place. When lielionirht it in 1881 and estalilislied 
the ollice in VicUslinr<i, there was another i)apcr — 
the Monitor — published here, but it soon died, 
since which time the Ounmcrcial has been the sole 
representative of the newspaper interests of the 
village. 

Not only has Mr. IJaldwin a very valuable plant, 
but his ollice is well ccpiipiied in every respect and 
supplied with Fair Haven power press, as well as 
a fine line of job and news type. The work turned 
out is of a superior (piality and style, while, through 
its entrance into hundreds of homes, the i)aper is 
wiehling a powerful inllueiice over the opinions of 
the peo[)le. In .lune, 18811, Mr. Baldwin was ap- 
pointed Postmaster at Vieksburg, which was made a 
Tresidential ollice April 1, 18!)1. llis previous ex- 
jierience as Postmaster in Arkport, X. Y., enabled 
him at once to adopt the best measures for the 
con<luct of the office, and the mail agents give him 
tiie credit of putting up the mail and keeping his 
otlice in the liest order of anyone along the line. 

'I"he family of which Mr. Baldwin is a represcn- 
t4itive traces it-s ancestry to Scotland, whence at 
an early day some of its members emigrated to 
tills country. Ichaliod Baldwin, grandfather of 
our subject, was born in the State of Xew York in 
17!lli and followed the (i(<upation of a gardener 
and faiMier until his death in .\llegany County, N. 
Y., at the age of sixty-four. .\mong his live 



ehildren was 'WillianiN., who was born in Allegany 
County, Octoljer ."5, 1820, and there was reare(l <iii 
a farm, receiving his education in the district 
schools. When twenty years old, he (•oinnienceil to 
learn the trade of a blacksmith, which he followed 
at Franklin and Arkport, X. \. 

For six years William X. Ualdwin served as 
Postmaster at .Vrk|)ort, and, being a man of intell- 
igence and excellent judgment, lie was frequently 
consulted with reference to general political matters 
as well as of affairs of local iniporl;ince. I'rior to 
the administration of President Buchanan, he was 
a, Democrat, but afterward joined the Keimblican 
party. In the Presbyterian Church, he was an 
active worker until his death, whii'h occurred in 
-Vrkport, .\ugust Sfi, 1806. The mother of our sub- 
ject, Mary B. Jordan, was born in Delaware Count3', 
X.Y.. .V|iril 1. 1844 and is still living, her home 
being in A'icksliurg, 5Iich., where she is known as a 
lady of great worth of character and a prominent 
memljer of the Congregational Chiiiili. Her par- 
ents, .lared AY. and Betsey (.lones) .Ionian, were 
natives of New York and reared ten children, 
linally passing away at a good old age. 

^Ir. Baldwin is one of three ehildren, the others 
being Simon S., of Kalamazoo, and i^lizabetli, now 
jNIrs. MeMaster. Charles .\. was born in Franklin, 
Delaware County, N. Y., March 1), 1846, and when 
he was one year old was taken by his parents to 
Arkiiort, N. Y., where he received his education 
in the common schools. At the age of sixteen, he 
was examined and given a permit to act as assis- 
tant mail clerk on all the lines of the F.rie Hail- 
road. For four years he perfornied substitute 
duty, and was then apiiointed regular clerk, serv- 
ing as such for four years between Dunkirk, N. \'.. 
and .lersey City, N. .1. During that time, he was 
in three railroad .accidents and narrowly escaped 
being killed. 

After the death of his father, .Mr. Baldwin re- 
ceived the aiipointnieiit of Postmaster at Arkport, 
and held the ollice six years, meanwhile engaging 
in mercantile pursuits. In the spring of 1872, lie 
resigned his position, and, selling out his property, 
came to Michigan, where he was engaged on the 
Schoolcraft Exiinss for a short time. He then 
opened an ollice in Vieksburg, becoming a lire in- 



838 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



suiance agent, and still acts as agent foi' seven old- 
line companies. November 2, 1880, he bought a 
farm of seventy-seven acres in Brady Townshi|), 
fifty acres of which is a hucklel)crry marsh and 
very remunerative. 
March 21, 186(5, ]Mr. IJaldwiu was married to Helen 
F. Newsom, who was born in Steuben County, N. Y., 
t)ctober 12, 1848. Her parents, William and 
Elizabeth (Zeliff) Newsom, were natives respec- 
tively of England and (lermanyand reared a fam- 
ily of thirteen children. Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin 
are the parents of two children: Mary E. and 
Charles E. Mrs. Baldwin passed from this life 
.Tanuary 30, 1892. They are members of the ]Meth- 
odist Church, in which they are earnest workers. 

Politically, ilr. Baldwin is a Republican and 
has been connected with the Republican Countj' 
Central Committee. Notwithstanding the fact 
that the townshi]j of Brady had a majority- of 
scventy-flve Democrats when he was nominated 
for the position of Township Clerk, such was his 
j)Opularity that he was elected by a majority of 
thirty-seven. He is a member of Lodge No. 36, 
K. of P., and the Modern Woodmen, in which he 
has occupied man3' of the chairs and exerted con- 
siderable influence. 



eONRAD CHRISTOPHER GUNN,a resident 
of Oshtemo Town^hil), Kalamazoo County, 
was born Feliruary 1, 1848, in Ashtabula 
County, Ohio. He is a son of Westrell Willoughby 
Gunn, a native of Herkimer County, N. Y., where 
he was born February 25, 1808. He was a gradu- 
ate of Yale College, in the law department, and 
practiced in Lockport, Pa. He was married soon 
after leaving college to Betsey Sharp, a native of 
New York, and in 1829 left Lockport, Pa., and 
settled in Ashtabula County, Ohio, continuing in 
the legal business and also engaging somewhat in 
fanning in connection with droving, being one of 
the oldest dealers in cattle in Ohio. He drove 
cattle to Buffalo until 1.S67, in which year he 
moved to Eaton County, this State. When on a 
visit to his daughter in LaPorte, Ind., iul876, he was 



taken sick and died, aged sixty-eight years.. His 
good wife died in Eaton County, in 1886, at the 
age of seventy-flve j'ears. They had fourteen 
children born to them, eight boys and six girls, 
ten of whom are now living. Two of the sons. 
Perry and Conrad, enlisted in the army, Perry in 
the Thirteenth Wisconsin Infantry, serving nine 
months. He was injured at the battle of Pittsburg 
Landing, and was discharged from the service. 

Our subject worked on a farm until fifteen }-ears 
of age, when he enlisted in the army on the 16th 
of Januaiy, 1864, in Company E, Sixth Ohio Cav- 
alrj'. He joined his regiment at Warrenton, \^a., 
and did picket duty inside of three months' time. 
He was in the campaign of 1864 under Sheridan. 
He participated in the battle of the Wilderness 
and W.1S on Richmond raid, fighting all the time. 
He was also in the battles of Todd's Tavern, Spott- 
sylvania. Cold Harbor, Five Forks, Cliickaiiominy, 
^Malvern Heights, and the second battle of Weldon 
Railroad. At the last-named place, they stopped do- 
ing picket duty until the spring of 1865, when they 
broke camp and followed the rebels on retreat and 
continued to fight until Lee's surrender. The 
regiment then staid at Warrenton on detached 
dutj- for three months, and Mr. Gunn was mus- 
tered out, August 7, 1865, and honorably discharged 
at Cleveland, Ohio, August 7. 

On leaving the army, our subject made a short 
visit home and then came to Kalamazoo. He 
remained but a short time, however, as he went 
to live in Indiana, where he remained for seven 
years. From there he removed to this town- 
ship, in 1876, and was married to Helen C. 
Slack, ill the same year. Mrs. Gunn was the widow 
of .lohii Slack and a daughter of William Alford,a 
native of iSIassachusetts. Her grandfatlier partici- 
pated in the Revolutionary War. A fife that was 
played liy him in the battle of Yorktown and at 
the surrender of Cornwallis, and afterward b}' his 
son William Alford, in the War of 1812, is in the 
possession of the family. The father of Mrs. Gunn 
was married at the age of twent3'-uine years, in 
Canada, having moved there soon after the AVar 
of 1812. He lived in Guelph, Ontario, but at the 
time of the Rebellion in Canada, not wishing to 
fight for or against his own country, sold his prop- 





cu. 





^^ lJj^^c^ 6^^^>^./^^^ yc.iy?^^^/^.^^ ^^ ^ 



POliTltAlT A>;D B10(;UAVIUCAL liECORD. 



841 



iTty nnd tvinic to >riclii!j;aii, Uikiiijf up land in 
Alamo Town.siiip, in iy;37, wlierc lie resided until 
his death, which occurred in 1849. His good wife 
is still living and makes her homo witli her son in 
Texas Township. She hove iier hushand fourteen 
eliildren and was again married in 1H.")2 and he- 
eaine the mother of one child. 

.Mrs. (Junn was married to her tirsl imslianil in 
IMC I. lie died March 30, 187.5. By this marriage, 
one ehild wa.s horn, William, who is now studying 
medieine. 15y her second marriage. Mi's, (iunn h.as 
heeome the mother of two children: Conrad Glenn, 
horn .lune 2!), 1888, and Irwin Simpson, born 'May 
10. 1H8(). 

( tur subject is a member of ( )reutt Post, G. A. R., 
at Kalamazoo. Mrs. Guiin had two brothers in the 
late war, William and (icorge. The latter was 
wounded at Port Hudson and died from the effect 
of his wounds. lie belonged to Company D, Sixth 
^liciiigan Liglit Artillery. William was in the 
Nineteenth Michigan Infantry, Company F, and 
was wounded at Hcsaea, Ga.. was taken prisoner, 
^lareh (>, IHtKi, at Spring Hill, Tenn., and conlined 
in Lililiy Prison twenty-seven days. 



_w^) 



i>-^^«ei 



?3j^ 



-4 TeLKN M. (LP.)OILN) KIKKLAND, M. D., 
I I of Kalamazoo, the eldest of a familj' of 
\ twelve children of the venerable pioneer 
of medicine, Dr. I'riah I'pjohn, wa.s born in Hich- 
hmd, Mich., February 21, 18.'51l. In her girlhood 
she received the best educational advantages the 
little village afforded in it.s public schools, and for 
several years attended the Prairie Seminary, which 
at that time was a tlouri>liing and poimlar school. 
Later, she entered the liaiitisl College at Kalama- 
zoo, becoming a member of the senior class, hut 
not graduating. 

Subsetpiently, our Mibjeet engaged in the pro- 
fcssi<jn of a teacher, and was thus occupied for 
three or four years, teaching in Hichland, also in 
Iowa during the two or three years the family 
lived there, excei)ting that she returned to ^lieh- 
igan to attend school for one year. .Soon after 
her father moved back to Michigan for the sake 



of better educational advantages for his grow- 
ing family. After her cour.se at the Baptist Col- 
lege, she taught private classes in French, botany 
and drawing, which to her was a very ple.asant 
pastime, she having a taste for those studies. 
Wishing to become proficient in something, she 
pursued the stud}' of art for a few years, receiv- 
ing instruction in Chicago, Kalamazoo, and later 
in Ann Arbor. Several years were spent at home, 
assisting her mother in the care of her large 
familv. 

In 1869, her father, seeing the necessity of 
|)roviding his children with better educational .ad- 
vantages, [)urchased a large house in Ann Arbor and 
sent eight of his older children there at one time. 
Helen, being the eldest, took charge and managed 
the household of 3'ounger brothers and sisters. She 
also found time to pursue her painting and attend 
Prof. Wiuchel's lectures on botany and geology. 
That year the doors of the Michigan rniversity 
were thrown oi>en to women in all its departments. 
Having acquired an interest in her father's pro- 
fession and practice, she determined to study medi- 
cine, and returned home to read under his instruc- 
tion, entering the I'liiversity at Ann Arbor in 
1870, .and graduating in the mediciil department 
in 1872, being one of a class of six lirst lady 
graduates. 

The Doctor at once began an active i>ractice in 
Kalamazoo, in connection with her father and 
brother. Dr. Henry I'pjohn. Six months after 
beginning ()ractice, she went to Boston, and there 
and in New York was eng.aged for six months in 
hospital work. Returning thence to Kalamazoo, 
she at once secured a lucrative and desirable 
practice, which she still continues at her ollice at 
No. 619 Main Street. She has evinced great skill 
in her practice, stands high in the [irofession, and 
for the p.'u-il twenty years has practiced with re- 
maikalile suctos. rare faithfulness and con.scien- 
tiousness. Her practice h.as been general, and she 
is recognized as being able and accurate in the 
diagnosis of diseases. She is a memlx>r of the 
Kalamazoo Academy of Medieine, Michigan State 
Medical SiK-iety. and .Vmerican Medical Associa- 
tion, having been a delegate to the latter organ- 
ization from the local soeietv. Her marriage, which 



842 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



occuiTed November 19, 1875, united her with 
Hugh Kirkland. 

Dr. Kirkland is a woman of aliilitj^ and finds 
time be^'ond the duties of her profession to all}' 
herself with tiie advanced thouglitof the daj', and, 
while not assuming a leading part in the great 
questions affeeting woman and woman's work, 
her opinion and counsel are sought and respected. 
She is a member of the Ladies' Library Associa- 
tion, and is in close sympathy with the advanced 
thinkers of the age. 



^^ ORNELIUS VAN ZWALUWENBURG, M. 

(if^l D., one of the prominent practicing phj'si- 
^^^ cians of Kalamazoo, was born in the county 
which is still his home, November 17, 1862, and is 
a son of R^-er and Sarah (Kools) Van Zwaluwen- 
burg, botli of wliom were natives of Holland (the 
Netherlands). When young they came to Kalama- 
zoo Count}', where they were married, but began 
their domestic life on a farm near Holland, Mich. 
Early in 1868, the father established a grocery 
store in Kalamazoo and continued business in this 
line until 1871. He is now residing on a farm in 
Ottawa County and is one of the liighly respected 
citizens of the commanity'. In the family are five 
children, the brothers and sisters of our subject be- 
ing as follows: Abraham, an analytical chemist, and 
a graduate of the University of Michigan, now re- 
siding in San Luis Potosi, Mexico; James G., 
a student at Hope College; Alice, now tlie wife of 
Dr. Crimers, ex-Mayor of Holland, Mich., and 
Anna, wife of Jacob Poppen,a minister of the Re- 
formed Church. 

The early boy'hood dajs of our subject were 
spent in Holland and its vicinity, and in the com- 
mon schools of the neighborhood he acquired his 
early education. He then entered Hope College, 
where he remained as a student from 1877 until 
1880, after which he embarked in the profession of 
teacliing, which he followed through two winters, 
and at the same time, in his leisure hours, he read 
medicine, hoping to make its practice his life-work. 
To further fit himself for practice in that line, he 
entered the medical department of the University 



of Michigan, situated in Ann Arbor, and after 
pursuing a thorough course of study was gradu- 
ated from that institution with the class of June, 
1885. Being now fitted to begin his chosen work, 
he opened an ollice in Kalamazoo, and has since 
engaged in the practice of medicine continuously 
at this place. The liberal patronage accoi'ded him 
attests his ability and skill, and he has won a place 
in the foremost ranks of the medical fraternity in 
this county. 

On the 6tli of April, 1886, the Doctor w:is 
united in marriage to Miss Adrianna Wabeke, of 
Zceland, Ottawa County, and unto them have been 
born two children: Mai lel and Bertha. Himself and 
wife are members of the Second Reformed Church, 
of which he has been De.acon since 1886, and in 
social circles they rank liigli, being worthy [leople, 
well deserving the high regard in which thc\' are 
held. 

The Doctor is an honored member of the Kala- 
mazoo Academy of Medicine, of which organiza- 
tion he was Secretary for some ftuir years, and also 
belongs to the State Medical Society, with which 
he has been connected since 1888. In April, 1891, 
he was made a health officer for the city of Kala- 
mazoo, and has faithfully discharged the duties of 
that office, in 1892 being re-elected to the same 
office. He is a student of his profession, keeiis 
abreast with all its discoveries and the high man- 
ner in which he is spoken of by all is proof that 
he is a capable and earnest [ihysician. 



I ^ ■i . ^ idii > i i< ■ 



ti? YMAN M. GATES is an extensive man- 
il (^ ufacturer of boilers and engines, and is 
jiL^. President of the C. II. Dutton Company, thei r 
place of business being at No. 826 Grace Street, 
Kalamazoo. Of the above-named company, L. M. 
Gates is President; E. L. Gates, Secretary and 
Treasurer; George E. Dutton. Vice-president, and 
Mrs. C. A. Dutton. stockholder. The capital stock 
is !f20,000. The business wms established by C. II. 
Dutton in the fall of 1880, and at his death, Jan- 
uary 25, 1891, w.as in a very prosperous condition. 
C. Holstel w.as a member of the linn until 1885. 
The C. II. Dutton Companj' has just erected a 



PORTliAlT AND J;iO(il,'Al'irCAL KECOliD. 



843 



two-story addition, 42x50 feet in dimensions. 
Tlicir plant now covers an acre of ground, witli fa- 
cilities for shipping on the Grand Rapids and In- 
diana, and the Lake Shore railroads. Tliey give 
eniployinont to lliirty or forty men, and rank among 
the leading nianuf.acturers of the city. George F. 
Dutton h.as occupied the position of foreman of the 
sJKips since tlieir existence. 

Lyman M. Gates has been a resident of Kalama- 
zoo since 1855, and for a number of years wsls en- 
gaged in the hardware l)usiness at Galesburgh. 

Lyman M. Gates lived for one year near La 
Grange. Ind., and made his advent into this county 
in the siiring of 1855, at that time locating five 
miles east of this city. There he cleared and im- 
l>roved a farm, and at the same time taught school 
in (Jalcslnirgh for four years, having attended Gen- 
esee College, at Lima, N. Y., for four years. 

In 1870. he was elected Sheriff of Kalamazoo 
County on the Republican ticket, aiul was re-elected 
to that responsible position in 1872. lie later 
liought a one-half interest in the Ti'Jer/raph and 
was connected with that jiaper as its manager a 
twelvemonth. 

In I87(j, IMr. (Jatcs was again elected to the of- 
fice of SheritT, and again re-elected in 1878 for the 
fourth time. lie was ai)i)ointed Postmaster by 
President Arthur immediately after Garfield's 
death, and faithfully i)crf()rmed the duties of the 
otlice for four jeai-s. He was elected Chief of Po- 
lice and ^larshal of the city in 1887-88. Though 
not a Prohibitionist .as a party man, Mr. Gates is 
strongly in favor of temperance, and has done 
much toward furtliering the interests of that cause 
in the city. 

He was born' in Monroe County, N. V., .lanuary 
7. 183;$, and is the son of Reynold M. and Clarissa 
(Parnielee) (iates, also natives of the Emi)irc State. 
He was married, March 13, 1854, at Mendon, Mon- 
roe County, N. Y., to Miss ^lary K. Williams, a na- 
tive of Newburg, Ohio. They have become the 
parents of one son: Albert M., who is City Passen- 
ger Agent for the Sant;» Fe Railway, at Kansas 
City, where he li.is been for the \tasl live years. 

Our sulijeet was an exceedingly popular official, 
both as Sheriff and Postmaster. He is a shrewd 
politician and is considered one of the party lead- 



ers in Kalamazoo and this part of the State, his 
judgment on party policy lieing very sound. He 
is very careful in business transactions, and his 
personal infiuence backing any venture will almost 
always insure its success. Mr. Gates is of fine, ro- 
bust physique. He is very prompt and decisive in 
action and enjoys a story or a well-timed joke witli 
his mail}- rriciids and .-issociates. His handsome 
residence is located at No. 625 West Main Street. 
Jlr. and Mrs. Gates are members of the Congrega- 
tional Church. 



^^EORGE CHAPMAN. The countries of the 
'll J- — Old World have sent us many joung men 
^^sft whose home opportunities were limited, 
and who saw in the new country beyond the .«ca a 
chance to win for themselves both name and for- 
tune. These we have welcomed to our shores, and 
in due time they have risen to positions of promi- 
nence and wealth. One of this class of enterpris- 
ing young men may be found in the person of our 
subject, who came here in 1873 a poor boy, begin- 
ning as a clerk in an hotel, from which he entered 
the West Michigan Savings Bank, at Bangor, as 
bookkeeper, and his industry and intelligence be- 
ing recognized In" those interested, he Wiis pro- 
moted to be Assistant Cashier, which responsible 
position he now holds. 

George Clia])niaii comes of good old Knglish 
stock, his grandparents on the paternal side being 
Robert and Mary Chai)man, and his parents James 
and Esther (IJladydon) Chapman, natives of Eng- 
land. Our subject was born at Cambridge, in that 
country, November Ifi, 1859, and w.as the eldest 
of seven children, all of whom remained at theold 
home in Cambridge. At the early age of thirteen, 
our subject decided to cross the ocean and mark 
out a path for himself in the New AVorld. On ar- 
riving in the United States, he came to Michigan, 
locating first at Paw Paw. where he remained 
about three yeai-s. He then went to Chrisman, 111., 
where he spent about the same length of time, 
coming from there to I?«ngor. where he Inu* since 
resifled. He became identified with the West 



844 



PORTRAIT AJsU BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



Michigau Savings Bank in 1881, beginning, as has 
been stated, as a bookkeeper, and being promoted 
to his present position. He is industrious and en- 
ergetic and a man of the strictest integrity of 
character, and, in consequence, has gained the 
esteem and respect of liis employers and associates. 
Mr. Chapman was married in July, 1883, to Miss 
Etta Long, and to them have been born four chil- 
dren: Alfred George, Harry Grover, Ollie G., and 
Una. 



(^^ AMUEL R BROCKWAY is one of the 
^^^ substantial and well-to-do farmers of 
\£-M Brady Township, Kalamazoo County. He 
was born in Steuben County, M. Y., Febru- 
ary 25, 1838, and is a son of Alvin Brockway, a 
native of New York, of Yanlvee descent. He was 
a shoemaker by trade and followed farming. He 
owned forty acres in Steuben County. The jour- 
ney was made all the way by team to Michigan in 
1845, by way of Ohio. The family located on 
the present farm of our subject, which was school 
land and entirely covered by woods. A log 
house was erected and the father set about to clear 
and improve the place. He died when sixty-eight 
years and ten months old. He was a stanch Re- 
publican, politically. 

The father of our subject married Ruth A. 
AVard, a native of C.-iyuga County, N. Y., and they 
reared four boys and one girl: James (deceased), 
Samuel R., Albert, George W. and Harriet (de- 
ceased). The good wife and mother died when 
about sixty years old. 

Our subject was reared to manhood on a farm 
and came to this State when seven years old. Here 
he attended the primitive log school house, with 
its slab benches and i)in legs, open fireplace, mud 
and stick chimney, and conducted on the rate-bill 
system. Deer were very plentiful in those days, as 
were bears and other wild animals, and at one time 
when our subject was hunting for a lost hog, he 
jumped up on a log on the other side of whicli 
lay a large bear- There were also eighty Indian 
wigwams and a great number of Indians on the 
bank of the creek near their place. Our subject 



was very much afraid of them and in going after 
his cows would keep on the watch around their 
camp and run like a "whitehead" at the sight of 
one. 

Samuel R. Brockway remained at home with his 
parents until twenty-four years of age. He then 
bought forty acres and lived on it seventeen years, 
when he purchased forty more north of it and re- 
sided there nine years. Selling this out, eighty 
acres were purchased where he lived until 1871, 
buying the old homestead, on which place he has 
made his home since. He was married, in the year 
1852, to Jane Vroman, who was born in New York, 
twenty miles from Buffalo, in 1844. They have 
had born to them three children: Sardis I., Pliilii) 
S. and George M. Sardis is married and a resident 
of the State of Washington, where he is teaching 
school; he owns a farm there. Philip is marrieil 
and resides in this township; George is still at 
home. ]\Ir. Brockway carries on mixed farming 
and keeps some good Durham cattle and all kinds 
of stock in general. Our subject has always been 
a Republican with independent proclivities. He is 
a member of the Masonic fraternity of Vicksburg, 
to whicii he has belonged for twentj'-five years. 

Samuel Brockway in the early days had to go to 
Flourlield and Kalamazoo with an ox-team to mar- 
ket and has seen this country converted into a fer- 
tile region. The liist party he attended he took his 
girl with an ox-team and wagon. He is now the 
fortunate possessor of two hundred broad and fer- 
tile acres, most of which are under splendid culti- 
vation. 



E^ 




lEORGE N. DRAKE, one of the prominent 
imers of Kalamazoo, is making his home 
^^^5^1 on section 19, Kalamazoo Township. He 
is a native-born citizen of this county, having had 
his birth in Oshtemo Township, February 7, 1835. 
He is a son of Benjamin Drake, a native of New 
Jersej', who was born in 1787. This gentleman 
made quite a fortune on the Delaware Kivei 
in the lumber liusiness, but on the lireaking 
out of the War of 1812, he lost all his property. 
After getting another start in New York, the father 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 



845 



of our sulijoi't moved to Cniiada, wlicre lie was 
mariieil. Dceenihor 29, ISH), to IMaiia ()i;<leii,a na- 
tive of till' Dominion. 'I'liis (•on|il('. after residing 
in Ohio for two years after their niarriaii:e. came 
to Mieliigan and settled iii St. (lair County, in 
1824, and engaged in the cattle business for six 
yeai-s. At the expiiation of this time, Mr. Drake, 
in IH.'Jfl.eanii' to this county and located in(lslitenio 
Township, on section l.'i, tlie land >till heinu 'i'- 
hahited liy tiic Indians, who lielpcd iiim erect a log 
house. 

The elder Mr. Diake had to walk to White Pig- 
eon to enter his land and on tiie way passed two 
Indians. Paying no attention to them, one gralihed 
him and w.as aliout to kill iiim, when he in turn 
seized the Indian, and dragged him to the top of the 
hill, intending to i)ut an end to him, when a Mr. 
Canipcau,an 1 ndian trader, happened to come along. 
^^r. Canipeau talked to the Indians and detained 
them until Mr. Drake made his escape. ( )ursuliject's 
father iiiiproxeil his land, and at his death owned 
three hundred and sixty acres of line laud. Il is 
said to he one of the best farms in the State. In 
politics, he was a Hepiibliean and was a tliorough 
business man. The (iolden Hule was his religion, 
and he always lived up to it, being very kind to 
the poor and unfortunate and did mucli to assist 
jieople in locating here. Altogether he w.as an 
inlluential and respected man. lie died at his 
home inOshtemoTownshiii, in September, IHH.'i.in 
his ninety-eighth year. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Henjamin Drake, four sons and 
four daughtei'S have been born. The mother 
p.a.ssed away in IHXO, .aged eighty-niue years. Our 
subject w.as reared on the home farm and remained 
under the parental roof until reachinghis majority, 
when he engaged in shipping stock in the winter 
and farming in the summer. Our subject purchased 
two hundred and four .acres of his father, where he 
now makes his iKime and on which he has erected 
all the buildings and made the splendid improve- 
ments. He h.as dealt (piite largely in stock lie- 
sides his general farming, in which he is very suc- 
cessful. Mr. Drake, of this sketch, is an adherent 
of the Republican party, hut is not an :is|iiranl to 
local ollice; socially, he is a Master M.ason and a 
inemlier of the Kalamazoo I.odtre. No. 22. Our 



subject was educated in the common scl Isof Kal- 
amazoo and also the Seminary at that place, lie was 
a nieiiiber of tlie State Militia and diiiing tlie w.ar. 
furnished a substitute, as he could not leave here, 
as he at that time carried on his own farm and 
and that of his father. 

The original of this sketch was united in mar- 
riage to Nettie Allen, in Oshtemo Township, this 
county, Decemlier 1(!. 1H1)2. Mrs. Drake is a native 
of Barry County, Mich., and is a daughter of .John 
R. Allen, of Oshtemo Township. This couple is 
well-liked and respected by the entire c<»mni',iuity 
in which the\' live. 



^^EORGE P. HOPKINS. This prominent 
III j-_ attorney of K.alamazoo possesses the legal 



\i^' acumen, sound common-scnso and genial 
social (jualities, which have won for him the conli- 
dence of liis fellow-citizens. He is well-doweretl 
with Lalents of no common order and h.as con- 
ducted himself in the various relations of life in 
such a inaniieras to gain the esteem of all. In the 
various oflicial positions wiiich he has held, he is 
known for his integrity of character, his careful 
examination of all matters coming within the 
range of his authority, and his elllcient discharge 
of his duties. 

iMr. Hopkins li.as passed most of his life within 
Kalamazoo, where he w.as born September 1, 1S;')0. 
His father, David S., was a native of New York, 
liorn 111 Washington County, and w.as by trade a 
carpenter and architect, many of the tinest struct- 
ures in Kahimazoo and {!rand Kapids having been 
designed and constructed under his supervision. 
fJiandfather Charles C. is still living at the ad- 
vanced age of ninety-one and resides at Lainont. 
Ottawa County, this State. He was a very early 
settler of Kalamazoo, where he settled in about 
l.Si:?, and clearecl a farm near the village. 

The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
was Mary A. Eaton, is a native of Allegan County, 
and the daughter of A. S. Katon, who, at the age 
of eighty-two, is living on a farm in this conntj'. 
The oldest of four children^all sons — (leorge P. 
spent his childhood in study at the common schools, 



846 



PORTRAIT AND EIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



alternated with the iisiial boyisli sports. After study- 
ing in the academy at Plainwell, Allegan County, 
and graduating from the Plainwell High School, 
he entered the law department of the University 
of Micliigan at Ann Arbor, graduating in 1882. 
Returning to Kalamazoo, Mr. Hopkins spent 
three years in the law ofHce of Dallas Boudeman. 
assisting in clerical work and the preparations 
of briefs. Afterward he was elected on the 
Republican ticket to the position of Circuit Court 
Commissioner, which he filled four years. In the 
fall of 1888, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney, 
assuming charge of the office .January 1, 1889, and 
occupj'ing the position for a term of two yeai'S. 
Resuming his law practice, he opened an oflice in 
the Sebering Block, where he is now occupied in a 
general law business and practices in all the courts. 
Aside from membership in Anchor Lodge, No. 
87, A. F. & A. M., he takes little interest in social 
organizations, but confines his attention to the 
duties of his profession. 



■S^ DWARD N. DINGLEY. A foremost posi- 
1W| tion among the joui'nalists of Michigan is 
} }^ — ^ occupied by this gentleman, who is the edi- 
tor and publisher of the Daily and Weekly Tele- 
graph, of Kalamazoo, the most influential organ of 
the Republican party in Southwestern Michigan 
and one of the leading newspapers of the State. 
Tlie Telegraph has for man}' years molded the po- 
litical sentiments of the people and exerted a 
powerful influence in advancing the interests of 
the county. It is a welcome guest in thousands 
of homes, and, being conducted on sound business 
principles, has proved financiall\- remunerative. 

A native of Maine, Mr. Dingley was born in 
Auburn, August 21, 1862, and when one year old 
was taken by his parents. Nelson and Salome (Mc- 
Kenne}') Dingley, to Lewiston, that State. lie 
prepared for college in the public schools, and in 
the fall of 1879 entered Bales College, at Lewiston, 
remaining there for one year. In September, 
1880, he entered the Sophomore class of Yale Uni- 
versity, where he was graduated in 188.3. After 
completing his literarj' course, he l)egan to study 



law at the Columbian University, in Washington, 
D. C, and in June, 1888, was graduated with the 
degree of LL.B. While in the Capitol City, he 
acted as newspaper correspondent. 

Upon passing his examinations, Mr. Dingley 
was admitted to practice at the Bar of the State 
of Maine, in September, 1885, but never followed 
the legal profession. About that time, he com- 
menced his newspaper career as a member of the 
staff of the Lewiston Journal, where he remained 
One _\ear. From September, 1886, until June, 
1887, he was employed as a political writer on the 
Boston Advertiser & Record, and from October, 
1887. to May, 1888, he was one of the editors of 
tho Leavenworth (Kan.) Times. 

The purchase of the Kalamazoo Daily and 
Weeklj' Telegraph was made in August, 1888, since 
which time Mr. Dingley has officiated ably as its 
editor and manager. The Weekly Telegraph was 
founded in 1844, and is one of the oldest news- 
papers in the State, while the Daily was estab- 
lished in 1859. Under the management of its 
various editors and publishers, the Telegraph has 
assisted in developing the resources of the State 
and promoted the interests of the city in early 
days by attracting hither a good class of settlers, 
and aiding in the election of efficient men for 
positions of trust. 



— I- 



-?- 



ellARLES W. BARBER is probably one of 
the best-known men in Alamo Township, 
Kalamazoo County, having held the posi- 
tion of station agent of the Michigan Central Rail- 
road at Alamo since its completion, Januar}' 12, 
1870. He has held an official position in the town- 
ship for sixteen consecutive years and is highly 
esteemed b}' all who have the honor of his acquain- 
tance. He owns a beautiful tract of land on sec- 
tion 16, comprising eighty acres and which bears 
all the improvements to be found on a first-class 
estate. He is a well-educated and pleasant gentle- 
man, and is making a success of his undertakings. 
Charles W. Barber was born Jul}- 13, 1828, in 
Onondaga County, N. Y., and is a son of Uel 
Barber, a native of the Green Mountain State, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



847 



wIrmv he ciiri'iod on tlie Ivtxdc of a sliooiiuiki'r. The 
ehler Mr. B;iilK'r removed to New Vork when a 
yoiiii<; man and came West in Mareh, IMI 1, locat- 
ing in Alamo 'I'own.sliip, where he died in 1852, in 
his sixty -second year. In religious matters, he was 
a eonscienlioiis memlier of tiie Presbyterian Chiireh. 
His wife, tiie mother of our suhjeet, was known in 
her maiden days as I'eninnah Searles, also a native 
of N'ei'Mioiit, whci'c her death occurred in IM.'tS. 

I )ur subject is llie youngest of a family of four 
ciiildreu, two of whom arc deceased. His educa- 
tion was limited to the common sclu)ols, but he 
made tlie best of his oi)[iortunities and is to-day a 
well-informed and intelligent gentleman. He be- 
gan doing for himself at the early age of fourteen 
years, working out by the month. He continued 
so emi)loyed until reaching his nineteenth year, 
receiving sis remuneration for his labors ^'> per 
month, until the last 3'ear, when his salary was 
raised to tlie magnificent sum of ^i) per month. 

He, of whom we write, emigrated to Michigan in 
October, 1817, and, locating in Alamo Township, 
purchased oiglity acres of wild land. He com- 
menced the work of clearing and imi)roving his 
tract, and erected thereon a plank shanty. Indians 
and wild game were plentiful and the hardships 
tlirough whicli he passed in paving the way for 
those who should follow him have made a lasting 
impression upon his mind. In 18;')!, Mr. ISarber 
was married to Agnes Tallman, the daughter of 
James Tallman, whose sketch appears on another 
page in this volume. Five children have been 
lK)rn to oursuliject and his wife: Elvira, who is the 
wife of Daniel ^lorrison, lives near Paw Paw; 
Lizzie is deceased; Stella is Mrs. James D. Fergu- 
son, and resides in Hangor, \'an Ihircn County; 
Warren (i. is also deceased; and Ora P. is the wife 
of Frank M. Long, an<l makes her home in Alamo 
on her father's farm. 

The original of this .sketch is a Republican in 
politics, and ha.s represented his party as a dele- 
gate to county, district and State conventions. He 
was elected Justice of the Peace in 1854, and 
served in that rcsjionsilile position for several 
years. He was Township Clerk six years, and at 
differi'iit times was Treasiu'cr and .Supervisor, hold- 
ing the latter olllce two terms. During the Civil 



War, Mr. Barber was enrolling officer for his town- 
ship. As before mentioned, he has served for 
twent3'-one years as station .agent at Alamo and is 
widely kiKiwn throughout the State of Michigan. 
Uoth Mr. and Mrs. Ilarber are membei's of the 
Congregational Chuivh. In connection with his 
duties as .agent, our subject buys grain for Sea- 
breing A Co., of Kalamazoo. He is a thorough- 
going business man, and ranks among the well-to- 
do anil progressive residents of the c<ninty. 



^ LI DOlTiLASS is one of the oldest resi- 
; dents of Kalamazoo, and also one of the 

^ most honored. He was born on Onion 

River, in Chitlenden County, \'t., fourteen miles 
from Burlington, and is a son of Richard and 
Rhoda (Clawson) Douglass. His father was a 
tanner and shoemaker. I'nder the i)ar<'nlal roof, 
the days of his childhood and youth were passed, 
but at length he deterinineil to leave hoineandtry 
his fortune for himself. In 18;?;5, he bade good- 
bye to his family and friends nnd came to Wa.sh- 
tenaw County, Mich., resi<ling for two years ten 
miles west of Lodi Plains, on the River Kaisin. He 
then located Government land near (Jrass Lake, in 
Jackson Count3', where he devek)ped and im- 
proved a small farm. In 1836, we find him a resi- 
dent of the e.astern part of Texas Township, Kala- 
mazoo County, where he cultivated a lour hun- 
dred acre farm, making it his home for about 
thirty years. In 1866, he came to KalamaziKi Imt 
has since si)ent about ten years on his farm, the 
remainder of the time his home being in the city. 
In May, 1836, in .laekson County, Mr. Dougla.ss 
inari'ied Miss Eliza Walker, daugliter of Daniel 
Walker, a pioneer of J.ackson County. Several 
of Mr. Dougla.ss' brothers also came West and .set- 
tled near him. The parents died a few years later. 
Mr. Douglass found in his wife a faithful com- 
|)anioii and helpmate, who traveled life's journej' 
bj- his side for more than half a centuiy and at 
length passed away, November 26, 1888, at the age 
of seventy-two years. I'lito them were born foui- 
children, the eldest of wIhuii, Maria AL, became 



848 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArfflCAL RECORD. 



the wife of Closes Long3'eai', of Grass Lake, Jack- 
son County, wlio rlied nineteen years ago. She 
is now living with her fatlier and has five children, 
as follows: Willis D., who was connected with 
the Kalamazoo National Bank until two years ago 
and is now teller in a Los Angeles, Cal., liank; Nel- 
lie, wife of Alljert Baiiies, of Kalamazoo, now re- 
siding With Mr. Douglass; B3ron O., who died at 
the age of thirteen; Marian L, a stencgrapliei- and 
type writer who graduated from Parsons' Business 
College; and KitticJ., who graduated from tlie high 
school in 1891, and is now a teacher in the public 
schools. Daniel, the second child, for some years 
resided in Western Iowa and Nebraska and is now 
in California. Emily is the widow of Charles 
Abbott, of Kalamazoo, and George is a fanner 
operating the old homestead. 

In politics, Mr. Douglass has been a life-long 
Democrat, and has held the office of Supervisor 
and Road Commissioner for a number of years. 
His integrity is proverbial and he has been fre- 
quently chosen as administrator of estates, having 
in charge more than thirty, some C)f them exten- 
sive properties, and although many have been 
complicated, all have been settled satisfactorily. 
He possessed good business ability, was progres- 
sive though not venturesome, and by his industry, 
perseverance and good management won a hand- 
some competence which surrounds him in his de- 
clining years with peace and plenty. He is now 
eighty-two years of age, yet is as hale and hearty 
as many men of seventy .and is easilj' and quietly- 
drifting down life's stream. In looking back over 
his past life, he need feel no regret for lost oppor- 
tunity. 



OIIN T. RETALLICK stands among the 
foremost of the wise, progressive and enter- 
prising farmers and stock-raisers to whom 
Kalamazoo County is largely indebted for 
its liigh standing as one of the richest and best 
developed agricultural centers in the State of 
Michigan. He has met witli unmeasured success 
in his farming operations, and has two finel3' ap- 
pointed farms lying side l)v side in Climax Town- 



shi[), his beautiful home being on one of them on 
section 2. The3' are unsurpassed as to fertility' of 
soil, cultivation and improvement by the best 
farms in this part of the county. 

.lohn Retallick was born in Penns^ivania, Sept- 
enilter 11, 18.'54, a son of Richard Retallick. His 
father was a native of England. He was a car- 
penter and joiner and came to this country when 
a young man to seek employment at his trade. He 
afterward went l)ack to his old home to marry, 
.and, returning to America with his bride, settled 
in Pennsylvania. His career w.as cut short by his 
untimely death when his son of whom we write 
was only a babe, But ver}- little is known of him 
or of his antecedents. 

The mother of our subject, thus bereft of her 
husband, was left in very poor circumstances. She 
came to Michigan with her child to make her home 
in Charleston Township, where she had a brother- 
in-law, Robert Ilawk, who was an itinerant Meth- 
odist preacher. As she was so ver3' poor and 
scarcely able to support her son, the preacher in 
his rounds called on Daiuel Eldred and his wife, 
who were childless, and asked them if the3- did not 
want to take a bo3' to raise. The3- agreed to do so. 
went to claim our subject, who was a little ragged 
four-3'ear-old, took him to their home and hearts, 
and tenderly reared him as if he were of their own 
flesh and blood. His mother afterward married a 
man by the name of Sherman, and died while yet 
young. 

Our subject attended school in his bo3'hood in a 
log house which was furnished with slab benches, 
and the school was conducted under the rate-hill 
S3Stem, the teacher boarding around first with one 
family and then another. His adopted father died 
when he was fourteen 3'ears old, and when he was 
sixteen, so capable and ambitious and helpful was 
he, he took the full management of the farm, and 
kept it up finely. Ilis adopted parents left him 
one hundred acres of land, but the remainder of 
his three hundred and thirty-two and one-half 
acres have been acquired by himself. He lived on 
the old place until 1884, and tiieii moved to the 
farm on section 2 upon which he now lives, which 
joins the other. It is said that there is not a finer 
farm in Climax Townshi)) than this. Its improve- 




RESIDENCE OF EDWARD BIGELOW , SEC. 2>2., A L AM TR, KALAMAZOO CO .MICH. 







RE5IDLNCt&. FARM PROPERTY OF JOHN T. RETALLICK , SEC. 2.,CLIMAX TP, KALAMAZOO CO.,MICH. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



851 



iiients are inodcni .'ind first-class, including one of 
llio larm'st barns in the townsliip. lipsides two 
iitlicrs. and a new, iiandsomely Iniilt, and clejrantly 
furnished frame residence, a view of which appears 
on another pai>e. There are two hundred acres of 
land in this farm. an<1 the otlier one (.'omiirises tlie 
remainder of Mr. Retallick's landed estate. That 
is also amply su)(plied with good buildings, hav- 
ing a large fiamp residence, a half mile east of his 
present home, and four barns. Our sul>ject raises 
linth grain and stock. lie keei)S some of all kinds 
uf stock, and usually ships a car-load of shee|) 
every season, keeping al)i)ul a liundreil head on 
hand. 

]\Ir. Uetallick w.-is married, April 1(1. 18.56, to 
Miss Ililinda Newton, who has materiall}' assisted 
iiim in the accumulation of his property by her 
cheerful co-operation and careful oversight of 
household matters. She was born in Canada, 
October 30, 1837, to Dudley and IX-borah (Terry) 
Newton, who were natives respectivel)' of Con- 
necticut and N'ew York. They came to this State 
in 1836 and were among the pioneers of Kent 
County. Mr. Newton w.as a farmer, and took up 
eighty acres of land from the (iovernmcnt. lie 
lived to be an old man, his death (»ccurring at 
tighty-onc years of age, while his wife died at the 
age of forty-three 3-ears. They were the parents 
'of thirteen children, eleven of whom grew to m.a- 
turity. .Mrs. Ketallick w:us their eighth child in or- 
der of hiith. and one of the six now living. Her 
pleasant wedded life with our subject has lieen 
blessed by six children, of whom these five are 
living: Newton E., a conductor on the Grand 
Trunk Railway, who married Miss Eunice Eldrcd; 
.Jennie T., wife of William II. Sheldon, a farmer, 
who.se estate lies on the edge of the village of 
Climax; Milan C.. who married Miss Ilatlie Smith, 
of Charleston and resides in Charleston Towiisiiii», 
Kalamazoo County; Eurie I?, and Klta M.. who are 
at home with their parents. 

Our subject is weallhy. one of the solid citizens 
of the count}', owing his good fortune not alone 
to the help given him by his foster i)arents. but in 
great part to those characteristics that mark him 
!is a man of more than average ability, push and 
energy, with a masterly talent for l)Usiness, and a 
311 



capability of judging matters with discrimination 
and accnr.acv. lie is looked ui) to by his fellow- 
citizens with confidence and esteem, and they have 
shown their api)reciation of his character liy calling 
him to public life, lie has held the office of Town- 
ship Treasurer for a number of years, and other 
minor offices. He has been mentioned as candidate 
for .Sni)ervisor to represent the township on the 
County Hoard, but has refused to allow his name 
to be used in a caucus in that connection. Soci- 
ally, he is a member of the Masonic order in the 
village of Climax; and politically, is with the Re- 
publicans. He gives liberally to the support of 
churches, but is not a member. His wife belongs 
to the Methodist ('hurcli. and is one of its most 
effective workei's. 



-^1= 



1— i^-j 



EDWARD IJKiELOW. This respected and 
successful farmer is one of the [mpular citi- 
zens of Alamo Township, Kalamazoo 
County, where he is engaged in cultivating one 
hundred and twenty acres of land on sections 31 
and 32. He was born in Summit County, Ohio, 
.Tunc 27, 1833, and is the son of Marlin Rigelow 
who was born in Massachusetts in 1800. The fa- 
ther came West to Ohio and located in Summit 
County in an early day. There he cleared and im- 
proved a wild tract of land on the banks of the 
Rock River. In l.sdl, he disposed of his interests 
in f)hio and removed to Shelby County, Mo., and 
located at Sholbyville, where he was eng.aged in 
farming and also in monej' loaning to some ex- 
tent. He was cai)tain of a company of militia- 
men in Ohio in an early day and at his death, 
which occurred while on a visit to the Buckeye 
SUite, in 1881, he left a comfortalilc fortune. He 
had also learned the trades of blacksmith and stone 
mason, which he followed for some time. 

The [jaternal grandfather of our subject w.-us a 
native of Ma.ssachusetts, where he carried on farm- 
ing. Mrs. Marlin Bigelow bore the maiden name 
of Mabel Sheltlon and died in 1852, after having 
reared a family of thirteen children, six of whom 
are still living. The education of our subject w.as 
limited to three months' attendance at the district 



I 



852 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



school. He remained under the jjarental roof until 
reaching his nineteenth year, when he began to 
work out by the month. He thus earned money 
enough to stait out on his own responsibility and 
came to Michigan in 18.53, working in Kalamazoo 
and Allegan Counties until he purchased his pres- 
ent fai'm in 1860. His [jroperty was an unbroken 
tract, little more than a wilderness, and there he 
erected a board shant\', 16x22 feet in dimensions. 
He endured bravely and uncomplainingly the hard- 
ships and privations of pioneer life and the result 
of his labors is seen in his beautiful home farm, a 
view of which accompanies this sketch. Soon after 
he had paid for his place, he was drafted into the 
army in 1863 and was compelled to hire a substi- 
tute, whom he paid 1300. In order to procure the 
money, he was compelled to mortgage his farm. 

In the spring of 1861, Edward Bigelow was mar- 
ried to Miss Louisa Alchin, who was born in 
Kent, England, December 26, 1838. Mrs. Bigelow 
was the daughter of Richard and Ann Alchin, na- 
tives of England, where the father was engaged for 
a time in the boot and shoe business. Mr. and Mrs. 
Alchin came to America in 1849 and spent a month 
in New York. At the end of that time, they came 
to Washtenaw County, this State, and located in 
Pittsfield Township, where Mr. Alchin engaged in 
farming. lie died in 1883 when eighty-three j'cars 
old; the mother survived her husband a numljcrof 
years and died in 1889, in her eighty-third year. 
They reared a family of seven children, five of 
whom are living. In religious affairs, they wei'c 
members of the Eitiscopal Church. 

Mrs. Bigelow was given a common-school educa- 
tion and after attaining lier fifteenth 3'ear, as her 
parents were unalile to send her to school, she 
worked out and earned a sulticient sum of money 
to pay her tuition. She taught her first school 
when seventeen years of age and followed the life 
of a teacher for several terms. She full}' ap- 
preciated the value which a knowledge of books 
gives to men and women and, making the best of 
her opportunities, is to-day a well-educated and 
intelligent lady. 

Four of the five daughters horn to our subject 
and his estimable wife have followed in their 
mother's footsteps and have been school teachers. 



Cora N. died in Vicksburg, this county, while teach- 
ing; Olive married Charles II. IIo3t and is living 
in Rutland Township, Barry County, this State; 
she was also a school teacher as were also Lizzie 
and Mabel. Edith is the youngest of the famil}'. 

The Prohibition party claims our subject as one 
of its warm adherents. With his wife he is a 
member of the Congregational Church, lie de- 
serves a great deal of credit for the success he has 
made in his chosen calling, for, as we have stated, 
it has been the result of his industrj' and good 
management, together with the aid and counsel of 
his good wife. 



UDGE JAY RANDOLPH MONROE, de- 
ceased. This honored and respected pio- 
neer of Van Buren County was born in 
1806, in Surrey', N. Y. He died in South 
Haven, October 30, 1876, when seventy years old. 
When a boy, he accompanied his father's family 
on their removal to New York, where they lo- 
cated in Madison Count}-. He there grew to a 
vigorous manhood, and, when starting out for 
himself, thinking that the Western country af- 
forded better opportunities for young men, he 
came to Michigan in 1826 or 1827. He made his 
home in Detroit for a few years, where he was em- ^ 
ployed by the late Gen. Cass and a Mr. Campeau 
in the location of lands. He then returned to 
New York, where he made his home for the fol- 
lowing two years, but in 1830 or 1831 came again 
to Michigan, and made his headquarters at Prairie 
Ronde. 

Mr. Monroe was the tirst white man to explore 
the region of what is now Van Buren County, and 
in 1833 or 1834 entered the land which is now the 
site of South Haven, and ei'ccted the first house in > 
this locality, which until recently was standing a 
tenantless I'uin near the shore of the lake. He 
opened the first road from South Haven to Prairie 
Ronde, and in 1836 was married to Miss Fannie 
Rawson, who still survives. The 3'ear following, 
the young couple located on section 2, Lawrence 
Township, where all their children were born, and 
where three died. There Mr. Monroe made his 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



853 



lioine for the remainder of his life, and became one 
of the largest hmdowners in tiie county-. He he- 
came a trusted cunlidanl and a<lvisor of tiie in- 
iialiitants for miles around, and was called upon to 
take an active part in all public matters. He was 
greatly intorestefl in educational affairs, and did 
much toward organizing the schools of his district. 
For twenty-five years he was Commissioner of the 
Poor, and served most satisfactorily in the ollice 
of Judge. 

The subject of fairs enlisted much of the atten- 
tion of our subject, and he, with others, was the 
first to inaugurate the State Agricultural Society, 
and suhseciuently was one of the originators of 
the County Society. He always attended and 
placed his products on exhibition at such times, 
not that he might get the prize, but for the pur- 
pose of stimulating others and creating a mutual 
interest in improvements of .'ill kinds and elevat- 
ing the character of society in inlclligence, re- 
finement and morals. 

When the Centennial Exposition was talked of, 
Mr. Monroe was very anxious to take his family 
to l'hiladel|)hia that the}' might gain a wider 
knowledge of the growth and grandeur of our na- 
tion during the first centur\'. While returning 
from the fair held in Grand Rapids, Mr. Monroe 
received .an injury from which he never recov- 
ered, although he attended to his business and 
took a deep interest in all passing events. Oursul)- 
ject being one of the oldest, if not the oldest, pio- 
neer in Van lUiren County, was greatly interested 
in the formation of the Pioneer Association, and 
upon its organization w.as made its President. 

Mr. Monroe, with his family and a few friends, 
went to I'hiladelphia to attend the Centennial. 
But, upon arriving in that city, he was taken sick 
and was enabled to attend the fair but one d.ay, 
and then only for a few hcmrs. His heart turned 
at once to his home in beloved Michigan, .and al- 
though watched over and cared for hy his loving 
wife and children, tlie^- at once hiistened home, 
where his death occurred at the residence of his 
daughter, Mrs. Kunice M<J0re. 

Judge Monroe was a man of strict integrity of 
eharacter. just and upright. He possessed a cordial, 
kindly spirit which made \\\m warm friends and 



stanch adherents. His death was keenly felt by 
all who knew him, and a v.acant pl.ace w.as left in 
the many enterprises which he cherished so warmly 
while he li\'c(I. 

;4l MLLIAM E. UPJOHN, M. 1). Of the vari- 
\/U// ous industrial establishments of Kalamazoo, 
W^ none has a more extended infiuence or 
contributes more effeclivel}' to the advancement 
of mankind than the I'pjohn Pill it Granule Com- 
pany. This manufacturing plant stands unique 
and alone. Its products are found in every clime 
where efl'orts are made to alleviate human ills, and 
its promulgators and proprietors are justly entitled 
to great credit as public benefactors. 

The needs of the medical fraternity had long 
been felt and endless efforts had been made to pro- 
duce a medicated [till that woultl always be in a con- 
dition to receive prompt action by the gastric 
juice of the stom.ach and would not with .age be- 
come hard and unsuited for use. Nothing better 
had been found th.an the old form of p.aste pill 
with all its imperfections, until Ur. Upjohn turned 
his attention to the production of the desired arti- 
cle. Having in view the idea of what he wished 
to produce, he devoted man}' anxious hours and 
d.ays to the process and finally was rewarded with 
success. 

The Doctor at once secured letters-p.atent on 
the machinery he had invented and began in a 
small wa}' to manufacture the long-sought globule. 
He had succeeded in making a friable pill that 
would pulverize under any atmospheric condition 
with slight pressure and that would not lose its 
friability by long age. His letters- pa lent covere<I 
three principal m.achines for shaping, coating and 
counting the pills. Noexcipient is used and hence 
pills do not dry out or become hard and insol- 
uble. 

The foundation of what has proved an immense 
establishment was laid by Dr. Upjohn in connection 
with his l)rother. Dr. Henry U., in 18M6. The be- 
ginnings were vt course on a limited scale but met 
with such a cordial reception .at once from the 
medical profession and the trade that in fine year 



854 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the present company was incorporated with a caj)- 
ital stock of 160,000 and arrangements perfected 
to increase many times the capacity of the business. 
To tiie present day, success lias crowned every ef- 
fort. 

The plant, consisting of a handsome five-story 
brick factory, laboratory, office and salesroom, and 
covering a floor space of tliirt^'-two thousand square 
feet, was erected at a cost of -^20,000. Employ- 
ment is constantlj^ given to fifty skilled men and 
women and $150,000 is now invested in the busi- 
ness. The annual output exceeds -^200,000, and 
more than two tiu>usand kinds of pills are made, 
of which at least five hundred are kept as staple 
articles of the trade. 

Tills institution has the reputation of being the 
largest consumer of several standard drugs in the 
world. Its use of caffeine, acjtanilid, is greatly in 
excess of any other, as is its consumption of quin- 
ine, which is frequently from twenty thousand to 
one hundred thousand ounces per month. While 
the main office is in Kalamazoo, the business has 
assumed such immense proportions that it was 
found necessary to oiien branch offices at New York, 
Berlin and London. Space precludes detailed des- 
cription of the interior workings. Suffice it to say 
that no similar machinery is in use in any other 
institution and that the simplicity and novelty of 
the machinery, which is patented by Dr. Upjohn, 
are simply astounding and .are excellent examples 
of machines that are so perfect in self-adjustment 
that they may almost be said to jjossess reasoning 
powers inherent in themselves. 

Dr. William E. Upjohn, the President of this 
great institution, is a native of Kalamazoo County) 
born in Richland Townslii|), June 5, 1853. His 
father, Dr. Uriah Upjohn, was a pioneer physician 
in this section of the State. Our subjectat an early 
age was induced to commence the study of medi- 
cine. He spent some time in the capacity of drug 
clerk in Kalamazoo, after which he entered the 
medical department of the State University, grad- 
uating in the class of '75. lie opened an office 
for practice at Hastings, where he met with success 
and where he began to experiment in his later de- 
velopmen I. 

For ten years. Dr. Ui>john continued to practice 



at Hastings, until he came to Kalamazoo to estab- 
lish what is the most successful manufacturing 
plant of AVestern Michigan. He was mariied, 
December 24, 1888, to Miss Rachel, daughter of 
Dr. I. J. Babcock, of Kalamazoo, and they are the 
parents of three children: Winifred, Harold and 
Dorothj'. 



\T/OHN W. BUDROAV, editor and proprietor 
of the .Schoolcraft Express, is one of the able 
and successful 3'Oung business men of the 
village and under his active su|)ervision the 
paper is rapidlj' coming to the front as one of the 
most newsy and influential journals of Kalam.azoo 
Count}-. Strictly independent in its political 
opinions, it invariably supports the best candidates 
for official positions and those measures which are 
calculated to promote the public welfare. 

The father of our subject, .John L. Budrow, was 
born in Moscow, Livingston County, N. Y., De- 
cember 24, 1820. His mother, known in maiden- 
hood as Esther Burson, was born in Columbiana 
County, Ohio, May 26, 1820, whence she removed 
to Schoolcraft with her father, Abiier Burson, when 
she was one year old. Mr. Budrow, Sr., followed 
his trade of a carpenter in Schoolcraft Township, 
where he was married and has since made his home. 
About 1888, he began to lose his eyesight and has 
since that time been nearly blind. 

The four sons who complete this family circle 
are .Tames, a farmer in Schoolcraft Township; 
Frank L., a cariienter m the village; John W., the 
subject of this sketch; and Joseph, who is a fanner 
in Amenia, N. Dak. John W. was born m School- 
craft Township, March 4, 1850, and was educated 
in the common schools of the distiict. He entered 
the printing-office of V. C. Smith, in Schoolcraft, 
when he was about sixteen years old and was em- 
l)loyed there for two years. Afterward he was em- 
plo^yed ill printing-offices at Centreville, Kalama- 
zoo, Hast Saginaw, Lansing, Detroit and Allegan, 
this State. 

In January, 1886, Mr. Budrow bought out the 
Schoolcraft E.r]rivss, since which time he has been 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



855 



editor and proprietor of the paper, which lias a cir- 
ciiiatioii of eight liiuulred and is rapidly- taking 
phicc among tiie solid journals of the county. Mr. 
IJudrow was united in marriage at Sclioolcraft, >>'o- 
veniher l!t, 1M88, to Miss Lizzie Camphell, wiio 
was liorn in Kalamazoo County. Mrs. lUidrow is 
the daughter of the late Hugh Caini)!)ell, and is 
one of the iiiosl highly esteemed ladies in the vil- 
lage. The prosperity of .Schoolcraft is ever u[>- 
perinosl in Mr. ISudrow's mind, and as a member 
of the ^■illage Board, he does all in his power to ad- 
vance it-s interests. Socially, he is connected with 
the Masonic fraternity, the IndeiKMident Order of 
Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees. 




^^ 



MOS H. PALMEIJ. The farmers who 
have plaj'ed so important a part in the 
development and substantial prosperity of 
<^ A'an Buren County are well represented 

by this gentleman, wlio.se valualile farming inter- 
ests lie on sections 4 and 9, Paw I'aw Township, 
and who is [)roniinent in political and social circles 
in this part of the State. A native of Niagara 
County, N. Y., he was born May 7, 1838, to Amos 
and Catherine (Herkimer) Palmer, who were both 
natives of the Empire State, the father of Oneida 
County, and the mother of Otsego County. Both 
had been previ<^)usl3' married, and the latter had 
come to Michigan during the life-time of her first 
husband, who died in this State. The father of our 
sultject, losing his lii-st wife in New York, subse- 
quently came to Michigan on a visit, and here 
made the ac<iuaintance of his second wife. He 
married her, and took her back to New 'i ork, where 
our subject, their only child, was born. They lived 
there until he was almost eighteen years old, and 
then came to Paw Paw, and here p.assed their re- 
maining yeai-s, making their home with their son 
the host part of their lives — the father dying in 
l«f)(;, and the mother October 24, 1877. The fa- 
ther was a farmer by occupation, and w.os a man 
greatly respected for his excellent char.acter. 

Our subject had good opportunities to ol>t;xin a 
sound education, .and was not slow to avail him- 
self of the means offered to iniprf)ve his minil. lie 



pursued the in-eiiaratory course in tlie college at 
Cooperstown, N. Y., and won a good reputation for 
scholarship in that excellent institution of learning. 
He was thus well prepared for the duties of life, 
having had besides a careful training in all that 
goes to make an intelligent, prosperous farmer. He 
early acquired a taste for that calling which 
Horace Greeley so aptly termed "the noblest <if 
[irofessions," and was giving his attention to agri- 
cultural pursuits when the war broke out. His 
|)atriotism was aroused at his country's peril, and 
he longed to enter the army to fight for the Union. 
He attempted to enlist two or three times, but for 
some reason was disqualified and the recruiting 
oHicers would not accept him. But loyal men were 
needed at home, and |)erhaps his services were as 
ellicient here in the harvest fields .as tlie\' would 
have been on the battlefield, for food was needed 
to feed that great army of men, and the3' needed 
strengthening and encoiir.agement in other di- 
rections. Our subject has made his mark as a 
farmer and stock-raiser, and his line farm of one 
hundred and twenty acres, lying partly on section 
9, where he 1ms his" home, and the remainder of it 
on section 4, compares with the best in Paw Paw 
Township in regard to its cultivation and the value 
of its improvements. It is well stocked, especially 
with Shropshire shee|), of whicli Mi-. Palmer makes 
a specialty-. 

Our subject was hapjnly married, November 28, 
1860, to Miss Carrie Mathews, of Marshall, Mich. 
Jlrs. Palmer is a native of this .State, bojii in the 
town of Oale.'.biiigh, December IT), 1810, a daugh- 
ter of a pioneer family of Kalamazoo Couiitv. Her 
parents, Gideon and Matilda (M:ison) Mathews, 
were natives, respectively, of Massachusetts and 
\'erinont. They were married in Cleveland. Ohio, 
and came to Michigan in 18;i7, lieing among 
the early settlers of Galesburgh, where Mr. Mathews 
kept a hotel many years, and was a well-known 
figure in that region. He died .laniiary 21. 187t>. 
His wife survives him and makes her home with 
her daughter and our subject. She has attaiiu'd 
the venerable age of eighty-three years, having 
iK'cn born August II, 18(18. Mrs. Palmer is the 
youngest of three children, of whom one died 
voung. and the olhcr, Mrs. Ks>ina Slreatur. i> a 



856 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



resident of Antwerp Township. Mrs. Palmer re- 
ceived a good education in tlie public schools, .and 
was early instructed how to properly care for a 
household, so that she was amplj' able to preside 
over a home of lier own when she married. One 
son, Elmer A., lias been born to her and our sul)- 
ject. 

Mr. Palmer is a man of sagacious and tlirifty 
l)usiness habits, a skillful farmer, and a good man- 
ager. He is frank and straightforward in his man- 
ner, and his dealings are always open and .ibove- 
board. He takes a deep interest in all that con- 
cerns the welfare of his township and county, and 
is especially alive to the political questions of the 
day. He is an ardent Re[)ublican, and has been 
since he first began to exercise his privilege of 
voting by giving his enthusiastic support to 
Abraham Lincoln for President. lie is a familiar 
figure in the councils of his part}', frequently serv- 
ing as delegate to county conventions, of which he 
has never missed but one since he cast his first 
vote. He is one of the leading members of the 
Masonic fraternity in this section, has held all the 
offices in the lodge, and is thoroughly informed in 
all that pertains to Masonry. His son is also prom- 
inent in that order, and has been an incumbent of 
the various offices, and is now Worshipful Master. 
He, too, is an active worker in the r.anks of the 
Republican party. 






U^^ILAS HUBBARD. The hardy frontieis- 
^^^ man wlio ventured into IMicliigan as early 
.as 1836, and .assisted in developing its 
vast resources, justl}' deserves the hon- 
ored name of pioneer. Such a one is the gentle- 
man who forms the subject of this biographical 
notice, and who, through a long series of years, 
has lived honorablj^ and uprightly- in the quiet 
discharge of his duties as a citizen, friend, neigh- 
bor, husband and father. 

The ancestors from whom Mr. Hubbard traces 
his descent were English people of sturdy char- 
acter and enterprise. His grandfather, Jonathan 
Hulibard, was liorn in 1732, in M.'\'=sacliusetts, 
where he remained until 1800, going then to Cort- 



land, N. Y., where his last years were passed. In 
his removal, he was accompanied by his son .James, 
who was born in 1782, in the old town of Brim- 
field, Mass. The mother of our subject, whose 
maiden name w.as Iluldah Andrews, w.as liorn in 
Litchfield County, Conn., in 1780, of English an- 
cestry, and in 1808 became the wife of James 
Ilulibard. 

Settling on a farm in Tompkins County, N. Y., 
the parents of our subject were busily occupied 
for many years in .agricultural duties and in rear- 
ing to usefulness their children, four in number, 
viz: Sylvester, Silas, Huldah and Harmon. In 
1836, the father, having been bereaved by the 
death of his wife six years previous, sold his farm 
and moved into the village of Cortland, where he 
died at the age of eighty years. He was a man of 
sterling virtue and Christian character, whose 
influence in the community was alw.ays for good. 

A native of the Empire State, Silas Hubbard 
was born in Grotoii, Tompkins County, Jul}- 29, 
1812, and was reared on his father's farm. His 
boyhood days were somewhat uneventfully passed 
in tilling the soil and attending school whenever 
occasion offered. In 1836, he started out for him- 
self, coming to Michigan and settling in Washte- 
naw County, where he remained two years. May, 
1838, witnessed his arrival in Kalamazoo, then 
sparsely settled, except by Indians, who abounded 
in the surrounding country. 

The winter following his arrival, Mr. Hubbard 
was employed as the te.acher in the village school, 
after which he embarked in the business of buy- 
ing, selling and improving real estate, and loan- 
ing money, and continued successfully operating 
in that line until 1870. Meanwhile, he witnessed 
the growth of the village until it has become one 
of the most important cities of the State, foremost 
in education.al and business interests. The Kala- 
mazoo Paper Company was organized through his 
efforts in 1868, and he has ever since been close!}' 
connected with its growth. As a property-holder, 
his interests are extensive and remunerative, in- 
cluding interests in the paper mill at Otsego, this 
State, besides several valuable farms. 

The marriage of Mr. Hubbard to IMiss Mary, 
daughter of Daniel Loomis, of Hudson, Mich., 



PORTKAIT AM) I5I0GRAPHKAL RECORD. 



85; 



was oclebrated in October, 1851, anri tlioy tu\- Uic 
parents of three (laughters, to whom every ad- 
vanU\!^e for literary and inusieal culture was given, 
and who now preside over homes of their own. 
Caroline I. is the wife of Carl G. Kleinstuck, of 
Kalamazoo; Mary II. married II. H. Iloyt, of Kala- 
mazoo; and Frances I. was the wife of R. 0. 
Kuhn, of Cleveland, Ohio. She died Fel)ruary 1, 
18!»2. The pleasant home at No. 20;} West 
Lovell .Street, where ]Mr. Iluhhard and his ami- 
alile wife have resided for many years, is the cen- 
ter of a gr.acious hospitality often enjoyed by their 
large circle of personal friends. The Republican 
p:irty linds a stanch adherent in Mr. lhibl)ard, 
who h.'is served his fellow-citizens as Supervisor 
and Assessor, and in various other positions of re- 
sponsibility and honor. 



EBKNEZER BARKINGER. This retired gen- 
tleman is a resident of section 9, Almena 
! Townjhi|), \'an Buren County, and w.as born 

.January 10, 1807, in Rensselaer County, N. Y. His 
jyarcnts were Frederick and .Martha (.Spring) Bar- 
ringer, natives of New York and Connecticut, re- 
spectively'. The father was a farmer, and made a 
permanent home in his native State, where they 
Iwth died. 

Our subject is one of four children, and the only 
survivor. He was born and rcaretl on a farm, and 
his father dying when he w.as but three and one- 
half years old, he commenced for himself in active 
life when twelve years old. He lived on a farm 
until eighteen, and then clerked in a store for 
a short time. Tlie next year he clerked in Troy, 
N. Y., and finally bought some groceries and put 
them in a room in the tavern owned by Henry 
I'^nsign at Poci^tenkil!, N. Y., and kept store until 
1827. He then rented a regular shop and in the 
spring of 1828 closed u|) and started out to seek his 
ff>rtune. With Daniel Rhoades, he went to New 
York City, and Ixiarded on live shillings a day fora 
few days, when our s\ibject bought some goods and 
started out to peddle. He traveled along the Hud- 
son River, across a portion of Pennsylvania among 



the Dutch, to Philadelphia, .ind then to B.altiiiioi('. 
He returned to New York State, and thence went 
home and commenced to lit himself for teaching. 
That same year he went to Pittstown and engaged 
to teach sc1rk)I four months for ^11 per month. 
He soon gave it up, and taught his home district 
school eighteen months, when only twenty. 

When a little past twenty-three, our subject was 
married, the ceremony taking place May 1, 1830. 
He was united to Miss Jane .Sliter, a native of 
New York .State. He made a trip in 1830. to^Iich- 
igan, and came fifty miles west of Detroit. He re- 
turned home without locating. The young wife 
remained with a brother-in-law of her husband's 
during his absence. That fall and winter, Mr. 
Barringer taught school in Sand Lake Village, N. 
Y., for *16 a month. The spring of 1831 found 
this gentleman the owner of the same store he had 
rented at Poestenkill. He also i)urch.ased a house 
and lot adjoining his store, and lived there. He 
was in debt some l> 1,800, and gave a mortgage on 
his property .at seven per cent, but after several 
years was enabled to p.ay the debt. In the year 
1834, he tended both his store and the tavern, 
and rememliers well the great snf)w storm in the 
month of IMay of that vear. In 1838, Mr. Bar- 
ringer gave up his public house, hut his purch.aser 
failed and wanted a release, so he .again sold to 
anotliei'. Our subject remained in the store until 
after his children were all born. They are: Charles, 
born in 1831; Charlotte in 1831; Albert in 1838; 
and Webster in 1810. 

Our subject bought a farm in Sand Lake, in 
1810, for *800, but three years later gave itu|)and 
purch.oscd eighty-three acres in Monroe County. 
He sold out his store and also purchased lifty acres 
of woodland in the mount-ains, and subsc(iuently 
sold it. In connection with working his farm, he 
sold goods, but through misfortune lost them all. 
In the spring of 1811, our subject started with his 
family by canal to Monroe County, N. Y. In his 
old home he .served twice jus Justice of the Peace. 
.\fter twenty years of economy and thrift, he was 
enabled to p.ay ft)r his farm, and remained there 
until I8t)0, when he purchased forty acres more. 
He sold out his old farm and piirch.ased twenty 
aere.s, on which he made some gooil imi>rf)vements, 



858 



PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



before disposing of it. In 1870, Mr. Barringer 
removed to Micliigan, and located in Almcna 
Townslii)), where lie now resides. The farm con- 
sisted of one liundred acres, with forty adjoining it 
on the south. Considerable improvements have 
been made in the way of fencing, clearing and the 
erection of necessary buildings. He now has two 
hundred acres, one hundred and forty of which are 
improved. 

After a married life of lit'ty-three years, his good 
wife was called away, .January 22, 1884, at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-one, and of their family of 
four children, one is deceased. The loving mother 
was a member of the Baptist Church, to which her 
family also belongs. In politics, he was a Whig, 
and has voted with the Republican part^' since its 
formation. His first ballot was cast for John <iuincy 
Adams, and his last vote for Benjamin Harrison. 



1=^ 



-S] 



^+^ 



[^_ 



[^" 



eAPT. ABNER D. DOUBLEDAY. This gen- 
tleman is honored as a valiant soldier of 
the late war and a public-spirited citizen of 
Kalamazoo. He was born in Otsego County, N. 
Y., March 9, 1829, and is the son of Demas A. and 
Sally (Calkins) Doubleday. Love of country is 
his inheritance, for his grandfather was a Revolu- 
tionary patriot, and with five brotliers fought for 
his country at P.unker Hill. His cousin, Gen. Ab- 
ner Doubleday, is famous in the annals of our 
country for service at Sumter and Gettysburg. 

After attending common schools in his youth, 
our subject Itegan to teach at tlie age of seventeen 
and continued thus employed for five years. In 
1848, he entered Oberlin College, Ohio, and, after 
studying there for some time, returned to the Em- 
pire State, where he followed mercantile pui-suits in 
New York City for seven years. Through the ad- 
vice of physicians, he engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits as a means of regaining his health, then some- 
what shattered, and so tilled the soil until the out- 
break of the war. 

When the Civil War broke out, our subject took 
care of his mothers and sisters in addition to the 
charge of his own family, and his brother, Ulysses 
F., entered service as First Lieutenant and, through 



the death of his superior officer, received the ap- 
pointment of Captain, serving in that capacity 
until his death at Fredericksburg in 1863. Prior 
to that battle, he had participated in a number of 
engagements with conspicuous valor. 

After his brother's death, Abner D. disposed of 
Ills business affairs and sold his store at Richfield 
Springs, N. Y. He then took up the sword that 
the brother had carried and enlisted in the I'nion 
service as a member of Company L, Second Regi- 
ment, New York Heavy Artillery. After serving 
six months as a private, he was promoted for val- 
iant services to be Second Lieutenant, June 10, 
1864, at Cold Harbor, Va. During the continual 
fighting at Petersburg, his superior officers being 
killed, he acted as Captain and Adjutant on the same 
day. 

August L5, 1864, Capt. Doubleday was disabled 
l)y sunstroke and sent to the field hospital, after- 
ward being transferred at different times to three 
others and l)eing finally sent to Washington, where 
the surgeons decided that he was unable to continue 
the service. He then resigned, but his resignation 
was not accepted until 186.5. At the close of the 
war, the Cai^tain came to Michigan and located on 
a farm in Alamo Township, Kalamazoo County, 
which his father had purchased from the Govern- 
ment. Our subject bought the same farm of two 
hundred acres in 1853. 

Afterward Capt. Doubleday disposed of the farm 
and liouglit a small farm adjacent to Kalamazoo. 
In 1883, he divided the place into town lots and 
it is now known as Doubleday's Addition to Kala- 
mazoo, being one of the finest subdivisions in the 
city and many of the lots are already built upon. 
He retains a number of fine lots in his possession. 
The public measures of the city and Nation awaken 
his deepest interest and he is a labor sympathizer in 
that important issue. In Orcutt Post, G. A. R., he 
is a prominent member and has occupied the vari- 
ous chairs. 

Mr. and Mrs. Doubleday are the parents of four 
children, namely': Ward, who lives in Kalamazoo; 
Ulysses F., manager of the Bell Telephone Com- 
pany in Battle Creek, this State; Grace, widow of 
C. B. Lieder, of Chicago; and one that died in in- 
fancj'. The Captain and his estimable wife occupy 



II 




^M^i^^S^- ^caJ^^ /hi. 2 



1 



PORTli^UT ANli lilUUKAl'lllCAL KECOliD. 



861 



a hifjli i)IafC' in the rcirard of llie citizens «)f Kala- 
niazDn, Iv wiiicli they are entitled l)y tlieir nobility 
of character and genial social qualities. Politically, 
he is an Independent. 



LBERT 8. IIASKIN. M. 1)., a practicing 
^^StJ i)hy.^ician of Lawrence, is a native of Es- 

//( * sex County, N. Y., having been born 
there, September 15, 1827. II is parents 
were Samuel K. and Lusetta (Smith) llasivin, both 
natives of Vermont. The father returned to Ver- 
mont soon after the birth of his son Albert, located 
in Hrttckport when he was seven years old, and 
when twelve years of age went to Indiana, coming 
from that State to Michigan, and settling in Cass 
County about 1848. 

Albert Il.-iskin w.as married, April 0, 18.i4, toJIi.ss 
Olive Pickett, who died nineteen months after her 
marriage. Our subject then began the study of 
medicine under Dr. AVilliam E. Clark, then of 
Dow.agi.ac, but now a resident of Chicago. He also 
taught school for the sake of getting funds, and in 
the fall of 18.56 entered the medical department of 
the Michigan ("niversity at Ann Arbor, where he 
studied one year. lie then came to Lawrence and 
Ijegan practicing in 18.57. 

December 17, 186(1, is the date of the second 
marriage of our subject, when he took as his wife 
Miss Martha .1. McKniirlit, of Lawrence, a daugh- 
ter of .lohn IJ. and Mary (Ilaynes) McKnighl. She 
w.as Ijorn in Wood County, Ohio, October 20, 18.30, 
and came with her mother to Lawrence when seven 
years old. She received a good common-school 
education and has made this her home since lirst 
coming here. They have had no cinldren of their 
own, but have reared several, who are now 
married. 

Our subject is the fifth in order of birth in a 
family of ten — two dying in infancy, eight grow- 
ing to mature years and seven now living. The 
youngest brother, Charles 11., is a physician at 
.lackson, Mich. Dr. Ilaskin has been successful as 
a i)iaclitinner and lia> a f;iir >liarc of this world's 
goods, llelijus Im'cu especially fortunate in doctor- 
ing young children and was called for a great deal 



during the epidemic of cerebro-spinal menin- 
gitis in 1861. He finally took the disease himself 
and was laid u)! for eleven months. He is a 
pleasant, whole-souled man. admired and respected 
by all. 

Dr. Ilaskin is a stalwart Kcpublican and h.-ts 
stood b}- the party since its foundation, casting 
his lirst vote for John C. Fremont, in 1856. He 
has served his township in various waj's, Itcing 
School Inspector, member of the Board nineycai-s, 
and a Director for six years of the nine; Coroner 
two terms; President of the village two years and 
Delegate to County, Congressional and State Con- 
ventions. Socially-, the Doctor is a member of the 
National Bee Union and the Bee Keepei-s' Associa- 
tion, both the Northwestern and the Michigan 
State Associations. He is also a member of the 
Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, in which he 
takes an active part. 

On another page will be noticed a lithograi)hic 
portrait of the Doctor. 



_wje) 



\>-^<m 



ON. .TAMES R. COBB. The fn-st reprcsent- 
f))] ativc in America of the family to which this 
gentleman belongs was one Sylvanus 
Cobb, who emigrated to the United States 
somewhere between 1620 and 16.iO and soon be- 
came identified with the village of Canterbury, 
Conn. Ilis son Benjamin was the father of El- 
kanah, whose son (lideon, born at Canterbury', 
.luly 7, 1716, settled at Pawlet. \'t., where he died 
.Inly 21. 17',»7. The family have since resided at 
Pawlet, and the line of descent is through Elkanah, 
John and Horace to James B. 

.\ native of Vermont, our subject was born in 
Orwell, May 18, 1823, and is a son of Horace .lud 
Thankful (Bascomb) Cobb. When eleven years 
old. he removed to Uochester, N. V., where he at- 
tended the Institute and engaged in teaching 
during two winter terms. He then became agent 
for a paper mill at Pair Haven Vt., and for four 
^•ears traveled in it-s e^nploy through \'ermont 
and New York. Later he sojourned in Rochester 
two years, and then became agent for a (louring 
mill at Burliujiton Vt. 



862 



PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In 1854, Mr. Cobb came to Michigan and in con- 
nection with his brother, AVilliam H., bought a 
farm in Kalamazoo Township, two and one-half 
miles south of Kalamazoo and on that place of 
one hundred and fifty acres he resided twenty 
yeai'S. In 1863, he was elected to the Legislature 
and served through three sessions, being re-elected 
in 1865. Ills opponent was Tiiomas S. Cobb, of 
Kalamazoo, recently deceased. While an incum- 
bent of that honorable jiosition, lie was Chairman 
of the Committee on State Affairs, also member of 
the Committees on Asylums and State Prisons. 

In 1873, Mr. Cobb was appoijited County Treas- 
urer, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the 
incumbent, and during his term he engaged in the 
wool trade, which he has continued to the present. 
He and his brother William H. have operated in 
that way for seventeen years and during 1891 
handled six hundred thousand pounds of wool 
for a Rhode Island firm. Since his removal to 
the city in 1873, he has served as Supervisor of the 
Fourth Ward for nine years, and was a meniljer of 
the Board of County Buildings at the time of the 
erection of the present Poor House. On his farm 
which he still owns and manages, he keeps a large 
flock of thorough-bred Merino sheep and other fine 
stock. 

Tlie marriage of Mr. Cobb, .lanuary 23, 1851, 
nnited him with Miss Helen M. McCall of Roches- 
ter, N. Y., and their family comprises tiie follow- 
ing children: Helen Isabella, who died in infancy; 
Anna Louisa, who passed away when fourteen 
years old; Maud Mary and Gertrude L. (twins); 
Alice Campbell and Carlos M. (twins). Maud 
died December 2, 1889; she was a lovely young 
lady and was greatly esteemed by all who knew 
her. The surviving children remain with their 
parents. Gertrude is an author of more than ord- 
inary ability and her articles have been widely 
read and copied. Alice and Ca«1os, who are grad- 
uates of the High School, attend to all the clerical 
work for their father, and Carlos is also interested 
in the wool business. 

The beautiful home of this family is located at 
No. 530 S. Burdick Street and was erected in 1887, 
Jlrs. Cobb sii|iplying tlie designs. The family 
holds membership in the Presbyterian Church and 



Mrs. Cobb is a member of various clubs and ladies' 
societies. She and daughters have done much to 
mold the opinions of their friends and their in- 
fluence is felt in every home. Every year for the 
past seventeen, Mr. Cobb has gone East and fre- 
quently visits the scenes of his boyhood. 

A man of genial temperament, brimful of good 
nature, Mr. Cobb possesses the excellent attributes 
of the steadfast friend and congenial companion. 
His liberal views have been cultivated by extensive 
reading and close observation, and while he has 
decided opinions of his own, he recognizes the 
rights of others to different views. He is scrupu- 
lously exacting in every official transaction, be- 
lieving that public service demands the same ex- 
alted talents which one gives to his private bus- 
iness. 

As a legislator, Mr. Colib was painstaking, care- 
ful and methodical, and the i)reseiit fine condition 
of many of the State institutions is the result of 
the line of policy advocated by him. His judg- 
ment is a safe guide, and its influence is felt in 
almost every branch of municipal and county 
affairs. Ever having a good word for the unfor- 
tunate, a helping hand for the needy, his friends 
are numbered in every walk of life, and now that 
the sorrws of many winters have whitened his 
locks, he can look back over a life well spent, 
knowing that a warm place is kept for him in the 
hearts of his countrymen. 



•i^s<H 



_y 



r 



H-^H- 




AMUEL APPLETON GIBSON, Superin- 
tendent and Manager of the Kalamazoo 
Paper Company, possesses the confidence 
and esteem of his liusiness associates to a 
remarkable degree, and his business ability, tact 
and judgment are unquestioned. He is a native 
of New Hampshire and was born at New Ipswich, 
August 17, 1835, his parents being Col. George C. 
and Alvira (Ap|)leton) Gibson. 

The father of our subject was born in New Ips- 
wich, March 10, 1805, and served in the New 
Hampshire State Militia for many years. His wife 
belonged to a worthy and distinguished family. 



PORTli^UT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



863 



her iiiu'li", .lolin Appleton, liaving; been ;i proniincnl 
iiu'inlicr of llic Muiiie Ilaraiifl having served several 
terms as Judge of the Sui)reme Court. After coni- 
l)k'ting the course of study in tiie schools of Ips- 
wich, Samuel A. entered the Applcton Academy at 
New Ipswich, where he finished his education. In 
the intervals of study, lie aided his father in his 
shoii, where the manufacture of carriages and sleighs 
was carried on. 

Wlien twenty years of age, ISIr. Gibson entered 
liie postollice at Concord, Mass., where he olliciated 
ill the capacity of derk for two years, and then 
acce|)ted a clerkship in a general store at .Vshby, 
Mass. Having gained a thorough knowledge of 
that line of enterprise, he embarked in business as 
a grocer in 18.511, the scene of his operations being 
Kitchburg, Mass., where he continued successfully 
for a number of yeai's. In 1867, he removed to 
Kalaiii.TZoo, and has since resided in this city. 

Tlie Kalaiii.azoo Paper Company was organized 
October 1, 1866, Mr. Gibson being one of the orig- 
inal stockholders. A mill was built on the Grand 
Kapids Kranch of the Lake Shore and Michigan 
Southern Railroad, two miles south t)f the city of 
Kalamazoo, the plant being valued at >!l()(),(l(10. A 
capital of ?'200,()00 was required to conduct the 
business, which rapidly grew to its present propor- 
tions. ISIr. (iilison entered the employ of the com- 
))an3' a* mechanic and book-keeper, retaining the 
latter position until 1H70. lie then assumed the 
management of the business as Superintendent, 
which position he still holds. 

During the first year of its existence, the com- 
pany cmiiloyed about lifty people and was con- 
fined to the manufacture of common paper and 
extra newspaper. Hut the mill has since been 
greatly cnlai'gcd, new material has lieon added, 
and lithograph, music and colored papers are also 
made, the specialtj* l)eing lithograph paper. Among 
recent imi)roveinent.s is a water tiller, with a capac- 
ity of one million gallons daily, through which 
what was formerly considered nearly pure water is 
passetl, and all sediment and other impurities are 
drawn. Other e(|ually necessary im|)rovemcnl.s have 
l)een added to increase the elliciency of the plant 
in the output of it.s justly celebrated finer gi-ades 
of paper. Mr. (iibson is thuroiighly informed as 



to every detail of the immense business and his 
personal attention is exclusively given to its man- 
agement. 

In addition, SIr.Gibson is interested in other en- 
terprises. He is Director in the Kalamazoo National 
Bank and member of the Board of Trustees of the 
Kalamazoo College. He united with the Congrega- 
tional Church in 1858 and is Trustee in the church. 
Politically, he is a firm Republican, although by no 
means partisan in his alliliations. His em[)loyes 
regard him as their warmest friend, and their in- 
terests are to him second only to the success of the 
institution 

October 14, I860, Jlr. Gibson was married to 
Mrs. Mary A. Bardeen, daughter of Deacon A. 
Farnsworth, of Fitchburg, M.iss., and they are the 
parents of two children: Alice (iertrudc, wife of 
F. D. Haskell, and Susan Edith, who married F. M. 
Hodge. Both jNIessrs. ILoskell an<1 Hodge are con- 
nected with the paper company" and reside in Kal- 
amazoo. 



>i »j i i« I I I 



' I ' I ' . 




ZRO IIEAI^Y, a retired farmer now resid- 
e/Oil ing ill Kalamazoo, is an excellent example 
of a self-made man who has achieved suc- 
cess through his own efforts, and his life 
might well serve to encourage others who, like 
him, have to make their own way in the world. 
He was born in the town of Shoiehani, .\ddison 
County, Vt., January 20, 1814. His father, Joshua 
Mealy, a native of Massachusetts, removed with 
his parents to N'crmont when a child. He took 
quite a i)roniinent part in public affairs, especially 
in politics, serving as County .Tiulge and repre- 
senting his district in the State Legislature for two 
terms. He married I-ucy Willson, a native of the 
Green Mountain State, and a daughter of William 
! Willson. Removing to Steuben County, N. Y., 
they settled near the town of Dansville, upon a 
farm which continued to be their home through- 
out the remainder of their lives. They were the 
parents of eleven children, ten of whom grew to 
manhood and womanhood. Of the seven sons and 
four daughters, nine are yet living. 

The subject of this sketch attended the district 



864 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



schools in Steuljen County, N. Y., and remained 
upon his father's farm until he had attained his 
majority, when he started out in life for himself. 
He chose the West as the scene of his future labors, 
and iu 1835 came to Michigan, where he was lirst 
employed as boss on the Michigan Southern Rail- 
road for $50 per month. In the spring of 1837, 
he, having accumulated some money, went to Ohio 
and bought nine yoke of oxen. He began break- 
ing prairie and turned the furrows upon fourteen 
hundred acres of virgin soil. Next, purchasing 
one hundred and sixty acres of land, he cleared 
and began its development, jjlacing it under a 
high state of cultivation, lirst sowing it in wheat, 
and when tiie crop was harvested sold his grain 
for forty-five cents per bushel delivered at St. Jo- 
seph. He lost heavily in this venture, but ere 
two years had passed he had paid all indebted- 
ness and again started square with the world. 

On the nth of April, 18311, Mr. Healy was 
united in marriage to Miss Eliza, daughter of 
Ezekiel and Catherine (Shaw) Everingham. The 
lady is a native of Dansville, Steuben County, 
N. Y., and by her marriage became the mother of 
six children, four of whom are yet living: AVal- 
lace died at the age of ten years; Helen was the 
wife of William Boardman, and after his death 
slie wedded Oliver K. Olmsted; Marion died iu 
infancy; B. J. is Chief of the Eire Department of 
Kalamazoo; Charlie A. resides in Kalamazoo; and 
Catherine E. is at home. During tlie time of the 
building of the Jlichigan Central Road, he took a 
contract to grade and place the ties on the grade 
from the Kalamazoo bridge to one mile east of 
the city. 

Mr. Healy has taken no active [lart in political 
affairs In his religious views he is a Unitarian. 
He owns a Hue residence, and has built several 
houses in Kalamazoo. He also is the owner of a 
fine farm situated near the corporation limits, val- 
ued at S200 per acre. In politics he is a sturdy' Demo- 
crat. Among the honored pioneers of the county is 
he numbered, having borne the trials and [irivations 
of pioneer life. In the winter of 1837, he took from 
the timber over four hundred thousand feet of lum- 
ber, at a time when the snow on the ground lay two 
feet in depth. He sold the logs at $4 per thou- 



sand feet, and did most of the hauling with nine 
yoke of oxen. His lirst home was a board shanty, 
20x20 feet, in which his men slept, and in which 
the cooking and eating were done. Overcoming 
all obstacles iu his path, he worked his way up- 
ward and was successful in his undertakings. He 
possessed what the Yankees called "grit," and his 
enterprise and industry won him i)rosperity. At 
the present time, he is engaged largely in raising 
and shipping celery — also dealing in real esUite. 

In 1889, Mr. Healy was called ui)on to mourn 
the loss of his wife, who died on the 5th of De- 
cember, at the age of seventy years, and was 
buried in the Mountiiin Home Cemeter}'. He is 
now well advanced in years, but still retains much 
of the vigor of earlier manhood and is a genial, 
cordial old gentleman, whose friends are almost as 
many as his acquaintances. His sterling worth 
has won him high regard, and he is respected by 
all. 

%^ ARVEY J. EDGELL. This respected gen- 
'' tleman, who is the proprietor of Spring 
Hill Fruit Farm, at South Haven, is also 
^ a dealer in real estate. Licking County, 
Ohio, was his native place, his birth occurring 
August 15, 1835. His great-grandfather was Sir 
William Edgell of England. His grandfather was 
also born in England, and came to the United 
States in company with four brothers. He first 
located in Maryland, whence, in 1802, he removed 
to Ohio, where he became a pioneer in Licking 
County. He only remained there a short time, 
however, when he went to Franklin County, and 
later to Shelby County, where he died at the age 
of seventy-five years. He was a volunteer soldier 
in the War of 1812, and had four sons: James, 
William, John and Wilson. 

The father of our subject, William Edgell, was 
born in Ohio, and, in early life, learned the trade 
of a tanner and currier. In 1833, he was united 
in marriage to Sarah Holden. She was the great- 
granddaughter of Sir William Parr, who came 
to America prior to the Revolution, and during 
the struggle for independence aided the Colonists. 
That was considered suHicient reason for confiscat- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



865 



iiiLT Ills t'statt' in Knu:l:iii(l. so lie diil not rotiirn Imt 
settled in Liciiinir t'oiint.v,01iio. 1 1 is daugliter mar- 
ried Lewis Iloldcn, and they became the parents of 
Sarah Iloich'ii, who married M\: Kdijell. 

The ehh^- Mr. and Mrs. Kdyell resided in l-iekiiig 
t'onnty initil alMuit istT. where tliey were engaged 
in farming. In I.S7(i, tiiey removed to Ciiicago, 
where tlie motitcr died in 1H73. The faliier is still 
living in that cit}'. He was a stanch Repuhlican, 
and hefore the organization of that party was a 
Whig. The parents were earnest and eonseicntious 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Chureli. and 
reared a family of ten children. 

Harvey .1. Edgell during his boyliood assisted 
his father about the tannery and attended the dis- 
trict school. At the age of thirteen, he became a 
clerk in a general store and four yeai-s later was 
one of the proprietore of a country store at Haven's 
Corners, near Columbus, Ohio. He was subse- 
ipiently eng.aged in business in Delaware Count}', 
Ohio, .and during the Civil AVar carried on a whole- 
sale notion business. He atteniled to his duties 
closely and worked so hard that in a few years, his 
health being impaired, he w.os obliged to retire 
from active life. In accordance with the advice of 
liis iihysician.he sought a home near the lake shore 
and in M.ay 28, I8(>9, reached South Haven. Here 
he purchased eighty acres of timber land locatc<l on 
section 11, South Haven Township, locating his 
tract with the aid of a compass. He laid out a 
road to his place and commenced the arduous task 
of clearing it from the timber and underbrush. 
His brought his farm to an excellent state of cul- 
tivation and in a few years began' to grow fruit. 

In IH.sd our subject received a sunstroke so 
that it became necessary for him to give up all out- 
door work, for a time at least. He then engaged 
in the ical-cstatc busines-s, thinking it a line of 
work out of which he would be able to drop at any 
time. lUit business incrcjised so rapidly and li.-is 
grown to such .an extent that he will no doubt 
m.ake it a life work. He is wide-awake to the in- 
terests of South Haven and has been the leading 
spirit in advertising and making it the (jopular 
summer resort which it h.-is become. His fruit farm, 
on which he resides, contains forty ,aeres which arc 
thoroughly and protitable improved. 



Mr. Edgell was married in \^'>X to Miss Mary, 
daugiilcr of William Ilcadley, a pioneer of Frank- 
lin County, Ohio, where Mrs. Edgell was born. ( )nr 
subject and his estimable wife have liecn granted a 
family of three children: Nellie A.; Mattie, who 
died at the .age of four years, and Carlos L. Mr. 
Edgell is an ardent supporter of the Republican 
party and socially is a member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity and the Independent Order of Odd P'ellows. 
He is .also connected jirominently with the Enter- 
prise Club. He with his goo<I wife is a menilK'rof 
the Congregational Church and is most highly 
esteemed by all who are .acciuainted with the history 
of tins section. 



lIpV ElMTOLD IHLl.NC;, of the firm of Ihling 
IW^ Brfis. it Evcrard, is one of the prominent 
!k: \\\ and successful business men of Kalamazoo, 
A^and has attained to his enviable position, 
financially and socially, thrtiugh the exercise of in- 
domitable energy an<l unusu.al perseverance. The 
business in which he is engaged lias .assumed gigan- 
tic proportions and is numbered among the most 
successful enterprises of Kalamazoo, its success be- 
ing mainly due to the energetic management of the 
Ihling Bros. 

Among the foreigners who have sought homes 
in the United States, many have come hither from 
(icrmany and have bronglit with them (|ualitics of 
thrift, perseverance and industry, which, while es- 
tablishing their own private fortunes, have also pro- 
moted the public welfare. Mr. Ihling is a (ierman 
by birth and parentage and was born February 1 1 . 
1848, When only four years old. he w.os brought 
by his parents to the rnitcd Slates and grew to 
manhood in Milwaukee. 

When thirteen years old, Mr. Ihling commenced 
to learn the trade of a shoemaker and afterward 
learned the book-liinder's trade in all its branches 
at Milwaukee and has since followed this business, 
having a complete knowledge of the business in 
every detail. He then entered his brother's cm- 
ploy and for eighteen months remained in that 
connection, aflerwanl aiding in the establishment 



866 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of tlic present liusiness. Ililing Bros. A Everard, 
printers, have an assured reputation in Kalamazoo 
and vicinity, and tlie book-binding department is 
in charge of our subject, wlio employs thirty-five 
hands and is pushing iiis branch of the business 
with great energ}'. 

The pleasant residence of Mr. Ihling at No. 508 
Wood Street is presided over b3' ids wife, to wliom 
he was married, August 24, 1875, at Racine. Wis. 
Miss Alice Schumacher, as Mrs. Ihling was known 
in maidenhood, was l)orn at Hartford, Conn., and 
was carefully reared under the tuition of efficient 
teachers and affectionate parents. She is the 
mother of seven children, viz: Alma, Carl, Arno, 
Lillian, Paul, Walter and Alice, bright and intelli- 
gent children who are being educated in tlie 
schools of Kalamazoo. 

In his social affiliations, Mr. Ihling is identified 
with the Masonic fraternity. Blue Lodge and 
Chapter and the tJermanic Society. While he has 
but little time to devote to public affairs, he ad- 
heres tt)the ])rinciples of the Rcpulilican party and 
advocates those enterprises which will advance the 
interests of the community'. 



4^ 



^ 



0'~~ RRIN SNOW, a retired farmer and one of the 
respected citizens of Kalamazoo, claims New- 
York as the State of his nativitj'. He was 
born in Oswego County, Septem))er 27, 1829, and 
is a son of Ansel and Arbelia (Wilmouth) Snow, 
both of whom were natives of Massachusetts and 
came of old New England families of English 
origin. In March, 1837, with their children, they 
emigrated to Michigan, locating on Grand Prairie, 
four miles northwest of Kalamazoo. After two 
or three years, the}' removed to Oshtemo Township, 
where one of the daughters had married and settled 
the preceding August. The family numbered three 
sous and four daughters. They are, Permelia, who 
became the wife of Alonzo Wyman, and both are 
now deceased; Hannah, Mercy Ann, Cordelia, Or- 
son and Orrin. One brother, Orla, was born after 
the family came to this county. In 1866, Orson 
and Orla removed to Macon County, Mo., where 
tliey now reside. Hannah became the wife of Sol- 



omon Forbes and died a number of years ago. 
Mercy Ann was the wife of Samuel Johnson, of 
Kalamazoo Township, and her death also occurred 
many years ago. Cordelia is the wife of Anson 
Forbes, of Macon Count}-, Mo. The father of this 
family followed farming throughout his entire life. 
He secured quite an extensive tract of land and 
became well-to-do. His death occurred October 
14, 1864, at the age of eighty-one, and his widow 
died in August, 1880, at the age of eighty-five 
years in Missouri, where she had gone with her 
son. 

Tlie subject of this sketch came to Michigan 
w-lien a lad of eight summers, and amid the wild 
seenes of frontier life was reared to manhood. He 
remained at home until twenty- four years of age, 
when, in 1853, he w-cnt to California, making an 
overland trip, and for a year and a half was en- 
gaged in mining. On his return, he resumed the 
occupation of farming and after a year and a half 
chose as a companion and helpmate on life's jour- 
ney Miss Catherine, daughter of A. II. and Cath- 
erine (Chandler) Hill, now of Plainwell. The 
mother is deceased. She is a native of New York 
and when two years old was brought to Michigan. 
Their marriage was celebrated April 16, 1856, and 
unto them have been born four children: Milo A. 
operates his father's farm; Frank and Fred, who 
died in childhood; and Katie, a student in the 
High School. 

Mr. Snow continued to engage in agricultural 
pursuits with marked success until three years ago 
when he came to Kalamazoo, where he has since 
lived a retired life. He engaged in breeding 
short-horn cattle and was very successful in his 
business. He still owns five hundred acres of val- 
uable land and is accounted one of the well-to-do 
citizens of the community. He certainly deserves 
much credit for his success, for itis due entirely to 
his own efforts. He has held a number of public 
offices, was Township Treasurer, Justice of the 
Peace and Supervisor. The Republican party finds 
in him a stanch advocate, and he has frequently 
attended its State and county conventions. He 
has been connected with the Kalamazoo Count}' 
Agricultural Society for twenty years and has just 
been, for the sixth time, elected to the office of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



867 



President. Wc find in Jlr. Snow a typical roprc- 
si'ntjitive of tin' lionoiH'd pioni-er, :» man in whom 
ovvry one lias implicit (■(inlidciice. He is a sui>- 
porler of all that tonds to advance the intoi'Psts of 
the county, is a man of broad views, piihlic-spiriled 
and progressive. In i)crsonaI appearance, he is a 
lari^e, line-lookinu' nentleman, and liy his pleasant, 
•i'enial manner rea(lil\' wins friends. 






^'•i"i-**'t^^^++**F 




ALK P. KAUFFF:R,oneof the leading busi- 
ness men of Kalamazoo, is President of the 
Page Manufacturing Company, which is an 
outgrowth of the factory established in 1873 
for the manufacture of handles by Calvin Forbes 
and .Messrs. .Morse, Darrin and lleebe. Hale W.Page, 
an uncle of oiu' sul)jeet, became a stockholder in the 
company whicli afterward failed. He later resumed 
operations, which he carried on until IS.Sl, when the 
plant was destroj-ed bj- lire. In that year Mr. Kauffer 
l)ecainc associated with him and they rebuilt, since 
which time tlie^' have donoagood and constantly- 
increasing business. The jilant covers between 
three and four acres with the building and lum- 
ber, and about *3(),0()0 is invested in the business. 
Forty men are emploj-ed, most of whom are skilled 
workmen. They make a specialty of handles for 
feather dusters, which are linished and polished 
read}' for use, also manufacture agricultural frames, 
counters, tal)lcs, shelving, etc., and do a business 
amounting to *(jO,(iO(t annually. .Mr. KaufTer, who 
is President of the company, lias full charge of the 
business. 

Mr. Page, who is now deceased, was born in 
Shirley, Mass., and died in May, 1887, at the age 
of seventy-one years. He engaged in manufactur- 
ing almost his entire life. In Filchburg, M.ass., he 
made all the piano cases foi- the Ilallet iVr Davis 
Company, and during his residence in the Way 
State w.as twice a member of the Legislature. He 
came to Kalamazoo in 1870, and thenceforward 
was one of its leading citizens. Forming a part- 
nership with R. F. Lyon, he wa.s engagt'd in build- 
ing up apai)ermill In Plainwell, which was known 
as the Commonwealth Mills, up to the time of his 
death. He served as Alderman of Kalamazoo and 



was one of the popular and highly resiiected citi- 
zens of the community. Me ranked high in both 
business and social circles. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Sarah AVMieeler. survived her hiisliand 
about two years. Their daughter l)ecame the wife 
of the Rev. Kendall Brooks, who for years was 
President of Kalamazoo College and is now in 
Alma, Mich. 

Mr. Kauffer, whose name heads this record, was 
born in Melhueu, Ma.ss., .Tanuar}' 1, 1810. .and is a 
son of Francis and Kunico (Page) Kauffer. Learn- 
ing the foundry liusiness, he for some time had 
charge of the Gage AVorks in Fitchburg, M.oss., or 
until 187"2, which year witnessed his arrival in 
Kalamazoo. He here became connected with a tin 
and sheet-iron company and ran a line of jwddler 
wagons until 1878. The two succeeding years of 
his life were passed in Colorado, and on his return 
to Michigan he became connected with his uncle, 
Mr. Page, in the factory of which he is now the 
head. He has bought the entire plant and gives 
his attention exclusivel}' to the business. 

In 1871, in Manchester, N. H., Mr. Kauffer was 
united in marriage to Miss Henrietta .St. Clair, a 
native of the Green Mountain State, and >inlo 
them has been Ixjrn a daughter, Nellie, a cultured 
young ladj' who possesses considerable musical and 
artistic talent. The family have a plea.«ant home 
at 323 South Rose Street and are well and favora- 
bly known throughout the community, their friends 
being many in Kalamazoo. Mr. Kauffer is a straight- 
forward, upright, business man and is meeting with 
well-merited success. He has worked his waystead- 
ilv upward and has now a handsome competence. 



HFRON FR.\NCIS GIDDINGS, the efli- 
cient and honored Clerk of the Cit}' of 
Kalamazoo, was born December 2.5, 1813, 
in Charleston, this county. He is the eldest of 
three children born to Orrin N. and Harriet A 
(Cock) Giddings. (.See sketch of the father, to be 
found elsewhere in this work.) 

In 18.")3, when ten ^-eai-s old, the father of our 
subject brought his family to this city from Au- 



868 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



gustii, nntl it was hero that he received liis educa- 
tion, taking a course finally in the Kalamazoo 
College. In 186,5, our subject commenced with his 
father as assistant in the State Quartermaster's De- 
jiartnieut of Michig.an, m Detroit, and thus became 
familiar wit!) the details of the olfice and made 
the acquaintance of a large number of public men 
of the State. He had, prior to this, served three 
years in the office of the Auditor-General, Piniil 
Aneke, at Lansing. His knowledge of business 
matters and official detail eminently fitted him 
foi- an active business or official career. After 
leaving his position in the Quartermaster's office, 
he returned to Kalamazoo Citj', and, having tlie 
desire to "go West," he settled among the peo- 
ple of Kansas and oi^ened a real-estate office at 
Topeka, where he remained with varying success 
for some time. Not realizing the fond anticipa- 
tions hope had pictured the Western plains would 
develop, he decided to return to Michigan. 

Our subject again came to Kalamazoo, and soon 
engaged in the mercantile business, adding the 
manufacture of saddlery and harness, hardware 
and trunks, and, though he had become connected 
witii tiie county in an official capacity, he held his 
business until 1885. In 1875 he was elected to 
the responsible position of Township Treasurer, 
and also held other local offices. His tempera- 
ment was that of a politician, and, being a man of 
genal character, and having had a training not 
usually found in applicants for public life, he was 
chosen, in 1879, County Clerk of Kalamazoo County 
by the Republican part}'. Proving to be an exceed- 
ingly popular man and an accommodating official, 
he was repeatedly elected and held the office con- 
tinually for twelve years. In 1890, he declined a 
renomination and became a candidate for Auditor- 
General of tiie State, but, being caught in a Demo- 
cratic landslide, he was defeated. His services 
have been of so valuable a nature that .January 1, 
1891, he was unanimously chosen by the Citj' 
Council as Clerk of the City. No man has ever 
filled a clerical i)Osition in the count}' or city ad- 
ministration who was so popular with the people 
regardless of iiis party principles, as is Mr. Giddings. 

While he has been an active Republican and an 
ardent camiiaigner, he has not antagonized people 



of opposite political affiliations, many of his 
warmest friends being members of the Democracy. 

On .lune 1, 1891, Mr. Giddings was appointed 
by the United States Comptroller, Receiver of the 
National City Bank of Marshall, and he is at 
present engaged in closing the affairs of that de- 
funct institution. Possessing an attractive person- 
ality that draws friends to him, Mr. Giddings 
has become identified with many fraternal asso- 
ciations, and in all he has taken an active part. 
He has filled neai'ly all the chairs in the local 
bodies of the Masonic order and is at present 
Past Grand High Priest of the High Chapter of 
the State. He is also P.ast Commander of the 
Uniformed Rank of the Knights of Pythias. 

Mr. Giddings was united in marriage on .January 

4, 1869, at Buffalo, N. Y., to Miss .Tulia E. D'Ar- 
camble. Mrs. Giddings is a daughter of Charles 

5. and Agnes S. D'Arcamble, of Kalamazoo. By 
this union, four cliildren have been born, of whom 
only one is living, a daughter, Bessie, who is a 
lovely young lady of seventeen summers, and a 
student of the High School of this city. Mrs. Gid- 
dings is an active member of society and is found 
prominent in the Ladies' Society and in doing 
Christian charitable work. 



^+^^ 



s ■ — "^""F^n 

*i|? ACOB DOUGHTV, a farmer and stock-raiser 
on section 2, Paw Paw Township, Van 
Buren County, was born in Dutchess Count}', 
^_^ N. Y., .Tune 3, 1826. He is a son of George 
and Emcline (Storms) Doughty, both natives of 
the Empire State. Our subject lived in New York 
State until he was about eighteen years old, receiv- 
ing a fair common-school education in a Quaker 
school, as his grandfather, Thom.as Doughty, was 
a Quaker. The father of our subject, who was 
born April 1, 1800, moved from New York to 
Hartford, Ohio, when our sul)ject was eighteen 
years old. He only remained in Ohio aliout five 
years when he returned to New York, residing 
there but one winter. The family removed to 
Michigan in 1849. 

Our subject is the oldest in a family of twelve, 
the two younger children being born after com- 



I 



i'pu ''' 



'— ^?*** 






&^H--in 



PORTRAIT AND TJlOGR-VrillCAL RECORD. 



871 



ing to tliis State. Eleven of tliis family are 
now living. After the family iiad been here aliont 
one year, our .subject returned to New York and 
attended seliool a year and a half, at a (Quaker 
school in Washington IIolk)W. The father at one 
time liad about three hundred ami twenty .'icres, 
of which our subject now owns one hundred and 
twelve. He lives in the Siime liousc in which his 
father lived before iiim. 

Jacob Doughty was united in marriage with 
Mrs. Hannah I'roal, »w Luce, May 7, 1859. Mrs. 
Doughty is a daughter of Henr^- and Rose (Shel- 
don) Luce, the father being born on the Mohawk 
River of mixed Irish and English ancestry, and 
the mother being born in Connecticut of good old 
Yankee stock. The wife of our subject was born 
in Orleans County, N. Y., December 17, 182G. Her 
parents moved to Calhoun County, this State, 
when she was but ten years old, and she was 
about eighteen when she married John E. I'roal, b}' 
whom she had three children, two still living. 
Mary, who died when sixteen years old; Alice, the 
wife of Rickelson Doughty, the brother of our sub- 
ject. Her son, Henry Drake Proal, lives in Ludiiig- 
ton, Mich. Our subject is the father of two chil- 
dren : Lottie Louise, the wife of John Clapp, lives in 
Paw Paw and has one child; Linda married Erastus 
L. Moe, who lives in I'aw Paw, is a carpenter by 
trade and owns eightv acres of land; they have two 
boys. 

Our subject is a stanch Republican in politics, 
but has never been an olllce-seeker. He is a mem- 
ber of the Free-will Raptist Church, to which his 
wife also belongs. 

The father of Mrs. Doughty was a soldier in the 
War of 1812, and at one time he was gone so long 
that the family thought he had been killed, but 
an Indian brought word that he w.is still alive. 
Her giand father, Drake Luce, was a noted and 
wealthy man of New Y'ork. His marriage took 
place in New Y'ork, and his wife was a Miss O'Neal. 
Her father leased the land for ninety-nine years 
years on which Trinity Church now stands. It is 
the land about which there is so much litigation and 
Mrs. Doughty is one of the heirs. Henry Luce 
was a lawer by profession when in New Y'ork, 
and on coming to Michigan bought a large tract 
40 



of land. He reared a family of thirteen children, 
all of whom came to Michigan. Only two of this 
family now survive, .Mrs. Doughty. an<l her brother 
Zephaniah, who resides in .Mbion and is a poultry 
fanciei'. 



\f'EROME T. COBI5. Perhaps in no connec- 
tion is Mr. Cobb so widely know as through 
his labors in behalf of the Grange. For 
almost a score of years he occupied the re- 
sponsible position of State Secretary and during 
the greater portion of that time he vv.as editor of 
the Grange Visitor. So efficient were liis services 
in the interest of this organ i7.alif)n that, at the 
meeting of the State Grange held at Lansing, in 
December, 1891, Ex-Gov. Luce presented him 
with an elegant gold-headed cane as a token of 
the appreciation and esteem in which he is regarded. 
The reader will note with interest his portrait on 
the opposite |)age and the following outlines of a 
life of more th.aii ordinary interest. 

It is supposed that the family of which our sub- 
ject is a member originated in Wales. They 
were earl3' residents of Sutlield, Conn., where 
Grandfather David Cobb passed his entire life. 
His son Nathan w.as born in Tolland, that State, 
whence he emigrated to Michigan, arriving in 
Kalamazoo County, September 30, 1830, when 
there were but two log cabins in what is now the 
city of Kalamazoo. Settling in .Schoolcraft Tt)wii- 
ship, he entered a tract of land northeast of the 
village. In his native State, he had engaged as a 
manufacturer, but operated .as a farmer in Kalama- 
zoo County until lii.s death, which occurred 
August 14, 1833. He was a man of sturdy and 
honorable character, and although he resided here 
only a few years, gained a high i)lace in tlie es- 
teem of his fellow-pioneers. His wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Sally Thompson, was born in 
Goshen, Conn., and died in Schoolcraft Township, 
February 4, 1865. 

The fifth among eight children, Jerome T. was 
bora in Goshen, Litchfield County, Conn., Decem- 
ber 2!', 1H21. He was a lad of nine years when he 
accomiianied his parents to Michigan in the fall of 



872 



PORTRAIT AND EJOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1830, and grew to manhood upon the farm which 
liis father entered from the (iovernmeut. It re- 
mained his home until he removed to the village 
of Seliooleraft in 1865, and here he has since re- 
sided. In Sfhoolcraft Township, he was engaged 
in farming pursuits and also engaged in the nian- 
ufaeluring of staves and heading to some extent 
until April, 1873, when he accepted the respon- 
sible position of Secretary of tlie State Grange. 

During the years which intervened until Decem- 
ber, 1800, Mr. Cobl) gave his attention wholly to 
the labors of the Grange, and in 1876 assumed the 
editorship of the Gmnije Visitfir, which he con- 
ducted with great success for fourteen years. lie 
has also been closely identified with the political 
life of the village and county, serving in many 
positions of trust and honor. He was County 
Superintendent of the Poor for a period of about 
twenty-five years; Oil Inspector for four years 
under Gov. Luce; and County Agent for twelve 
years; also Supervisor of Schoolcraft Township 
several terms, and occupied other township offices. 
He has taken an active interest in polilics and casts 
his ballot according to his best judgment, l)eing in 
reality an independent Republican. 

Mr. Cobb was first married in Dutchess County, 
N. Y., to Miss Julianne Benton, and they became 
the parents of two children, onl3' one of whom 
survives: William B., who is now Sujiervisor of 
Schoolcraft Township. Mrs. Julianne Cobb died 
September 20, 18.50, at her home in Schoolcraft 
Township. Mr. Cobb contracted a second matri- 
monial alliance, April 22, 1852, choosing as his 
wife Miss Harriet Felt, who was born in Chenango 
County, N. Y., April 2, 18211. She is a lady of 
noble character, a faithful niemlicr of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, and presides over tlioir 
beautiful home with gracious hospitality. 



<- 



m>^^<m 



-J— 



ON. WILLIAM J. KIRBY, of Kalamazoo, 
was born in Milford, Otsego County, N. Y., 
February 11, 1845. His i)aients were AVil- 
liam and Jane (Dickson) Kirby, both na- 
tives of the Empire Stale. Samuel Dickson, his 
mother's great-grandfather, was a pioneer of Cheriy 




Yalle)', Otsego County-, having settled there as 
e.irly as 1745. During the fearful massacres of the 
time of the Revolution he and his family were 
identified with the community and the old home- 
stead remained in the possession of their descend- 
ants until quite recently. 

When William Kirby was a mere boj'. his parents 
returned to Cherry Valle}' and he was reared on 
the old Dickson homestead. When he reached the 
age of fifteen, he entered the engineering depart- 
ment of Yale College and spent some time in per- 
fecting himself in the science of a civil engineer, 
after which he was employed some time on railroad 
surveys. However, he soon returned to the old 
farm at Cherry Valley, it coming into his possession, 
and engaged in farming operations there until 
1.S76. He then disposed of his extensive interests 
and two years later came to Michigan, becoming 
identified with his father-in-law, Lewis Haight, in 
Pavili(jn Township. 

Assuming the management of Mr. Haight's ex- 
tensive estate, Mr. Kirb}' has since given attention 
to the operations of that large farm and h.is secured 
the highly-improved place formerly owned by Sen- 
ator Waldbridge, consisting of over one thousand 
acres. Much of his business attention is devoted 
to that estate. He is an extensive breeder of sheep 
and a successful grower of wheat. His place is 
well adai)ted to miscellaneous fanning and being 
well Improved with splendidly-equipped buildings, 
finely watered and kept in a high state of cultiv.a- 
tion, is conceded to be one of the most desiiable 
farms of the county. 

In 1875 Mr. Kirby was married to Miss Sarah 
Haight, daughter of Lewis Ilaight, and the two 
families have been closely connected ever since. The 
union has been blessed by one son: Lewis Haight, 
who was born in 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Kirby have 
erected a commodious city residence at No. 616 S. 
West Street, and much of their time is passed in 
this tastefully-furnished and cosy home, although 
the farm operations are given personal attention. 

The business sagacity and ability of Mr. Kirby 
have been recognized by his fellow-townsmen who 
elected him Township Supervisor. In 1887 he was 
elected as the candidate of the Republican partj' 
for Representative in the Lower House of the State 



PORTIIAIT AKD BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



873 



Lcgisl.atiiie niid Iiis service (luriii"; tliat session was 
marked hy a ilispla}' of good sense and :i regard 
for tlie needs of liis constituents. He was a mem- 
ber of tlie C'oniinitt<>es on Kducalion and Airricul- 
tural Colleges. His mind was (juick to grasp the 
various iihases tliat important (luestions assumed 
anil Ills op|)oiient-< found in liim a keen, re.ady in- 
tellect and a debater wliose points were made in a 
clear, forcible style, gi\ ing <lne deference to the 
honest opinions of others. 

Mr. Kirliy is not an unyielding jiartisan, hut a 
man who recognizes merit wherever it is shown 
and holds the position that it is better to yield a 
point when the principal features of his measure 
can thus be carried, rather than to lose it all by an 
obstinate and unreasonable persistency. He holds 
the confidence and respect of the people of his party 
an<l no citizen of the county is held in higher 
estimation by all. He has been active in the suj)- 
port of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Pavilion 
and in no work tending to advance his neighbor- 
lK)od hits he stood back. 



' ■ ' I 



/I II' I ' I 




FU.VNKLIN UOWEN. This gentleman, 
who was born in Oneida County, X. Y.. 
ISIay '2. 1810, is engaged in farming and 
stock-raising on section 1, Lawrence Town- 
ship, Van Buren County. He is the son of Henry 
and Lydia (Snow) Rowen, both of whom were na- 
tives of New York. The father died in I'tica, 
that State, when our subject was but two veal's 
of age. The parental family included thiee chil- 
dren, of whom H. Franklin was the youngest. The 
eldest son, .lared \V., died in New York, when 
forty-eight years of age, leaving a family (leorge 
W., the third child, is also deceased, pa.ssing away 
in Oswego County-, X. Y.; he too was married. 

After the death of her lirst husband, our subject's 
mother was again married, this lime to K. 15. Harris. 
n. Franklin made his home with her until reaching 
his fifteenth year, when he started out to make 
his own way in the world by learning the carpen- 
ter's trade. He soon abandoned that occupation, 
however, and engaged to work on the Erie Canal. 
iK'irinniuir a.s driver and en<ling as a Captain. 



August '27, 1843, our subject and Miss Xancy L. 
Hicks, ofOnond.aga County, X. Y., were united 
in marriage. Mrs. Bowen was Ihitu in the above- 
named county, .Inly 7, 18'2;1, and was the daughter 
of Harney- and .lane (l)ycknian) Hicks. Her father 
was a sailor, but it is not known in what State he 
was born; the mother was a native of New York. 
The maternal uncle of Mrs. Itowen, Evert 15. Dyck- 
nian, liuilt the Dyckmun House in I'aw I'aw. .\fter 
his marriage, our subject followed the canal for a 
twelvemonth, and in the sining of 181.') came to 
Michigan and purchased eighty acres of land on 
section 25, Arlington Township. There they re- 
mained for about two years, at the end of which 
time they moved to I'ine (irove Township, Van 
15uren County, where Mr. IJowen w.as engaged in 
lumliering for .ludge Dyckman, and was the sec- 
ond voter in that township. 

II. Eianklin Bowen remaineil in I'ine Orove 
Township for five years, having in the meantime 
disposed of his farm in Arlington Township. He 
then purchased eighty acres of wild land three 
miles east of Paw I'aw, now known as the Waitc 
farm. He cleared and im[>roved sixty-five acres 
of that tract, erecting a house and barn on the 
place, and made it his home for a'lout six 
years. He then sold out his interests and, return- 
ing to New York, located at Syracuse, expecting 
to make that liis permanent home. One ^-ear w:us 
enough of the East, however, and again making 
Michigan his al)iding place, Mr. Bowen purchased 
fort}' acres of land in Antwerj) Township, upon 
which he remained a twelvemonth. 

In 1860, our sul)ject went to Lawton and opened 
up a grocery and meat market, in which he en- 
gaged one year. He then returned to the farm, 
which lie carried on for a like period, and in \i<(]'i 
moved to South Haven, where he wa.s engaged in 
the livery business. For three years he ran a stage 
from Lawrence to South Haven, carrying the mads. 
Then dis|)osiiigof his livery liarii, he launched out 
in the grocery business, operating a store for one 
and one-half years and later trading it for an hotel 
in South Haven. He operated as "mine host" for 
two years and a half and then traded the hotel 
for his present farm of one hundred and thirty-five 
.acres, which is his present home and on to which 



874 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he moveri in 1872. He remained Uiere for tlie fol- 
lowins: ten j'ears, when lie sold his property and 
bought sixty acres in Paw Paw Township, upon 
whicli he lived for a like period and then tr.aded 
it for iiis present farm. 

Three children have been granted Mr. and Mrs. 
Bowen: Mertice E., who was born in Onondaga 
County, N. Y., October 26, 1844, married Allen 
Ilarwick, a farmer of Antwerp Township, Van 
Buren County and h.as three cliildren. George W. 
was t)orn in Arlington Township, Van Buren 
County, .Tune 2.5, 1846, is married, lias one child 
and carries on a farm near St. Cloud, Minn. 
Chauncy L., the thiid child, w.as born October 
22, 18G2; he married Carrie II., daughter of p]ras- 
tus and .Jennie (Pierson) Cash, whose sketch ap- 
pears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Chauncy L. 
Bowen w.as born in P.aw Paw, Maj- 24, 1865, and 
has borne her husband two children : Harry ,who was 
born in Paw Paw, November 18, 1886, and Bessie 
M., also born in Paw Paw, December 27, 1887. 

Mr. Bowen in early life was a Whig and cast 
bis first Presidential vote for Gen. Harrison. He 
later, however, became a Douglas Democrat, and 
still later a Greenbacker and is now a Prohibition- 
ist. In Arlington Tow'nship, he served .as Highway 
Commissioner, and. while in Pine Grove Town- 
ship was elected Justice of the Peace, being one of 
the first two elected at Lawton. He h.as been Con- 
stable and Marshal of South Haven and with his 
wife has been a member of the Free-will Baptist 
Church since 1876. in which body he is a Deacon. 
He is a Mason and holds membership at Lawrence. 



^^ AM M. BERRY, a retired real estate 
dealer of Kalamazoo, and one of the well 
and favorably known citizens of the com- 
munity, claims New Jersey as the State of 
his nativity. He was born March 12, 1820, in 
Morris County, and is a son of Martin S. Berr}' 
who was born in New Jersey in 1788. He followed 
farming throughout his life and died in 1826. The 
paternal grandfather, Samuel Berry, was of Hol- 
land descent, .about five generations remote, and the 



family for long years had resided upon one farm. 
Tlie mother of our subject, whose maiden name w.as 
Sophia Terhune, was born June II, 1788, in New 
Jersey and her father, Albert Terhune, was also of 
Holland lineage. After the death of her husband, 
she removed with her family to New York in 1837, 
locating in Orleans County upon a farm, where 
her deatli occurred February 1, 1838. The faniil3' 
numbered seven children, sis of whom, three sons 
and three daughters, grew to mature years. 

Mr. Berry, whose name heads this record, was 
tlie sixth in order of birth. His educational ad- 
vantages were limited, being onlj' those afforded by 
the common schools. His mother .and older brother 
died within six weeks of each other and the care 
of the family then devolved upon him. He oper- 
ated the farm of two hundred and fifty acres, con- 
tinuing its cultivation until 1850, when he removed 
to the village of Lindenwell, about two and a half 
miles from the farm. He there made his home un- 
til 1857, when he determined to try his fortune in 
the West, and the young but rapidly growing city 
of Chicago was chosen as a favorable location. 
There he resided for five years, devoting his time 
and energies to the real-estate business and money 
loaning. We next find him a resident of Joliet, 
111., where he continued to reside until the spring 
of 1865, when he made a visit to the old home in 
the liast. It was a ple.asant trip, spent in visiting 
the scenes of his childhood and renewing acquaint- 
ance with many old friends. 

In 1859, Mr. Berry was united in marri.age to 
Miss Sarah McKcnnan, a native of the Empire 
State, born in Richfield Springs, and a d.aughter of 
Ezekiel IMcKennan. Unto them have been born 
six children, three sons .and three daughters, of 
whom Charles A. and Arthur H. are the only sur- 
vivors, the latter being yet a student. Tlie fainil}- 
attend the Presbyterian Church, of which the 
mother and her son Arthur are members. Mr. 
Beri'}', althougli not a member, is a liberal con- 
tributor to the church and to all other interests 
calculated to benefit or upbuild the communitj'. 
The son Charles, who was born in 1860, died in 
1885, when a J'oung in.an of twenty-four years. 
At the time of his de.ath he w.as in the employ of 
Burnham & Root, of Chicago. 



rOliTK^UT AMD lilUGliAl'lIlCAL liECORD. 



K75 



Mr. llorry ri'tiiriied U) tlie Wi'st. in tlie spring of 
18()(!, and tliis time cliusc Kalamazoo as tlie scene 
of his fulnie laliors. For some time lie was en- 
gaged in loaning money and the real-estate bnsi- 
ness hut is now living a retired life, having hy his 
Inlior in former years acquired a eoiiipetency which 
now enaliles him to lay aside all husiness cares. In 
187(1, he built his fine residenee at No. tlC South 
A\'est Street, lie also owns a three-story brick 
block which he erected in 1880, together with a 
good farm of forty acres well iiniiroved. His suc- 
cess in business is due to his own enterprise, In- 
dustry and good inanagemeut and is therefore well 
deserved. 



y^^- 



'jr-yfliX'SK C. MYERS, M. I)., of Kalamazoo, is 
one of the native-born citizens of this 



/*j State, who have contributed their enter- 

prise and business sagacity as wi'll as professional 
skill to improve the moral, educational and religi- 
ous status of mankind and to alleviate the ills to 
which liuiiiaiiity is heir, llis ollicc is conveniently 
located in the Chase lilock and consists of a (deas- 
ant suite of rooms, well e(pii[>i)ed with the various 
api>liances of the healing art. 

The father of our subject was Kev. W. H. H. 
Myers, a i)ioneer minister of \'an lUiren County, 
who settled in Blooniingdale Township as a inis- 
sionarv and preached in the lirst church erected in 
I'aw I'aw. Ills death occurred soon after the close 
of the Civil War; his widow, whose maiden name 
was liet^ey Ilerron, still lives in Gobleville, and at 
an advanced ago retains full possession of her men- 
tal faculties. 

Ill I'lbioniingdalc Township, \'aii Buren County, 
our sulijeet was born April 2!<, 18.')(;. He is the 
sixth of eight children, seven of whom survive — 
all sons — the most of them residing in (Jobleville. 
On the homestead of his father, Frank C. was 
reared to manhood, meanwhile attending the High 
School ill Gobleville and assisting in the farm work 
during the sninmcrsea.son. Having resolved upon 
undertaking a professional career, lie road medi- 
cine with Dr. .\. K. Iiulsoii. of ( Hiblfville, ami in 
187'.', ciitcrc(l the medical department of the Stale 



University at Ann Arbor, graduating with the 
Class of '83. Since that time he has taken a cleri- 
cal course at the Chicago I'olj'technic by his 
own efforts — m other words, he worked his way 
through, [)ayiiig all the expenses of his education 
himself, with the cxce|)tioii of ><250 received as his 
share of the estate. 

Resides the regular studies of the course, the 
>oimg Doctor devoted special atleiition to elec- 
tricity and upon receiving his diploma, located, in 
1883, near Ludington, a little town on the Flint 
and Terc Marquette Hailroud, going thence to 
Oshteino and later to (iraiid Rapids. He returned 
from that city to ( )shteiiio, where he remained six 
years, or until the fall of 1888, when he located in 
Kalamazoo. He has established an extensive and 
lucrative practice, the demands of which are con- 
stantly increasing, and in addition he retains many 
of his former patients in Oshtemo. 

April 20, 1887, the Doctor was married in Osh- 
temo to Miss F^mma, daughter of W. C. and Mary 
(Kempsey) Wilde, of Oshtemo, and they are the 
[Kirents of two children: licssie and Ixlieta. Mrs. 
Myers is a lady of superior education aiicl for 
about four years followed the profession of a 
teacher in the [uiblic schools. She is also a musician 
of great skill and iiii usual ability, and lia,s taught 
music. Religiously, the membciship of the family- 
is in the Baptist Church, liolh the Doctorand his 
wifeliave taken the Chautaiuiua literary and scien- 
tific course, in which they are graduates. Politi- 
cally, he is a Kepublican, and interested in all 
public measures for the welfare of the citizens of 
Kalain.azoo. 



DWIN W. DiAOi:. Ill all the cities, we 
find citizens whose business precepts teach 

a conservatism which is too often a clog to 

progress, and, on the other hand, we meet with gen 
tlemen whose energies and abilities are directed not 
only to the accuninlatioii of individual wealth, but 
also to the development of the city's resources, the 
welfare of its citizens aii<l the furtlu'iancc of its 
interests. Among the latter class in the city of 



876 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Kalamazoo, prominent mention belongs to Mr. 
DeYoe, who has for many years been successfully 
ens^aged in the real-estate, loan, insurance, claims 
and collection business. 

Born at Waterloo, Seneca County, N. Y., Feb- 
ruary 2, 1835, oui subject is the son of William 
and Hetta (Clute) DeYoe. His father was born 
in Balston, Saratoga Count}-, N. Y., in 1796, of 
Huguenot ancestry, and his mother was born in 
Waterford, Saratoga County, the same State, in 
1799, being a descendant of good old Knicker- 
bocker ancestors. Grandfather (iradus Clute, in 
company witii Stephen Van Rensselaer, organized 
and conducted successfully the first bank in Albany, 
and was also an extensive landowner. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject, Israel 
DeYoe, resided for many 3'cars in Ulster County, 
N. Y., and was prominently connected with the 
Dutch Reformed Church. His wife, Ruth Hall, 
was born in Providence, R. I., and came of Pur- 
itan stock. It will thus be seen that the blood of 
worthy and patriotic ancestors flows in the veins 
of Edwin W. DeYoe, whose life has lieen such .as 
to reflect and add lustre on the honored name he 
bears and who inherits from his forefathers cjual- 
ities of thrift, perseverance and integrity. 

After attending the common schools of his 
native town, our subject entered Waterloo Aca- 
demy, where his education was still further ad- 
vanced. Upon starting out to earn his own living 
in 1849, he became salesman in a wholesale and re- 
tail confectionery est.ablisinnent, but in the follow- 
ing year he re-entered the academy, where he pur- 
sued his preparatory course for Hobert College, 
and two years later became a student in the Gen- 
eva Grammar School. In the spring of 1863, he 
followed the "Star of Empire" as far West as Kal- 
amazoo, arriving here June 1, and on the same 
day entered tiie United States service as Deputy- 
Postmaster under his lirother, AVilliam II., the 
Postmaster. 

I'pon his retirement from the ottice, April 1, 
1861, Mr. DeY'oe established himself in business 
as a general real-estate, claims, collecting and in- 
surance agent, in which he has become widely and 
honor.ably known. While giving to his business 
his close attention, he nevertheless takes consid- 



erable interest in public affairs and is a stanch ad- 
herent of the principles of the Democrat party. 
His fellow-citizens have called him to man \' offices 
and he has invariably served with efficiency and to 
the satisfaction of all. 

In 1861 and 1869, Mr. DeYoe was Township 
Clerk; in 1870, Village Clerk; in 1878, Trustee 
and Chairman of Committees on Finance and 
Claims; in 1883, President of the village; in 1885, 
INIayor of the city. This was a town of Repub- 
lican politics by a large majority, and he wiis the 
favorite nominee of his party-the Democratic- 
and though often beaten, defeat never diminished 
his popularity or hurt his feelings. He w.as de- 
feated for the Legislature, both for Representative 
and Senator, although he made a close run each 
time, fighting the political battle of the campaign 
against superhuman effort and odds, including 
barrels of money. "Ed," as he is familiarly 
called by his friends, is in constant demand in 
social circles and has joined all the secret orders 
except the Ku-klux and Sons of Malta. 

The marriage of Mr. DeYoe to Miss Harriet P. 
Freeman occurred at Grace Episcopal Church, 
Sandusky City, Ohio, .J.anuary 9, 1862. Mrs. 
DeYoe is the daughter of the late Kev. Dr. L. U, 
P'reeman, former rector of St. Luke 'sand St. John's 
Churches, Kalamazoo. Two children have been 
born of this union, a daughter, Lillian G., and a 
son, William M., the latter being a partner in bus- 
iness with his father. Mr. DeYoe is a thorough 
believer in the doctrine of the Apostolic Succession, 
is an active member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 
and was for about twenty years a Warden and 
Vestrym.an of the old St. John's Church, of Kal- 
amazoo. 



•^^ 



■^^ 



ONATHAN ELIJAH GOBLE, who is en- 
gaged in general farming and stock-raising 
on section 34, Decatur Township, is a rep- 
resentative of one of the honored pioneer 
f.amilies of Van Buren County. In fact, his grand- 
father, Elijah Goble, was the first wiiite m.an.asfar 
as is known, to set foot on Van Buren' Conntj- 
soil. He w.as born eight miles north of the city of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



877 



Cincinnati, in tlic year 1805, and wa-s of Holland 
linea;::*', his parents, natives of Holland, havini"' 
einiiiiated to this eoiuitrv in the last centni'V, locat- 
iiii; in ]\lciiristown, N. .1., from whence they rc- 
niuved to Ohio, in 1801. With their family, they 
removed to I'relile Connty, that Stale, in 1818, and 
two years later lieeanic residents of Franklin 
County. Ind., wlieie Elijah (Johle remained until 
Ills emitrratiun to the Territory of Mieliiyan in 
1828. Aeeompanied hy .lonathan (iolilc, he made 
a lour of inspeetion over the Slate. In the spring 
of I82'.t, he retuiiied and made a location on Lit- 
tle I'rairic Kondc. The entire county was then 
an iinliroken wilderness, hut the same year several 
oilier families moved to Ihis locality, and our pio- 
neer was not long left alone. In September, 1831, 
he married Kliza Tittle, who died several years ago. 
Mr. (Jolile ke|)t a hotel at Charleston for twenty 
years and did a good business, for Charleston was 
a slAi>e station during half of that period. He is 
still living, his home being in Lawrence Township, 
and many thrilling and interesting incidents can 
he relate of tiie pioneer days of ^'an lUiren County, 
wlien the Indians were far more numerous than 
the wliite settlers, and wild animals made it often 
unsafe to venture forth. 

Is.<iac (iobic, father of our subject. an<l a son of 
this honored pioneer, was born in Charleston, 
Cass County, Midi., and amid the wild scenes of 
frontier life was reared to manhood. When a 
young man, he eng.aged in teaching penmanship, 
but made farming his principal occupation through 
life. He married his cousin, KlizalK'th A. (ioble, 
who still survives him, and is residing in Decatur. 
His death occurred in 1861. 

Our subject was the only child born unto this 
worthy couple, lie Mist opened his eyes to the 
light of day on his father's farm, December 11, 
18.")li, anil in the usual manner of farmer lads, the 
ilays of his boyhood and youth were p.as.sed. He \ 
began iiis education in the common district school, 

iind ( ipleted it by his graduation from Shaws 

School, ill Decatur Township. Until twenty-eight 
years of age. he aided in the t)peration of his fath- 
er's farm and engaged in running a threshing 
niachiiii'. Ill' now owns a fine farm of eighty 
ai'ies. all ><( which is under a hiirh stale of cultiva- 



tion and highly improved, the well-tilled fields 
giving evidence of the supervision of a careful 
manager who tliorouglil\' understands his busines 
in .all its details. 

On Christmas Day of l.s.Sh, .Mr. (ioblelcd to the 
marriage alt;ir INliss (iladys Ziinmcrman, daughter 
of .lohii Zimmerman, and a native of Cass County, 
JNIich. She was born in 18G7, and after a short 
wedded life of about llirce months, died on the 
25th of March, 1889. Her remains were laid to 
rest in the cemetery at Charleston. Mr. (ioble is a 
wide-awake and industrious 3'ouiig farmer of good 
business ability, and is making his life a successful 
one. He has traveled considerably, especially in 
the West. This li.as had its part in making him the 
interesting companion and .agreeable conversation- 
alist that he is known to be. 



34.4. .3.4.'^^^ 4.4.4. f^p 



lEORGK RKESK. A life well spent and dii- 
£--, tics well performed deserve a serene and 
^^1 happy recess in the afternoon of life, |)re- 
paralory to the greater activity to begin in the 
other dawning. Our subject has retired from the 
active labor of life, having for years lieen a suc- 
cessful business man in K.alamazoo. He has a 
beautiful home at Ncf. 1:50 E. South Street, where 
he is enjoying to the full the results of his early 
economy and industry. 

The original of this sketch was Itiu'n in western 
Oneida County, N. Y., October 2.3, 1811, and is 
the son of John and Nancy (Wagner) Hce.se, na- 
tives of Montgomery County. N. V. 'I'lio nialcr- 
iial graiidfalher of our subject was a native of 
(Icrmany, as was also his paternal grandfather. 
George Reese remained in his native county until 
reaching Ins twentieth year, when he went to On- 
ond.aga County, and near Syracuse was employed 
on a farm for about three years. 

When twenty-three yeai-s of age, our subject and 
Miss Eve IJort were united in marriage. Mrs. 
Reese was a native of Montgomery County, and 
after marri.agc resided with her husband on a farm 
in Onondaga County which was her property. 
Tliev continued to make that their .abidiii^'-placc 
until 1851. when they came wc-i !■> K;il:iiii:i/o.i. 



878 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



where Mr. Reese engaged in the livery business. 
After being thus engaged for three years, he sold 
out and opened up a restaurant which he con- 
ducted for two years. lie later engaged to work 
in a livery stable by the month, and was so em- 
ployed two years, when he rented the barn and es- 
tablished a feed business. He suffered the loss 
of his barn Ijy fire two years later, losing all his 
earthly possessions. 

Mr. Reese entered into partnership with Albert 
Boardmau in the hack and 'bus business. Tiiey op- 
erated together for fifteen or sixteen years. At the 
end of that time, our subject purchased the interest 
of his partner and continued alone until INIarch, 
1890, when he sold the '-line" in which he had in- 
vested 16,500. Since then he has erected the 
Reese Terr.ace on Pitcher Street. It includes four de- 
partments, and cost 15,000. His residence is loca- 
ted at the corner of Pitcher and South Streets and 
is furnished throughout in a comfortable manner. 

Mrs. Reese died January 14, 1888. Their family 
consisted of Margaret, who married Albert Board- 
man and is now deceased; Nancy C. is living at home 
with her father. In politics, our subject is a Dem- 
ocrat, and has held the position of Alderman. He 
was one of a family of seven children, two broth- 
ers and two sisters of whom are living, but Mr. 
Reese is the only one who niakes his home in Kal- 
amazoo. Adam Reese, his brother, accompanied 
him on his removal to this place, but died a few 
years later. Mr. Reese is a well-preserved old 
gentleman and takes life easy, having a good 
income. 



'jl? EANDP:R SIMMONS, a farmer and stock- 
I (j^ raiser, residing on section 3, Pine Grove 
j|LA\ ^ Township, Van Buren County, is a son of 
Isaac and Mary (Beeman) Simmons, natives of 
New Jersey and Canada, respectively. The father 
removed to Canada when a young man, and was 
there married. In the fall of 1842, he came to Mich- 
igan and settled in Gun Plains Township, and, af- 
ter remaining there a short time, removed to Cooper 
Township, Kalamazoo County, and settled on one 



hundred and sixty-six acres of partly improved 
land. The father met his death in a tornado, April 
6, 1882, aged sixty-eight years. The good mother, 
at the age of seventy-seven years, still lives on the 
homestead, which is one of the finest farms in the 
county. Of her three children, two are now living. 
She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
in which her husband had served as Steward and 
•Class-leader. 

Our subject is tlic flrst-born of the family, hav- 
ing had his birth January 29, 1840, in Canada, com- 
ing to Michigan when an infant. He received a 
good district-school education, and remained at 
home until reaching his majoritj'. He has alwa^-s 
carried on farming, and in April 27, 1863, came to 
this county and located on his present farm. It 
was then a dense forest, and no roads opened to 
his place. He elected a little board shanty, and 
was a bachelor for several years. For six long 
weeks he never saw a human being. The woods 
were infested with wild animals of all kind, and 
Indians were plentiful. 

October 27, 1866, is the date on which Leander 
Simmons took as his life companion Miss Margaret 
Hazen, a daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Gilbert) 
H.azen, natives of New Jersey and Canada, respec- 
tively. The parents were married in the latter 
place, and lived there the remainder of their days, 
she dying in 1854, and he in 1857. They were the 
parents of ten children, six now living. Mrs. Sim- 
mons was born January 28, 1844, in Canada, and 
received a district-school education there. 

Mr. Simmons has three hundred and eight acres 
in this township, and sixty-four in Cooper Town- 
ship, Kalamazoo County. He has cleared one hun- 
dred and sixty, stumped, stoned and fenced it, and 
erected his handsome residence in 1887, at a cost 
of $3,200. The place is also adorned with sub 
stantial and neat outbuildings. He carries on 
mixed farming, and has interested himself in the 
raising of Spanish Merino sheep. He has some tine 
specimens now among his one hundred and seventj'- 
five head, and bears a good reputation for fine sheep. 
In horses he has some flne roadsters of the Wilkes 
and Noble families. The cattle arc of the Red- 
lioUed and Devonshire breeds. 

Our subject and his estimable wife have had 




K ^.^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAnUCAL RECORD. 



881 



horn to tlioni four eliildrcn: Elgy, Arlliiir, Elmer 
!iii(] JIary. The two okJcst ones arc .sludents at 
I'ai-sons' Business Collenfc at Kalamazoo. Tlie otli- 
ers are atteiidiiiij tlie district scliool liorc. !\Ir. 
Simmons lias been a member of the School IJoard 
nearly all the time he has lived here, and in poli- 
tics is a stanch Republican. lie has served as High- 
way C'onimis.sioiK'r and Townshij) School Ins[)ector. 
lie has been a candidate for Supervisor repeatedly, 
but as there was a Democratic majority in the 
township, he was never elected. The grandfather 
of Mrs. Simmons, Col. Isaac Gilbert, of the British 
army, who was stationed in Norfolk County, 
Canada, was connected with military affairs 
for over forty j"ears, and was one of the finest drill 
masters in the British army. He served in the 
War of 1812, and died at the age of sixty-two ^ears, 
leaving a widow and five children. The pater- 
nal grandfather, Beemcr Simmons, died at Lundy's 
Lane in the War of 1812. Our subject's father 
walked one day from 7 a. m. to i) i: m., a distance 
of seventy-live miles, by the (Queen's survey. Next 
day he was feeling .as well as ever. He w.as a very 
powerful man physicall}'. The maternal great- 
grandfather was William Gilbert, his wife being 
Mary (Rowland) (Gilbert, both natives of England, 
who emigr.ated to Nova Scotia, then Lower Canada, 
and their remains lie buried there. The grand- 
mother's people were from (iermany. 



!^^-^§ 



'lin)''^''*^^^^ A. OLNEY. For 



the following 
genealogy of the Olney family we arc in- 
debted to James II. Olney, of Providence, 
I\. I. From what li.as been gathered across 
the se.is, it appears that the name h.as a Saxon ori- 
gin. It was in existence very early in the ninth 
century, and was probably derived from the local 
surroundings of the place where the family lived. 
By others it is claimed that tlie first bearing the 
name was Rogerus, or Richard, DeOlne}', who came 
from Normandy with William the Conipieror, in 
UKKi. and after the conquest of England, with a 
number of otlicrs, became permanent occupants of 
the soil. The name appears in the Doomsday Book, 
which describes the aiiiiorlionuienl of land to the 



followers of the Conqueror. To some future anti- 
quarian is left the labor of deciding to a certainty 
the true origin, the family meanwhile being content 
to be descended from the sturdy stock of old 
England, whether it be Saxon, Norman, or both. 

The flret representative of the family in America 
was Thom.as Olney, who was born in Hertford, 
Hertfordshire, England, a city that formed [lart of 
the parish of St. Albans, the seat of one of the 
most ancient mon.asteries and long celebrated in 
P^nglish history as the center of spiritual influence. 
Of his earl^' life nothing is known. He received 
a iiermit to emigrate to New England, April 2, 
l()3r>, and came to Salem, jM.ass., in the ship 
'•Planter." He was appointed a surveyor in Janu- 
ary, 1636, and granted forty acres of land at Jef- 
ferey Creek, now known as Manchester, near Salem. 
During the same year, he was m,-ide a freeman and 
early .associated with those who .accepted the pecu- 
liar views of Roger Williams. With a number of 
others, he was excluded from the colony March 12, 
1G38. 

However, prior to that event, Mr. Olney, with 
others, visited Narr.agansett Bay, seeking some 
place where they might live outside the jurisdic- 
tion of the Massachusetts Colony and had decided 
upon the west side of the Seekonk river. Accord- 
ingly with eleven others, a new settlement was 
formed at the head of the bay, which they named 
Providence, in remembrance of their deliverance 
from their enemies. They thus became the thirteen 
original proprietors of Providence, having pur- 
ch.ascd their rights from the- Indians in July, 1639. 
His prominence in the colony is shown by the 
various duties he was called upon to perform. In 
1638, he was chosen the first Treasurer; in 1647, was 
made Commissioner to form a town government; 
the following year w.as appointed A.ssistant for 
Providence and held that office almost continuously 
until 1663. In IG.i.i, with Roger Williams and 
Tlioma-s Harris, he was chosen Judge of the Jus- 
tice's Court, and in the ensuing year was appointed 
to treat with Mass.achusett-s Bay about the Paw- 
tiixel lands. In 1663, his name appears among the 
grantees of the Hoyal Charter of Charles II, and 
in the same year he was chosen Assistant under tlie 
new charter. 



882 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



The next in order was Epenetns, who was born 
in England in 1G34, and was, probably less than 
one year old when brouglit to this country, lie 
married Mary, daughter of John Wiili)i)lc, March 
1), 1666, and died June 3, 1698. Though not so 
prumiucnt in public matters as his older brother, 
yet we find him an active member of tlie little 
colony, taking an active part in the administration 
of its affairs, and serving as a member of the Col- 
onial Assembly and of the Town Council. 

John, the next in line of descent, was bora in 
1678, and married Rachel Coggeshall, August 11, 
1699. His home was in Smilhfield, R.I., where he 
died November 9, 1754. Following John, was Ne- 
dcbiah, born February 10, 1714. He married Nan- 
cy or Marcy Davis, and moved to New York 
State about 1760 or 1762. Of his children but little 
has been learned, although it appears there was a 
large family. 

The next in order was Nedebiah, who was born 
about 1746, married Susan IJrown, and died in 
1829. "With his father, he went to New York State 
as early as 1762 or 1763. With forty others, he 
was captured bj' the Indians, carried to the border 
of the Ohio River, and subjected to every torture 
from their inhuman captors, such as running the 
gauntlet, etc. From their sufferings all perished, ex- 
cept young Olney and one other, and they were 
adopted by the Chief's wife. After several years' 
cai)tivity, they made their escape and found their 
way back through the wilderness to their homes. 
While among the Indians, Nedebiah Olne^' acquired 
what was then called the "black art" and in after 
years he occasionally gave specimens Cf the science, 
to the great wonder and amusement of his friends. 

The lineage is traced next to Davis, who was 
born December 7, 1777, and married Olive Rowe, 
December 31, 1806. His home was in New York 
State, and he died October 14, 1868. Following 
him is the subject of this sketch, Burrill A., who 
was born February 18, 1812, married Elvira Ely, 
August 2, 1827, and died August 26, 1888. He 
resided iu Hartford, Mich., and vras extensively 
engaged in the lumber trade, from which he ac- 
quired an ample fortune. He was liorn in the 
Township of Rutland, Jefferson County, N. Y., and 
made his home with his parents during his youth. 



By working out and saving what he earned, at the 
age of twent^'-four, he had bought and paid for 
three hundred and twenty acres of land on section 
33, in the township of Hartford, this Stale, at the 
Government price of ^1.25 [ler acre. 

At that time there was no township of Hartford, 
the territory of Keeler and Hartford not having 
been divided and all being known as Keeler. Wlieii 
the division was made, the naming of the new town- 
ship was left to one Ferdino Olds, who called it 
Hartland, but that name was rejected on account 
of another township of the same name in the 
State. As a compromise, Mr. Olney gave tiie 
township the present name of Hartford. He had 
trusted the locating of his land to others and did 
not know the nature of the property until he came 
West to investigate it. He arrived March 14, 1837, 
in company with James vSpinnings and Thomas 
Conklin, but fortune seemed inclined his w.aj', when 
he found his land in the midst of a dense wilder- 
ness, and it proved to be three hundred and twenty 
acres of Southern i\Iichigan"s best soil. 

With the assistance of Mr. Spinnings, our sub- 
ject built a log shanty, chopped, cleared and 
planted with corn and potatoes six acres, by June 
1. He returned to the Empire State in the month 
of June and remained until his marriage iu August, 
when he brought his bride to their future home, 
arriving in September. The first j^ear they lived 
in a log shanty covered with a bark roof, doing 
the cooking witliout a stove and enduring all the 
hardships of pioneer life. Their finances had 
been depleted by their Westward journey, until 
Mr. Olney had only $1.25 and his wife about 17, 
which, with a little credit, secured the first cow. 
The farming was done by hand labor until 1838, 
when a pair of oxen was purchased. 

During much of the first summer here, Mr. Olney, 
with Mr. Spinnings, worked out in Little Prairie 
Ronde, twenty miles distant, leaving Mrs. Olney 
alone in the little cabin in the woods, and to her 
bravery, economy and enterprise, much of tiieir 
success was due. At night wolves would howl 
about the house and during the day numerous 
Indians, of the Pottawatomie trilte, would come to 
the windows and look in, but tliey were friendly 
and were never known to commit any depreda- 



PORTRAIT AMD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



883 



lions. It required the efforts of men and women 
of no small energy to go into such a country anil 
liravc the i)rivations of pioneer life. 

Mr. and Mrs. Olney became the parents of five 
ehildri'ii, namely: Davis, who resides at Luding- 
ton, Mich.; Luman I)., wiio died at the age of 
twenty years; Lodema O., wife of D. W. Gooden- 
ougli, of Ludington; Horace M., of whom mention 
is made below; and Isidore, who died at the age 
of three years. Mr. Olney lived on his farm until 
1862, and at that time had accumulated a hand- 
some property. He was the first Township Clerk 
of Hartford, served .as Supervisor, and Justice of 
the I'e.aee for many j'ears in succession. His coun- 
sel was sought by his neighbors and his sound 
judgincnt on all (picstions wa.s remarkable. Up to 
lH{!2,his whole energy had lieen exerted in chang- 
ing his land from a wilderness into a productive 
farm. I n the spring of that j'ear, he removed with 
his family to Watervliet, Mich., engaging there in 
the lumbering and milling business, in company 
with I. N. Swain and G. !M. Kisher, of Detroit, 
under the firm name of Swain, Olney Si Fisher. 

Two years thereafter, the firm was succeeded b3' 
Swain. Olney t^- Co., Mr. Fisher retiring and George 
Parsons and W. M. IJaldwin entering the new firm. 
Mr. Olney stdl superintended operations on his old 
farm, as well as several others which he had ac- 
(piired, in addition to which he wa.s interested in 
an extensive mercantile business and superintended 
the manufacture of lumber and flour. In later 
years, he wiis extensively engaged in the purch.asc 
of grain, wool and live stock. He made Water- 
vliet his home until 18H.5, when he removed to 
Chicag(j and there made a large purchase of real 
estate. A short time prior to his decease, he again 
touk up his residence at the old farm and thence 
cpiietly passed to the world beyond in 1888, his 
wife liaving prccede<l him five years. 

In the truest sense of the term, Mr. Olney wjts a 
self-made man. lie possessed great physical energy 
and business ability, had the faculty of making 
friends and a lasting impression u|)on those whom 
he met. As may be judged from the accfunpany- 
ing portrait, he was of a fine pci-soual appearance. 
He was scrupulously upright in his dealings, and 
one of his common savings was that "he could tell 



his money from others as quick as he saw it." It 
is told of him that while in San Francisco, Cal., one 
morning as he was taking a stroll along one of 
the princii)al streets, a tram|)came along and asked 
him for a quarter to get breakfast. Jlr. Olne^' re- 
plied, "Go right back on the other side of the 
street and work there. I am working this side 
myself. ' ' 

In politics, 15. A. Olney was a Democrat, and he 
had great sympathy for the Indian and colored 
man, one of his last politic:il utterances being, 
"The Indians are nearly all gone; the colored man 
will be the next. This is the white man's country." 
In all legislation, he believed that the interests of 
the masses, and not the few, should be protected, 
and he often said that "the rich man is getting too 
rich and the poor man too poor." As to foreign 
emigration, he expressed it as his opinion that 
"this country has been a free country too long 
already." 

Mr. and Mrs. Olney's last resting place with that 
of their two children is in Keeler Cemetery, where a 
granite monument of elegant design marks their 
last resting place. The names of Hurrill and Klvira 
Olney will be as lasting in the memory of the in- 
habitants of Southwestern Michigan as the monu- 
ment that marks their graves. 

Horace M. Olney, the son of our subject, resides 
in the village of Hartford, where he has been en- 
gaged in various business enterprises for the last 
twenty-four years. In company with his brother- 
in-law, D. AV. Goodenough, in 18(18, he entered the 
mercantile business, and continued in that partner- 
ship for two years. Then, in connection with G. 
W. .Smiley, he built si.x miles of the Chicago it 
West Michigan Railroad, between Bangor and 
Hartford. In 1871, he embarked in the drug busi- 
ness at Hartford and after lieing thus occupied for 
seven years, took up his present line of business, 
under the firm name of Olds, Olney it Co., with 
headquartei-s at Hartford, engaging in buying and 
shipping grain, seeds and wool. He also carried 
on a large business at Bangor, Watervliet and Paw 
Paw. 'Mr. Olds retired from the firm in 1884, 
after which the business w.as conducted under the 
firm name of B. A. Olney it Son, the father lieing 
a silent partner for two yeare. 



884 



POUTEAIT AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



In 1889, Mr. Olney associated with him Edward 
Einley, under the present title of II. M. Oluey ife 
Co. He has worlied up a (ine trade in Hartford, 
and liis integrity is shown by the fact that he has 
shipped more tiian sixty thousand busliels of wl:eat 
on orders simply for the wheat, leaving f.ie price 
to be fixed by him, and the first complaint has yet 
to be made of an overcharge. He lias filled vil- 
lage, township and county offices with ability and 
credit. While Superintendent of the Poor of Van 
Burcn County, he originated the first set of blanks 
ever used b}' the Board, which greatly simiilifled 
the business, and have since been ado[)ted through- 
out tire State. Politically, he is a Democrat. 

January 3, 1867, Mr. Olney was married to Miss 
Chloe A. Landon, of Hartford, the daughter of 
Daniel and Polly (Curtis) Landon, formerly of 
Niagara, N. Y. Mrs. Olney is a refined, cultured 
lady and by her many graces and kindness of heart 
has endeared herself to her large circle of friends. 
She especially delights in deeds of charity to the 
needy and many a heart has been ligiiteiied by her 
timely aid and counsel. 






-2?5i£5ra$;.g-^ 



^^ii-^-i^i 



S^i£20_ 



sy'^so' 



LVIN P. HOLMES, a resident farmer of 
I^/lJII section 36, Almena Township, Van Buren 
(/ li County, is the sou of Rezin and iMerinda 
(Taj'lor) Holmes, natives of Pennsylvania 
and Connecticut, respectively. The grandfather, 
William, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, 
and the grandfather on the mother's side was a 
native of Scotland and also a Revolutionary hero. 
He was in the British arm^-, l)ut desei-ted and 
joined the American lines. The i)arents of our 
subject were married in Ohio, where they resided 
until coming to Michigan in 1830, locating in 
Kalamazoo County. In 1836, they came to Van 
Buren County and located on section 1, Antwerp 
Township, which was little less than a howling wil- 
derness, with plenty of Indians, wolves, deer, bears 
and i)antliers. Pie settled upon one hundred and 
sevent3--five acres of Government land and our 
subject now lias the original deed, signed l\y Presi- 
dent Van Buren. He erected a siianty of boards, 
in which he lived for a short time, and then erected 



a frame house which was the first in the township. 
There is one of the most lieautiful springs on this 
farm that can be found in Michigan, it giving 
forth mineral water. The father resided on that 
farm for thirty years and died in August, 1868, 
his good wife passing away in 1857. They were 
the worthy parents of six children, two only now 
living. Two of their sons grew to maturity and 
both served in the Civil War. The father and 
mother were members of the Methodist Episcoi)al 
Church, the father being Steward and Class-leader. 
I n his politics he was first a Whig, and later a stanch 
Republican. He served his fellow-citizens as Jus- 
tice of the Peace sixteen years and was also lligii- 
way Commissioner and was a very prominent man 
here. He was a member of the first jury that con- 
vened in Kalamazoo County. 

Our subject was born August 2, 1828, in Fair- 
field County, Ohio, and was an infant when 
brought to Michigan. He grew to manhood on 
the old homestead among the Indian children. 
His education was obtained in the little "white 
schoolhouse" in this district. When seventeen 
years of age, he began an apprenticeship to a wag- 
on-maker and followed that business until the 
breaking out of the Civil War. 

Alvin Holmes enlisted, October 5, 1861, in Com- 
pany II, Thirteenth Michigan Infantry and was a 
Sergeant in ills company. He took part in the 
following named battles: Shiloh, Farmington. 
Owl Creek, Corinth, Mumfordsville, Perryville, 
Danville, Gallatin, Stewart's Creek, Stone River, 
Eagleville, Pelham, Lookout Valley, Mission 
Ridge, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Lookout Moun- 
tain, Florence, Savannah, Catawba River, Averys- 
boro and Benton ville. He took part in Sherman's 
March to the sea. At Bentonville he was wounded 
in the left knee by a rifle ball and was in the hos- 
pital at New Berne, and gangrene setting in, lie was 
sent to Detroit and honorably discharged from tiie 
Harper Hospital July 2!J, 1865, after a service of 
three years and nine months, during which he was 
continually on duty with his regiment. 

Mr. Holmes, after his discharge, returned to liis 
home in Van Buren County, and on April 19, 
1866, was married to Miss Cordelia E. Earl, a 
daughter of Jesse and Mary (Clapp) Earl, both 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



885 



iiiitives of New York, wliocnme to iMicIiiifan before 
their murrmge in 1832, and with tiieir parents set- 
tled in Kalamazoo County. Tiic fatliei- was a 
miller and farmer by trade and resides on a farm 
in tliat county where he has lived for lifty-three 
years. His wife died in ISHS and was the 
mother of live children. Mrs. Holmes w.as born 
Ausiust 1, 1810, on the homestead in Kalamazoo 
County and has been a student at U\g\\ School and 
the Seminary at Kalamazoo. She h.as taii<;ht three 
years. Mr. Holmes has cleared off and improved 
his farm splendidly. The wife is a member of the 
Conijretratinnal Church .at Mattawan. During the 
Civil War, she was an active worker of the Sanitary- 
Commission, and was Secretarj'of Comstock, Kala- 
mazoo County, and forwarded the supplies to the 
front. She served during the existence of the so- 
ciety which was three years. Mr. Holmes is a 
member of the G. A. R. Post at Mattawan, and 
he and his wife are both connected with the lo- 
cal (i range. He is Lecturer and she is Chaplain. 
In his political views, he is Re]iublican and is 
atpre.sent on the School Board, also serving as the 
ellicient. Justice of the Peace of this township. He 
has always been a temperate man in his habits and 
he and his wife arc well-known and respected 
people. 

V 




T.PKRT \V. EARL, Postmaster at South 
Haven, has been a resident of this place 
> since 1866. He is a native of Allegan 
Countj'', his birth occurring Jul}- 22, 1843. 
His parents were Henry and Lovina (Weed) Earl, 
natives resiiectively of (ienesee County, N. V.,and 
Mt. Eaton, Wayne County, Oliio. The parents 
were married after coming to Allegan County, 
this State. 

Henry Earl, the great-grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was a soldier on an English man-of-war, and 
was born in England. The grandfather, lUMuy 
Earl, w.as born in New York City, and fought in 
the War of 1812. In 1810, lie came to Allegan 
County from New York, and. locating upon a 
tract of unimproved land, at once set about its 
cultivation. Our -iubject's father was also a 



farmer and died in Van Huren County, August 31, 
1881, when sixty -seven years of age. His good 
wife survived him until April, 1886, when she, 
too, passed away. 

The parental family of .Mlxrl W. Earl included 
nine children, seven of whoin lived to reach ma- 
ture _years, and of whom we make the following 
mention: Mary E. is now Mrs. Hall, of Cass 
County, this State; Albert W. was the second 
child; Nathaniel E. died in .Inly. IH'.II, at his 
home in Grand Rapids, where he w.as a prominent 
lawyer; Henry was a teacher in .South Haven and 
died in 1875; Bertha is now Mrs. Westgate, also 
of .South Haven; Hattie is Mrs. Jlarsh and re- 
sides in Peoria, III.; Charles is a farmer in Lin- 
coln County, Kan. 

Albert W. Earl was reared on his father's farm, 
and was six years of age when his parents came 
to Arlington Township, A' an Buren County'. In 
1861, our subject enlisted in Company K, Thir- 
teenth Michigan Infantry, an<l with liis regiment 
participated in the following-named battles: Cor- 
inth, Miss.; Stevenson, Ala.; Perryville, Ky.; Stony 
River, Chickamauga, and was with Sherman on 
his memorable march to the sea, participating 
in all the engagements. He went thence to W.ash- 
ington, D. C, and witnessed the Grand Review. 
August .5, 186,5, he was mustered out at Louis- 
vdle with the rank of .Sergeant. 

After peace was declared, our subject returned 
to his home in Van Buren County and aided his 
father in clearing his farm in South Haven Town- 
ship. Miss Eliza Conrad became the wife of Mr. 
Earl December 13, 1869. Mrs. Earl was the 
daughter of Adam and Hannah Conrad. She was 
born near Phd-nix, N. Y., and came with her 
f.amily to Michigan in 1850. Our sul)ject con- 
tinued on the farm until 1887, when he came to 
South Haven. In December, 1889, he received 
the appointment of Postma.stcr under President 
Harrison. 

Mr. and Mrs. i^arl have become the parents of 
six children: Mabel, Mary, Daniel. .lohn. Nellie 
and Benjamin II.; all remain with their parents. 
In politics, Mr. Earl is a true-blue Republican, 
casting his lirst vote for Abraham Lincoln when 
in Kinnfston, Ga.. in 1864. He ha-^ l«"<ii much in- 



886 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



teresteil in polities, and has re presenter! his party 
as delegate to county conventions. He is pronii- 
nentl}' connected witli tlie Grand Army of the 
Republic, and is a member of the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen. He is liberal in his religious 
views, and gives liberally to the support of all 
gof'd works. 



"\f?AME.S HENRY KINNANE, Attorney at 
Law in Kalamazoo, was born in Kalamazoo 
Township, Februar}' 18, 1858, and is the 
son of Patrick and JNIarj' (Sullivan) Kin- 
nane, natives of Count}' Clare, Ireland. He was 
tlie eldest in a family of nine children, eight of 
whom arc now living, and was reared on the farm 
where his parents made settlement in 1855, and 
which is still their home. 

At the age of twenty, Mr. Kinnane commenced 
to teach in a district school and afterward attended 
Kalamazoo High School, graduating with the Class 
of '81. After spending one 3-ear in Kalamazoo 
College and teaching one term, he entered the law 
department of the State University at Ann Arbor 
and graduated in 1884. In the literary work 
there, he took a conspicuous part, being Society 
President one term, and also representing his 
society in the inter-society oratorical contest. 

In 1883, Mr. Kinnane was admitted to the bar 
of Washtenaw County and passed the summer of 
that year in the ofHce of Thomas R. Sherwood, the 
Supreme Judge. After graduating in 1884, he 
immediatcl}- opened an odice at Kalamazoo for 
practice and continued alone until 1888, when he 
formed a partnership with Dorr O. French, under 
the firm name of Kinnane A' French. In the fall 
of 1884, he was candidate for prosecuting attornej- 
on the Democratic ticket, but suffered defeat, ow- 
ing to the large Repulilican majoritj-. The Citv 
Council, in April, 1881), appointed him Cit^' Attor- 
ney, which ottice he filled two years in a very satis- 
factory way. 

For four years Mr. Kinnane was attorney for the 
Michigan Board of I'harmacj' as prosecutor and 
conducted in a skillful manner the prosecution 
throughout tiie State of the violation of the phar- 



macy law. He practices in all the courts of the 
States and is recognized as one of the foremost 
members of his profession. From 1886 until 1890, 
he was Chairman of the Democratic County Com- 
mittee, and has been on the stump during each 
Congressional campaign. 

Septeinlier 1, 1887, Mr. Kinnane was married to 
Miss Hattie Blane}-, of Kalamazoo, the ceremony 
being performed by Bishop Borgess, of the Cath- 
olic Church. They have one child, Charles J., who 
was born in 1889. Mr. Kinnane is a brilliant 
young attorney, and one whose opinions are not 
hastilv formed, l)ut after due consideration and 
careful investigation. His mind is characteris- 
tically a legal one. and he brings to bear upon le- 
gal discussions a fund of general information. He 
is an able advocate and is rapidly' taking front 
rank as a trial lawyer. Coming from the ranks of 
the farm, liis native talent urged him on to a higlier 
ambition and no man possesses to a greater degree 
tlie confidence and esteem of his former friends 
and childhood associates. 

The ability' of Mr. Kinnane was early recognized 
by Judge Sherwood, whose counsel and assistance 
were freely given to assist the rising young attor- 
ney. His Democracy is inherited and has since 
been confirmed b}' independent research and com- 
parison. His knowledge of constitutional history 
and law is profound and he possesses to a remark- 
able degree the power of independent reasoning 
from the fundamental law principles. Anj' case 
placed in his hands will not fail for lack of re- 
search or able support of its advocate. 

A man of broad principle, Mr. Kinnane uses ev- 
eiy honorable means to cany his point, but his 
exalted scruples will not allow him to stoop to the 
petty tricks of the unscrupulous lawyer whose 
only thought is to win. He is a fearless advocate, 
and in making his plea before Judge and Juiy, is 
animated hy his subject, and his eloquence Ijccomes 
the beacon light that indicates the jilain way 
through the lab3'rinth of error or the sophistry of 
opponents. As Chairman of the County Demo- 
cratic Committee, he served his party faithfully 
and enthusiastically, and much of the success of 
his party has been owing to his brilliant leadership 
and able counsel. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



887 



11^ U. XATHANIKL I). THOMAS, who is cx- 
I Jl) teiisively ongaLfed in f.irTniiiii- niul daiiy- 
(^^^ ingon section 36, Decatur Township, Van 
Bnrcn County, was horn, March T), 182C, 
in I.oiran County, Oliio, an<1 is the eldest of eight 
cliihlren horn unto Abel and Rehecca Thom.is. 
His fatlier wa.s i)orn in North Carolina in 1803, 
and was a son of Natlianiel Thomas, also horn in 
that State. The latter was a prominent tjuaker, a 
seriovis, soher-iiiinded man, and a preacher in 
the church (»f his i-hoice. lie married l)()rcas llar- 
ri>,aiid unto them were liorii seven children. 'I'liey 
removed to Ohio when iVhel was two years old. 
There he acquired an education and learned the 
caliinel-m.ikcr's trade, whi<h he followed for a few 
years. Rcniovinj; to Logan County, Ohio, he there 
engaged in farming for ahout six ye.irs. when he 
eiiihaiked in merchandising in East Lilterty, being 
thus employed for <'ight years, when he went to 
L'uion County, lie there operated a gristmill on 



.\s a public speaker. Mr. Kinnane stands pre-em- 
inent, lie has a pleasing address, is self-contained, 
and no matter how rigorous his .assailant, he nevei- 
loses his self-control, and his arguments, l)cing 
Iwscd upon the experience of years, are ever given 
with an energy and enthusi.asm that bring con- 
viction. His happiest efforts are when surrounded 
by friends on t)cca.sions of social lian(iuets, when 
after-dinner speeches are in order. His extempo- 
raneous remarks on those occasions arc models of 
elegance and diction. His mind is given full scope to 
draw ujton its fund of humor and pathos, eithei- of 
which he handles with dexterity. 

.Mr. Kinnane is the hainn- possessor of a m.agnif- 
icent physi(iuc, not unlike the great Donnelly, in 
common with whom he has many other points of 
resemblance, such as a poetical temperament, a 
remarkable command of lucid langu.age and a 
vigorous and forcible manner of expressing his 
well-matured thoughts. His love of truth and 
canilor arc no less, and he devotes his whole soul 
to his princii)les with no less vigor llian ehaiac- 
tcrizes Ignatius Donnelly. 



the bank of ^lill Creek for six years, after which 
we lind liiui residing in Plain City, while as a con- 
tractor he was eng.aged in the building of the Pan- 
llandle Railroad through that .section of country. 
On his removal to Columbus. Ohio, he retired from 
business. His death occuniMl in that city, March 
20. 1888, and his wife died in I'nion County, Ohio, 
in 1818. Mr. Thom.as w.as a Whig in early life, and 
afterward became a Republican and served as Jus- 
tice of the Peace for many years. His affalile. 
cordial manner made him quite |)opularand he liad 
many friends who esteemed him highly for his 
strict integrity and sterling worth. 

After his parents left Kast Lilierty, our subject 
engaged in teaching, which profes.sion he followed 
for twelve winter seasons, and also attended college. 
For two terms, he was a student in Ohio Central 
College and for two years pursued his studies in 
the Ohio Wesleyan rnivcrsity. Wishing to make 
the practice of medicine his lifework. he began 
aopiainting himself with that profession in the 
otlice of his uncle. Dr. M. N. Tlioiiuus. of .School- 
craft, Mich., and after studying three years at- 
tended Starling Medical College, of Cohimlms, 
Ohio, for one year. On his return to .Michigan, he 
began the practice of his (irofession in Klowerlield. 
St. Joseph County, where he remained for three 
years, and during that time w.as married, on the 
•24th of October, 18.50, to Marcia Smith, daughter 
of James .Smith, a prominent merchant of School- 
craft, Mich. 

On leaving Flowerfield, Dr. Thomas removed to 
Little Prairie Ronde,where he entere<l upon practice, 
continuing the profession at that i)l.ace until 187!t, 
when he purchased his i)resenl farm, and has since 
devoted his energies to agricultur.al |iui-suils. He 
own a line farm of four liundred and twelve acres, 
three hundred of which arc under cultivation, an<l 
he means to bring it up to a higher state of devel- 
opment by the use of fertilizers. He is also exten- 
sively engaged in the dairy business and feeds his 
stock with ensilage food. He sujiplies butter to a 
numlicr of private families in Chicago, and the in 
come which he derives from the dairy is not a little. 
The Doctor pf>ssesscs industry, perseverance and 
an enterprising spirit, characteristics which are es- 
sential to success ill any line iif traile. 



888 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



The family of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas numbers five 
children: Marcus S., a resident of Volinia, Cass 
Count}', and a graduate of the State Agricultural 
College; .Jessie, a graduate of the State Normal, now 
engaged in teaching in the public scliools of Grand 
Rapids; Willard L., .also a graduate of the State 
Agricultural College; Isabella S., a graduate of the 
State Normal, who is also a teacher of Grand 
Rapids, and May, at home. 

In his political affiliations, the Doctor is a Re- 
puliiican, and though he feels an interest in politics, 
as every true American citizen should do, has 
never sought or desired public office. The family 
has a pleasant home which w.as erected by our sub- 
ject and is the abode of hospitality. The members 
of the household rank high in social circles and 
are widely and favorably known tlirougliout the 
community. 



•^^E 



LH' 



m 




TIMOTHY COOLEY, who is a well-known 
farmer in Bloomingdale Township, Van 
Bnren County, is a self-made man, who is de- 
serving of all the good things of life which he now 
enjoys, and also of the high esteem in which he 
is held by his fellow-citizens. He was born in Weth- 
ersfield, Wyoming County, N. Y., November 14, 
1823. His father, Chester Cooley, was the son of 
Timoth}- Cooley, who was the fifth generation 
from Scottish ancestr}-. Timothy Cooley married 
Rebecca Smith, and they were the parents of four 
sons and three daughters. 

Chester Cooley was born in Berkshire, Mass., 
removing to Wyoming County, N. Y., at an early 
day. He was a wagonmakei' by trade and served 
in the War of 1812. He removed in 1828, to 
Portage County, Ohio; from there to Eaton, Lorain 
County, and about 1850, came to Michigan. He 
was born March 29, 1790, and died in Cheshire, 
Allegan Count}', this State, December 24, 1857. He 
was a Democrat and a member of the Christian 
Church. 

Born in Bridgewater, Mass., January 31, 1797, 
the mother of our subject was known in maiden- 
hood as Azubah Johnson. She traces her geneal- 



ogy as follows: Polly .Johnson, her mother, was 
the daughter of Thomas Johnson, and through 
him the ancestr}- is traced back to Major Isaac, 
Capt. David and Isaac, the latter a Captain, Rep- 
resentative, and magistrate, who came to Bridge- 
water in 1700. On the paternal side, the mother 
of our subject is descended from this same Isaac 
Johnson, grandson of John Alden of historic fame, 
whose estates passed into the possession of the 
Johnson family. 

The union of Chester Cooley and Azubah John- 
son, which was celebrated in 1812, brought to them 
ten children, nine of whom were reared to man- 
hood and womanhood, as follows: Chester, Rebecca, 
Harrison, Latlirope, Timoth}'; George, who was a 
soldier in the late war; Egbert, Mary and Maria. 
The mother of these children, who was also a mem- 
ber of the Christian Church, died in Bloomingdale, 
June 8, 1869. 

The subject of this sketch was reared upon a 
farm, and from eight years of age has earned his 
own living. His educational advantages were ex- 
ceedingly limited, as, when thirteen years, old he 
was bound out and worked until twenty-one years 
old for -f 100 in money and 150 in stock. During 
this time he bought three months of his time so 
that he might attend school. He was married 
when twenty-three years old, and since that time 
has been engaged in farming. He came from 
Lorain County, Ohio, to Bloomingdale, in Febru- 
ary, 1863, and purchased eighty acres of land, 
where he now resides and which he has mostly 
cleared himself. He now owns forty-two acres, on 
which he has one of the most delightful homes in 
the vicinity. A view of this place is shown else- 
where in this volume. 

Mr. Cooley was married, January 21, 1846, to 
Margaret A. Stone, who was born in New York, 
and is a daughter of Daniel and Polly (Bailey) 
Stone. Two children were born of this marriage, 
Hattie A. and George L., the latter dying October 
3, 1865. Mrs. Cooley departed this life July 3, 
1873. She was an excellent woman, and had been 
a consistent member of the Christian Church from 
her fifteenth year. The second wife of our subject, 
whose maiden name was Eliza H. Ward, was born 
in Sweden Township, Monroe County, N. Y., and 




RESIDENCE OF G. G. BON D , 5EC.1., BRADY TP, KALAMAZOO CO., MICH. 




EVERGREEN HILL'.' RL5ii_;lUCE OF TIMOTHY COOLEY , BLOOMINGDALL, VAN BURt i, Co .M .UH. 




RESIDENCE or HORACE COYKEN GALL, 5EC. 29.,ALAM0 TR, KALAMAZOO CO.,MICH, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



891 



is tllC llilUijIlllM' of .Idllll Mild Ill'tsi'V (Sl(lIH') \V!U<1. 

natives of Madison and Monroe Counties, N. V., 
respeetively. Her father was a son of William 
Ward, a soldier in the War of IKTi, and followed 
the oeenpation of a farmer. Mr. Cooley is a mem- 
ber of the Christian Chiireh and his wife of the 
Baptist Church. Thej' are honored and respected 
citizens, and foremost in all ijood works. 



\f^^ GRACE CGYKENDALL, who is one of the 
jjl well-to-do farmers of Kalamazoo Connty, 

\^^ is residing on section 29, Alamo Township. 

(^J) He was born in Springwater, Livingston 
Count3% N. Y., .Tune 1, 1848, and is the son of 
Daniel C. CoykendalI,also a native of the Empire 
.State, who came to Michigan in 1856 and located 
in .Jackson County. He w.as a farmer by occupa- 
tion and died in IHfiO. when in his forty-fourth 
yc.^r. 

The maiden name of our subject's mother w.as 
Louisa Strowl)ridge. She was born in New York 
and died in 1874, after having become the mother 
of nine children, six of whom are living. Gur 
suiiject w.os given a very limited education, for 
during three years of liis early life he w.as crippled 
and w.as thus prevented from walking to school. 
He started out to make his own way in the world 
when fifteen years of age and received ^'i per 
month for his first year's wages. He was in the 
employ of one man for live years and when reach- 
ing his majority had saved a sudicient sum to en- 
able him to purchase a farm. His first property 
was located in .Jackson County, just six miles ca.st 
of .laekson. 

In ISG;), Horace Coykendall sold his farm in the 
above-named county and two years later came to 
Kalamazoo County where he purchased eighty 
acres on section 2!l, Alamo Towushi]). Twentj' 
acres of that tr.nct iiad been (jartially impnjved but 
dill not boast of either house, barn or fence. He 
has since added to his estate until he now has two 
hundred and fort}- .acres, and the splendid barn 
which he has erected thereon is one of the linest in 
41 



the township. 'I'lie farm is under tin' very best 
eultivation and one of which its owner may well 
be proud. .Miss Laura Putnam, a native of .lack- 
son County, this State, was married to our subject 
May 2ii, 180:?. One daughter h.as been lK)rn to 
them — Ettie, who is the wife of Foster Deal and 
has three children, viz: Linn.Koli H. and ArlieL. 

Mr. Coykendall keei)s a good grade of stock on 
his farm, raising Short-horn cattle and line-wool 
slieep. He started out in life with nothing more 
than his strong and willing hands and a determin- 
ation to succeed, and now ranks among the pro- 
gressive and thrift}- farmers of Alamo Township. 
In politics, he is a Republican. 

In this connection will be noticed a view of the 
attractive residence of Mr. Coykendall. and its 
pleasant rural environments. 



■€^ 



//^ EGRGE G. BOND, a farmer and st(Kk- 
'|[ _-, raiser, owning one of the best equipped 
^^^j farms in IJrady Township, finely located on 
section 1, is a native-born citizen of Kalamazoo 
County, and is distinguished as l)eing one of the 
heroes that represented his .State at the front dur- 
ing the trying tiuies of the War of the Rebellion. 
He was born March 15, 1843, and is a son of Amos 
Bond, who w!»s a pioneer of Hrad}- Township. and 
one of its leading citizens during his life. 

The father was born in Vernu)nt, in 17'.><). lie 
came to .Michigan in the '30s, and wiisan early set- 
tler of Oakland County, where he lived until 
1840. He then came to this county with a team, 
and pre-cm|»ted the southwest (piarterof section 1, 
Brady Township, which is now occupied Iiy his 
son of whom we write. It was a part of the 
Pottawatomie reservation, and was in its natural 
condition. He built a log house, and, in the 
yeai-s that ftdlowed, cleared fort}- .acres of the 
lanil, and put it under excellent cultivation. He 
died Novemlmr 21. 1851, and his fellow-citizens 
deplored the loss of one who w.os an active factor 
in the great work of redeeming the country from 
a wilderness, and one to whom they l(M)kcd for ad- 
vice or assistance if thev were in doubt or trouble. 



i 



892 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



He was a hard worker, and was a very strong' man, 
of commanding stature, six feet and one incli in 
heiglit. 

As a soldier of the War of 1S12, Amos Bond 
made an honorable record, serving throughout the 
entire contest between the United States and Eng- 
land as a member of the Twenty-sixth New York 
Cavalry. He took an active jiart in politics, and 
was a firm Democrat. While a resident of Oakland 
County, he was Sheriff, and after his removal here, 
he was Postmaster of Brad}' Township. lie was a 
charter member of the first Masonic lodge in the 
count3% which was established at Schoolcraft. His 
wife survived him until 18.59, and then died atthe 
age of forty-eight years. They had been married 
in 1811, at Galesburgh, this county, and she bore 
him two children: Anna (Mrs. Canavan), and our 
subject. Mrs. r>ond was boiii in Greencastle, Pa., 
February 1, 181 1, iier maiden name being Nancy A. 
Gossard. She was lirst married in Pennsylvania, 
to William Downej', by whom slie had five chil- 
dren: Rachel, Robert, William, John and JMar3'. 
She and her first liusljand came to Michigan in 
1837, where he died three years later. 

Born on the farm which is still his home, our 
subject grew up here under the invigorating in- 
fluences of the pioneer life that prevailed when he 
w.as a boy. He went to school in a primitive log 
house, that was furnished witli slab benches, sup- 
ported by piu legs, the tloor being made of pun- 
cheon; it was heated bj' the first stove used in 
the county. The school was conducted under the 
rate-bill system. He attended school winters, and 
worked on the farm in the summer time. The war 
liroke out, and found liimtlius employed. He w.as 
but a boy, but he was e.ager to drop the hoe for the 
rifle, and his patriotic ambition to be a soldier, that 
he might hel]) fight his country's battles, even as 
his father had done nearl3- half a century before, 
was gratified b}' his enlistment, September 1.5, 1861, 
at tlie age of seventeen. His name was enrolled 
as a member of Comi)any I, First Michigan Cav- 
alry, which was subsecpiently consolidated witii 
Company \j. 

Although so young, our subject proved to have 
the riglit spirit for a soldier, and he did valiant 
service in the sixt^'-eight battles and skirmishes in 



whidi he met the enemy face to face. The most 
prominent of these areas follows: Winchester, Va.; 
Orange Court House, '\'a.; Bull Hun, Va.; Gettys- 
burg, Pa., wliere he had a horse shot from under 
him while he was in the thickest of the fight; the 
battles of the Wilderness, Va.; Beaver Dam, Cold 
Harbor, Trevilian's Station, Winchester, Opequaii, 
Brandy Station, Yellow Tavern, Richmond, Mt. 
Crawford, Cedar Creek, Madison Court House, 
Five Forks, South Side Railway', Sailor's Creek and 
Ap()omattox Court House, all of the above battles 
from that of Gettysburg being fought on Virginia 
soil; and at Willow Springs, Dak., he took part in 
a des[)erate I).attle with the Indians, he having ac- 
companied his regiment, after the (irand Review 
at Washington, across the plains. At Union ]\Iills, 
Va., he was thrown from his horse, made senseless 
by the fall, and his comrades had a hard time 
bringing him to. He was finalh' mustered out at 
Salt I>ake City, Utah, March 10. 18G(), after more 
than four years' long and arduous service, which 
entitles him, in common with the thousands of other 
nol)le, self-sacrificing soldiers, who gave up the 
best years of their manhood to their country, to 
live in peace and happiness under a reunited Gov- 
ernment. 

When he retired from the army, ]\Ir. Bond re- 
turned to his old home, and was gladly welcomed 
liack by his many friends, and ere many months 
elapsed, his patriotism and bravery during his mil- 
itarj' career were well rewarded by the hand of one 
of the fair daughters of iiis native State, Miss Eliza- 
beth Eberstcin, to whom he was wedded, December 
4, 18G6. She is a very line woman, filling in a 
perfect measure her position as the home-maker, 
the true wife and mother. Iler union with our 
subject has brought them one son, George Amos. 
Mr. and INIrs. Bond celebrated their silver wedding 
December 4, 18!U, which marked a congenial mar- 
riage of a quarter of a century. Thej' had sixty- 
seven guests from among their hosts of friends, 
wiio gave them many substantial evidences of their 
regard, among the numerous presents being a liand- 
some silver set. 

Mrs. Bond was born in Calhoun Counly. INIich., 
November 20, 1841, a daughter of Conrrid and 
Lena (Setzler) Eberstein, pioneers of that count}'. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



893 



and both natives of Germany. Her father was 
lK)rn in IHOH, und her niolh(!i- in 1817. lie came to 
Anierionin 182;), and siiein 1830. lie landed in Bos- 
ton, and spent a year in that city, afterward jiassed 
six months in Detroit, whence he went to Sandusky, 
Ohio. He was there married, liis hride having set- 
tled on a farm at that point with her parents. 
That year, 1831, they came to ]\Iichii;an, an<l lo- 
cated in Calhoun County, making tlie journey with 
an ox-team, and while swimming the Maumce 
River, they came near being drowned. In the 
spring of 1840, Mr. Kberstein |)re-emi)ted the north- 
east quarter of the same section on which (lur sub- 
ject lives from the (government, it then forming 
a part of the Indian reservation. lie developed a 
good farm, where he and his good wife dwelt in 
comfort and happiness many yeai-s. After a mar- 
ried life of lifty-thrce years, they died in 181)0, liis 
death occurring in February, and hers in April. 
They reared eleven children, all of wliom arc mar- 
ried and living at the present time. 

After his marriage, our sul)ject took iX)sses- 
sion of this part of the old homestead on which he 
has ever since lived. But fifteen acres were under 
cultivation, and there was not a building on the 
place. With characteristic energy, he entered upon 
his pioneer laljors, lii-st building a log iiouse for 
himself and his bride, Ij.ack of the site of hi> pre- 
sent residence. He worked hard to fell the timber 
and prepare his land for tillage, and in time brought 
it into a line condition. He has purchased other 
realty, and now has a choice farm of one hundred 
and nineteen and one-fourth acres, one hundred 
of whidi are linely imiirovcd. In 187.J, he erected 
a large frame barn, painting it red; in 1891, he 
built a handsome frame house, a view of whidi is 
shown on another page, and which is fitted u|) in 
modern style. A neat and attractive set of build- 
ings further embellish the (ilacc. He conducts a 
good business in mixed farming, keeping .some line 
Norman horses and roadsters, and has a llock of 
fine wool sheep. 

Mr. IJond is a man of line presence, tall, muscu- 
lar and well formed, has a keen, intelligent eye and 
a vigorous, comprehensive mind, and withal, he 
has a frank, pleading personality. He is greatly 
iiitereste<l in National politics, and stands with the 



Republicans in regard to the issues of the day. He 

has been a memberof the Masonic order since 18()7, 
bekmgiiig to Lodge No. 208, at \'icksburg. He is 
also a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge, 
No. 36, in the same village, anrl his militaiy life 
is commemorated by his membership with the Grand 
.\rmv Post at Vicksburg. 






RA A. RANSOM, President of the Kalamazoo 
(Jas Light Comi)any, was born in Castlcton, 
Ji Vt., February 21,1 815, and is the son of Justice 
H. ami Sarah (Northrop) Ransom, natives of \'er- 
mont, and now deceased. Ira A. was the third of 
the four children whom his parents reared to ma- 
turity, three being sons and one a daughter. 

Amid the iiicturesqiie scenery of the (Jreen 
Mountain SUite, and associated with his father in 
the cultivation of the farm, the lad grew from boy- 
hood to man's estate, acquiring meanwhile those 
sturdy virtues of character and eiiteri)risiiig busi- 
ness qualities, which were carefully developed 
through ])arcntal training. The rudiments of his 
education were gained in the common school of 
the district, and the knowledge there .acquired was 
later supplemented by a course in the home acad- 
emy and Flusiiing Institute. 

Ill 1865, Mr. Ransom came to .Michigan, and. 
sto|)[)iiig at Kalamazoo to visit a friend, was so 
pleaseil with tlie pl.ace that he concluded to remain. 
Soon after he entered the employ of the Michigan 
Central Railroad Company and remained in the 
freight and baggage department for two years. 
He afterward accepted a clerkship in the hat and 
cap store of II. S. Parker, with whom he w!is en- 
gaged alwut three years. The business knowledge 
which he gained while in the em|)loy of others, he 
utilized in a practical manner, and, moving to .Mar- 
shall, this .State, cinlmrked in the boot and shoe 
business, which he carrieil on successfully for nine 
montlis. 

Selling out his stock and returning to Kalama- 
zoo, Mr. Ransom became connected with the Kal- 
amazoo (Jas Light Company as Superintendent, an<l 
retained that position until the <leatli of Mr.Wood- 
burv. when he succ-eeded that gentleman to the 



894 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPfflCAL RECORD. 



Presidency. The arduous duties of tliat position 
he is ably qualified to discharge through eminent 
native abilities and an unusual amount of sound 
common-sense. He is one of the principal stock- 
holders of the company, in addition to which he 
is largely interested in various public measures. 
He is President of the American Playing Card Com- 
pany, Director of the Phelps and Bigelow Wind- 
mill Company, Director in the Upjohn Pill and 
Granule Company, stockholder and Director in 
the Featherbone Corset Company, and Director in 
the Michigan National Bank; also stockholder in 
the Kimball Engine Company. He is closely con- 
nected with some of the most famous and prosper- 
ous organizations of K.alamazoo. 

In 186!), Mr. Ransom was married to Miss Emma, 
the youngest daughter of Hon. J. P. AVoodburj-, 
and they .are the parents of one surviving child: 
Woodbury, who assists his father in the office. 
Allen A. died in infancy. Mr. Ransom and his 
cultured wife have established an attractive and 
cozy home at No. 204 S. Park Street and are prom- 
inen'M(|^he social circles of the city. Mr. Ransom 
is a pro^Plpnt member of the Masonic fraternity 
and is i(lenLJ|jj.il with Kalamazoo Lodge No. 22, 
where he has occupied the liighcsl cliairs. 



f OHN C. GOODALE, funeral director .and 
undertaker, is one of the prominent busi- 
^^ ness men of Kalamazoo. He keeps a full 
^^^ line of undertaker's goods .and has in 
stock as fine an assortment as can be found l)e- 
tween Detroit and Chicago. A genial gentleman, 
ills ple.as.aiit manner is a part of a sunny disjjosi- 
tion, and while his business is one of the most 
solemn nature, he is capable of enjoying the good 
things of life, and his companionable attributes 
partake of no characteristic of a funereal nature. 

The store in which Mr. Goodale conducts his 
business is a four-story, gray stone front structure, 
with a frontage of fiftj^ feet on South Burdick 
Street and a depth of two hundred feet. In the 
rear is the morgue and the stables for his handsome 
outfits. Though coming to Kalamazoo a lad with 



but fifty cents in his possession, and having met 
with financial reverses ata time when the furniture 
business was depressed, he had that indomitable 
perseverance which always wins. By close appli- 
cation to his work, he li.as made steady financial 
advancement and has the satisfaction of knowing 
tliat.an honest competence has been gained through 
his efforts. 

A native of this State, Mr. Goodale was born at 
Ann Arbor, July 15, 1838, and is the son of Leon- 
ard C. and Pliebe F. (Crandall) Goodale, natives 
of New York. His father, who was an early settler 
in W.ashtenaw County, w.as editor of the Washte- 
naw T17*/y/, and at the time of his death, in 1846, 
w.as serving .as Count3' Clerk. When fourteen 
years of age, our subject left home and came to 
Kalamazoo, where his brother was working as a 
cabin et-m.aker. With him he learned the trade, and 
after working in his employ for three years bought 
out the business, which he has since continued. 

About 1858, Mr. Good.ale embarked in tlie man- 
ufacturing business at Battle Creek, but the ap- 
proach of war decreased the rates to such an extent 
that he w.as forced to abandon the plant. During 
the following two years, he was employed at Ann 
Arbor, and then returned to Kalamazoo, where he 
ong.aged in the manufacture of show-cases. After- 
ward he added the undert.aker's business, to which 
he finally gave his entire attention and increased 
it to its present magnitude. 

The marriage of Mr. Goodale to Miss Ellen (i. 
Sterling took pl.ace at Kalamazoo, .lanuary 24, 
1861, and they are the parents of eight living 
children, of whom the five youngest — Bert, Pigeon, 
Anna, .John C, ,lr., and Hazel — remain in the par- 
ental home, on the corner of South and Burdick 
Streets. Nettie married H. A. IMcCrary, a ticket 
broker of Kansas City; Edward is in the furniture 
■and undcrt.akiiig business .at Paw Paw; Jennie is 
the wife of Cl.aik A. Shaw, who owns a raisin vine- 
y.ard in Ilesperia, Cal.; and Bert is employed in the 
Micliigan Central Freight Office at Kalamazoo. 

Mr. Goodale has excellent business s.agacity, 
and his ventures in real-estate investments have 
proved the correctness of his foresight. He was 
instrumental, among others, in securing the present 
location for the postofflce, an<l invested money in 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



895 



inopi'ily in that vicinity. With his fuinily. lie 
oci'ii|)ies :i hii,'h ))hicu in tho o^tconi of his tVlh)\v- 
citiz.ons, and ho andliis wife aic idcntilicd witii tin- 
Congregatidnai ('hui< li. Mr. (JoikI.'iIc lias ivcfntl\- 
added to Ids undoitalvinic Inisincss a lino lino of 
niailile and granite eoniotery woi-k, at No. ;i lUir- 
diok Street, oi)[)osito tlic postollice. 



&~ 



_=]<_ 



"S]< 



f^ 



(S_ 



F^JCIIARI). 
tsrr Farmers' 



ICIIARI) A. SYKKS, who is Seorctary of the 
s' JIutual Insurance Company, of 
i*i \\\ Kahimazoo County, is one of the worth3' 
\!iQ: citizens that New York lias furnislied to 
Michigan, lie was born in Niagara County, Oc- 
tober 17, 1836, and is the only living son of Alan- 
son and llannali (Strickland) Sykes, the former a 
native of Massachusetts, and the latter of the Em- 
pire State. In the spring of 1837, the family re- 
moved Westward and settled on a farm in Portage 
Townshij), six and a half miles from the city 
of Kalamazoo. The death of the father occurred 
in 1857, at the age of seventy-one years, and his 
wife died in 1868, at the age of eighty-two years. 
We now take up the personal history of our 
subject, who, in the usual manner of farmer lads, 
W.1S reared to manhood and remained at home 
until thcsjjringof 1870, having charge of the farm 
after Ills father's death. As before sUited, he is 
the only surviving son. However, he li.as one sis- 
tor, Martha, now the widow of I,s,aac Weeks, of 
Kalamazoo. .VI)andoning tho occupation to which 
he was reared, in 1870, Mr. Sykes came to Kalama- 
zoo, and for four jx'ars was engaged in the agri- 
cultural implement liusincss, when he returned to 
the farm and tliere remained for ten yeare. In 
1885, he Ijccame Secretary of the Farmers' Mutual 
Insurance Company, which w.as organized in 1863. 
lie w;us one of its lirst one liunilied members, and 
h,a.s since carried insurance with it. On the 1st of 
.laiiiiarv. 18',t2. there were one thousand, eight huii- 
died and lifty-five members, and tho amount of 
the policies was ^1,514,350. Tho percentage of 
cost since the organization amounts to .00131 per 
annum. The olliceis of the insurance company at 
this writing, are W. II. Cobb, President; Richard 
Sykes, Secretary and Treasurer; ami Williani 



Strong, David R. Cliaiidlor and .Malachi Cox, 
Directors. Tho original members of the company 
were John .Millham. .Moses Kingsley, Samuel 
Crooks, William I'nimbull, Isaac Cox, .lo.sepli 
Hockly and Albert 1-atta. Tho three last-iianiod 
are still living. 

Mr. Sykes has been twice married. In December, 
1865, he wedded Mi>s Opiiolia Harris, of Portiigo, 
daughter of TlKunas and .\nn L. (Carpenter) Har- 
ris, who settled in Portage in 185G. The parents 
were married in New York City, and the mother is 
still living with .Mr. Sykes. His liist wife died 
August 26, 188;», and on the 1st of July, 1891, he 
wedded Miss Mary C. Ilallock, of Kalamazoo, a 
half-sister of his lirst wife. She is a lady of culture 
and refinenu'iit and for eleven years was a success- 
ful teacher in the city schools. 

Aside from his business interests, .Mr. Sykes ii:is 
found time to devote to public affairs and from 
1875 until 18711, inclusive, served :is Supervisor. 
He is a stanch advocate of Republican princii)les 
and does all in his power to promote tho interests 
of that i)arlv. but his father was a Democrj^l^lle 
is a man of groat personal inllneiice, |iu^flii\and 
has an extended acquaintance tlywAighout the 
community. His life has lieon well and worthily 
spent, and those who know him respect him for 
his sterling worth. 



SAAC A. I'.ROWN, one of the well-to-do citi- 



zens of Kalamazoo, now living a retired life, 
_ is a native of the (irecn Mountain Statt;, his 
birth having occurred in Windsor ('ouiit\-, on the 
mil of .\pril, 1817. His father, Israel P. Urowii, 
a native of M.issacliusctts. w.is a farmer by oi-cu- 
pation and died on tin? old homestead in \'erm<inl. 
where lie had lived for sixty-live yejirs. The 
grandfather w.as .Vilam Urown, and he w.ns of 
.Scotch descent. The mother of our subject bore 
tho maiden name of Sally Ihiggs. She. also, wxs a 
native of the (ireen Moiint.nin State, an<I a daugh- 
ter of .Asa Hriggs. who was of English lineage. In 
the family were thirteen children, clcxcn of whom 
grew to mature years. 

(lur subject w;is the ninth in older of birth. 



896 



PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Upon liis father's farm lie spent the days of his 
boj'hood and youth and in the winter season at- 
tended the common schools, where he acquired a 
good English education. On leaving home he be- 
gan life for himself as a clerk in a general store, 
where he remained for three years, when, having 
acquired some experience and a small capital, he 
emharl<ed in the mercantile business on his own 
account, continuing for three years, when he sold 
out. The gold fever was then prevailing in the 
county, and to California went Mr. 15rowii, by way 
of the Isthmus of Panama. His friend who ac- 
companied liim died soon after their arrival, so 
Mr. Brown started back with the remains, which 
were taken to Vermont and there interred. The 
trip to him proved an expensive one and his health 
ilso became greatly impaired thereby. On his 
recovery, he secured employment with tlie Rutland 
& Burlington Railroad Company, having charge of 
its store, and also acting as freight and pas- 
senger and ticket agent. Thus his time was em- 
plo^'ed for ten years, and he carried on a successful 
business in the interest of the company. 

In 1842, Mr. Brown led to the marriage altar 
Miss Mary A. Brown, a native of Essex County, 
N. Y., where the days of her maidenhood were 
passed. Unto them liave been born two children: 
Rev. Belno A. Brown, D. D., an Episcopal clergy- 
man of Milwaukee, wlio is also a medical practi- 
tioner, having made a specialty of the eye and 
ear. Angela died at the age of ten years. 

Mrs. Brown, in tliese later days of iicr life, has 
taken up painting as a recreation and pleasure, and 
has exhibited a great deal of skill, and many beau- 
tiful landscapes adorn the walls of their home, 
painted by her hand. Particularly has her skill 
been exhiliited in an eminent degree in artistically 
arranging the vari-colored sea-moss of the Pacific 
ocean into beautiful pictures of mountain and 
forest scenes, especially noticeable among which is a 
representation of Minneliaha Falls. 

In 1862, the family came to Kalamazoo, Mich., 
where Mr. Brown engaged in the loan business as 
agent for Eastern parties. At the same time, he 
built business blocks, which he afterward sold be- 
fore completed, and dealt in real estate for himself 
and others. He carried on a successful business 



for some years, and as the result of his industry, 
good management and well-directed efforts, has 
accumulated considerable property. In politics, he 
is a Republican. At each election he exercises his 
right of francliise in support of that party, of 
whose principles he is a stalwart advocate. His 
home is a handsome brick residence situated at 
No. 427 Soutli Burdick Street, where he is now 
living a retired life, surrounded by many comforts 
and luxuries, the fruits of his own labor. ISIr. 
Brown is well deserving of a representation in this 
volume for he is one of the prominent citizens of 
Kalamazoo, and it is with pleasure that we record 
his sketch. 



V, 



*==*=*_^ / 



; 



OHN E. RANKIN, M. D., who is a promi- 
nent physician in Bloomingdale, Van Buren 
County, was one of the many citizens of 
^^^ foreign birth who enlisted in the service of 
their adopted country during the late war and gal- 
lantly fought on the Union side. He was born 
December 29, 1841, in County Longford, Ireland. 
His parents, Robert and Catherine ((TOvers)Rankin, 
were also natives of tlie Emerald Isle, who came to 
the United States in the spring of 1842, settling in 
Vandeburg County, Ind., where the father died 
about 1845, leaving a widow and two sons, John 
E. and James A. The latter is a resident of Dow- 
agiac, this State. He was also a soldier in the War 
of the Rebellion, serving in the Sixteenth New 
York Cavalry. The mother of our subject resided 
with him until her death, in 1878. She and her 
husband were members of the Episcopal Church. 

Our suliject received his early education in the 
public schools at Buffalo, N. Y., to which \>\nce his 
mother had removed after her husband's death. 
At the age of fifteen, he was employed as clerk in 
a store, and, in .lanuaiy, 1858, came to Blooming- 
dale, where he worked by the month on a farm, 
until August 12, 1862, at which date he enlisted in 
Company M, Fourth Michigan Cavaby. He took 
part in the battles of Sparta, Tenn., and Lavergne, 
at which latter place he was captured and confined 
in Libby Prison for three months, being then ex- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



897 



('h;iii^c'(l. lie w;is in tlie l)att!cs at riiickaniaiii;:! 
ami Mission Riiljji'. In the spriny; of 18(>;$, lie w;us 
thrown from his lior.-r ami fractured his left wrist, 
and was sent to Colninliia, 'IVnn., where he re- 
niainod nine months, most of the lime aeting as 
Steward of Post Hospital No. 1. lie then rejoined 
his reiijimeiil at Xasiiviile, and was in the ijaltles of 
Selma, Ala., and at Columbia, ( ia., and was with 
the party tliat caiiturcd Jeff Davis, lie was dis- 
chari^ed at Nashville in .luly, 1H(!."), and was mus- 
tered out as Corporal 

Returning to Hloomingdale, our subject soon 
after entered UulTalo Medical rniversity, being 
graduated from that college in 18.S1, and at once 
began the i)ractice at Bloomingdale, where he has 
resided ever since. He was united in marriage, 
.luiu^ G, 18G7, to Miss PInebc L. Lane, who was 
born in Hrockport, N. Y., and was a daughter of 
.Samuel and Orrt (Cooley) Lane, natives of New 
York. They are the parents of two children, 
\'ashti and Cora. I)i'. liankin is a I\e|)ublican in 
polities, and a member of the Masonic fraternity. 
He enjoys a good practice, and, with his estimable 
wife, is highly esteemed in the community. 



L.VHKNCK IIKIMJKRT LINDSLKY, who 
. owns and operates one hundred and sixty 

S^f' acres of land on section 6, Decatur Town- 
ship, is a r(!i)resentative of one of the early fami- 
lies of \'an Buren County. His father, Henry Lind- 
sley, was born in (ienesec County, N.Y., October 7, 
1818, and was a son of Elihn Lindslcy, who emi- 
grated from New York to New Jersey, where he 
lived to a ripe old age. Henry Lindslcy came to 
^lichigan in an carl}' day, locating in Washtenaw 
County, where he was reared t(j manhood. Jn 
Aj)ril, 18.')3, he came to \'an Bnrcn County, lo- 
cating on section 0, Decatur Township, where he 
bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. 
Of this amount, he himself cleared eighty acres, I 
and he also cleared a part of the farm nn which 
our subject resides. 

In 1817, Mr. Lindslcy m.arried Iiviiin N. Uiuwn, 
a native of this State, who filed in lH."i7. lie was 
again married in 18.5'.), his second union lieing 



with Mrs. Helen M. Wilcox, who w.as born in New 
York, and at the time of her marri.age resided in 
Decatur T<iwnshii>. Mr. l.indsh^y fcdiowed farm- 
ing throughout his entire life, and wa.s very suc- 
cessful in his business dcaling.s. lie was a .self- 
educated man, a great reader and student, and 
w.as much better infornu'il than many who had 
good school privileges, lie provided his children 
with good educational advantages. His speech 
was free from all profanity, his life wxs free from 
wrong-doing, and the friends whom he won were 
m.any^ He died March 1, 1888, and was buried in 
Decatur Cemetery. The second wife still sur- 
vives him. 

In the Lindslcy family were seven children, 
six of whom grew to manhood and woiiianluHid. 
and arc still living: Clarence 11., of this ski^teh; 
James II., born September 22, 1850, now a farmer 
of Texas; Frank K.. born .\pril 7, 18,-).'), is a school 
teacher of Decatur Township; William O., born 
October 14, 1863; Nellie S., I»)rii Augusts, 1865, 
now the wife of Albert Hidlaek. of Hamilton 
Township; Charles, who died at the age of two 
years; and Mabel, who w.as born June 20, 1875. 

We now take up the personal history of our 
subject, who h.as spent nearly his entire life in 
Van Buren County, lie was born in Saline, 
Wayne County, February 11, 18111, and w.as 
therefore only four years of age when he I>ecame 
a resident of Decatur Township. In the usual 
manner of farmer lads, he was reared to iiianhood, 
and remained under the [larental roof until he h.ad 
attained his majority, when he left home on a 
visit to the Fa-stern jiart of Michigan. Return- 
ing at the end of two months, he continued to 
aid his father until .\ngnst, when he hired out as 
a farm hand. In November following, he tt)ok a 
contract for clearing land, to which he devoted 
his energies during the winter. 

An important event In the life of .Mr. Lindslcy 
occurred Decemlier 18, 187.J. when wa.s celebrated 
Lis marri.agc with Miss Jennie McWilliains, ilangli- 
ter of Archiiiald and .\nn McWilliains. The fol- 
lowing spring they removed to the farm which is 
still their home. It fii-st comprised only forty 
acips, which our subject had purchiu-'ed of his fa- 
ther, but. from time to time, .as his linaiieial re- 



898 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sources increased, he extended its boundaries, 
until it now comprises one hundred and sixtj' 
acres that yield a golden tribute to his care and 
cultivation. In his farming operations he is quite 
successful. The past year his yield of wheat was 
eleven hundred bushels. In connection with gen- 
eral farming, he engages to some extent in stock- 
raising, keeping on hand good grades of horses, 
cattle and hogs. 

The cause of temperance has ever found in Mr. 
Lindsley a stanch advocate and the liquor tratlic 
a bitter opponent. His views on the question have 
led him to attiliate with the Prohibition party, 
which he now supports by his ballot. He is a 
member of the Equitable Aid Union and belongs 
to the Presbyterian Church of Decatur, in which 
he holds the ollice of I^lder. In the Master's vine- 
yard he is an active worker, having labored long 
in both church and Sunday-school. The Lindsley 
household is the abode of hospilalit}', and our sub- 
ject and his wife rank high in social circles. 

Unto this worthy couple have been born six 
children: Blanche Gertrude, born June 12, 1875; 
Charles Herbert, September 17, 1876; Bessie Irv- 
ena, June 8, 1879; James Ward, April 26, 1882; 
Lora Louisa, June 3, 1885; and Grace Hardenia, 
December 1, 1888. 



->>»>I.W>.Fi l - 



<^LPIION.SO F. HOWK is a member of the 
@//J firm of Talbot & Howe, contractors and 
li Iniilders in Allegan. This partnership has 
been formed during the last three years? 
and they have been engaged in erecting some of 
the finest residences and business blocks in the 
city. At the present time, thej^ are erecting the 
High Scliool Building, which will cost |:20,000, 
and which will be the finest in the county. They 
give emijloyment to a number of men, and in ad- 
dition to the business of contractor and builder, 
Mr. Howe is the proprietor of a brickj-ard on the 
Paw Paw road, which he established seven years 
ago. He is thus enabled to furnish the best grade 
of brick for the buildings in this vicinity, the 
High School spoken of above rcq\iiring four liun- 
dred thousand. Mr. Howe was given the rluirge 



of the building of the Grand Plank Hotel, at 
Mackinac, this State, which is the largest hotel in 
the State. He also superintended the erection of 
the Michigan Buggy Company building at Kala- 
mazoo. 

Mr. Howe, of this sketch, was born in Oneida 
County, N. Y., in 1838. He is the son of Joseph 
and Sally A. (Miller) Howe, natives respectively 
of New York and Connecticut. His father was a 
distiller and died in 1839 in Paris, Oneida County, 
N. Y. His mother came to Michigan, where her 
decease occurred in Grand Hapids. Joseph Howe 
was a Captain in the State Militia, holding that of- 
fice at the time of his decease. Two of the four 
chddren comprising the parental family are still 
living: our subject and Joseph, Jr. 

The original of tliis sketch was educated in 
the Michigan schools, and early in life learned the 
carpenter's trade, which he followed until twenty 
years ago, when he combined vvith it tiie business 
of an architect. He purchased a farm on tlie Paw 
Paw Road, within the corporate limits of that city, 
whore he has a good home. He manufactures 
brick and drain tile upon his place, for which he 
has a ready and ever-increasing sale. 

Mr. Howe was married, in 1860, to Jliss Candace 
E., the daughter of James Caskey. To them have 
been born three children: William J., Kate M.and 
Nellie L. In politics, our subject is a Democrat, 
and has held the offices of Township Treasurer and 
Clerk, and has also served in the village council. 
Socially, he is an Odd Fellow, a Mason, and a 
Knight of Pythias. Mr. Howe is one of the 
wide-awake, enterprising, business men of Allegan 
County, and we are pleased to be able to give a 
brief outline of his history, as well as a view of his 
place. 



m 



mi 



m 



?!DWIN T. CRUSE. The British-American 
^ citizens of Michigan are a fine class of sturdy, 
^^' 'stalwart men of pluck and princii>le and 



among them we find the gentleman whose name 
appears at the head of this sketch. He is doing a 
fine business, dealing in corn, oats, wlieat. clover 
seed, b.aled hay, etc. Edwin T. Cruse was born in 




KLw. j:KCr.(5c ELEVA:.Jh: Uf E.T. CKU3L, A^.^^GAK , l/l.CH.GAN. 




RFSlHEilCE Or 



RUAX, SEC. 11, HCPK;N5 TP., ALLtGAN CO., MICH. 




RFSIDENCE OF A. F. HOW E, ALLEGAN, MICHIGAN 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RKCORD. 



901 



the Piirisli of Stokecliinsliind, County of Cornwall, 
Knirland. .1:111 iiarv fi, 1812, and is tiio son of Will- 
iam and Mary (Fallov) Cruse, also natives of Kng- 
land. 

Till' fatliei- of our subject was an en_<:ineer, and 
eiiiigialed to America nineteen years ai^o. Com- 
ing directly to Michigan, he settled in the I'pper 
I'eninsula, where he followed the oetupalioii of an 
engineer until 1888, the date of his advent into Al- 
legan County-. He is now engaged in riiiiiiiiig the 
engine in the elevator of his son, our subject. 

The giaiid|iaients of our subject were John 
and Mary (Cruse) Cruse, who lived and died in 
their native Kngland. William Cruse was reared 
on a farm until t\venl\-tliree years of age. When 
starting out for himself, he worked in a mine for 
twenty years, tlien engaged in running a station- 
ary engine until coining to America, nineteen 
years ago. The mother of our subject died about 
1875, while the family were living on Lake Super- 
ior. 

Kdwin '1'. Cruse received a good education in 
his native land, after which he commenced mining, 
which occujiation he followed until coining to 
America in 18(54. Landing in New York on the 
6tli of June, he c-.me West immediately to the L.ake 
Superior regi<jns where he w.as engaged in mining 
for tiiree years, after wiiich he clerked in a general 
store at the Central Mine at Central .Miciiigan. He 
later clerked in the i-tore in the Atlantic Mine and 
then with North it Briggs at the Ilackley Mines. 

Wishing to (it himself for mercantile life, Mr. 
Cruse went to Kalama/.ooand took a course in the 
business college in that city. He also took a 
twelvemonths' course in the Theological Seminary 
ill Ciiicago, after which he came to .Vllegaii, the 
date thereof being August 6, 1877. Soon after 
bx-ating here, he purchased of H. B. Peck the only 
elevator in the [ilace, and now carries on a large 
business, ship[)ing grain over three different rail- 
roads. His elevator has a caiiacity of over twenty I 
thousand bushels of grain and is supplied with a ' 
twelve-horse power rngine. 

Our subject w:is married, in 1886, to Miss Nellie, 
daughter <pf Willi:iin B. .Ii.'iiner. She is a most 
estimable and culHiiccl lady and piasides with 
grace and digiiit\ over their beautiful home, a 



view of which appears in this connection. Our 
subject is a Kepulilican in polities, and a mcmlier 
of the Masonic fraternity. lie has four lnothers 
and one sister: James, \Villi:nii, .lolin, Alfred, :iii(l 
Ilaniiali. now Mis. Tlioina.s. 




^ ARKKR S. TRUAX is at present engaged 
in cultivating a Iieautiful tr;ict of land on 
section II, Ilofikins Township, Allegan 
County, of which he is the proprietor. 
His father, Andrew Truax, was a native of Canada 
and a farmer, although in early life he ran a saw- 
mill for twelve years. His mother was known in 
her maidenhood as Kditli Fordyceand was born in 
New Hruuswick; she died in 1854. Andrew Trua.\ 
was .again married and at the present time is liv- 
ing with his third wife in Canada, Iieing over 
eighty- years of .age. By his first niarri:ige, he be- 
came the father of six children, three of whom are 
living. 

Our subject was the fifth child of his parents, his 
birth occurring July 27, 184 1, in Canada. He wsus 
given a limited schooling and renniined with his 
father, aiding in the development of the farm, un- 
til reaching his nineteenth ye:ir. M tliat time he 
bought his time of his father and :is he w:xsanxious 
to come to the States, in 18(i,'} m:ide his advent into 
Michigan and eng.aged to work out in Martin 
Townshiii, Allegan County. He enlisted in the 
Union Army in the spring of 18G1, and was mus- 
tered into Company II, First Regiment of Michi- 
gan Kngineers and Mechanic^?. He joined his 
regiment at Cartersville, (ia., where they were en- 
gaged in building bridges. He then went to At- 
lanta, a iJiirtion of his regiment in the meanliiiie 
having been sent up the Chatl;ihooeliie River where 
they were occupied in bridge-building for four 
weeks. He later sl:uted with his regiment for 
Savannah under ( len. Sherman and, when one day's 
nniicli from that cit}', his regiment was ordered 
liack and sent by Iwtat to Beaufort, in order that 
they might rest up. 

Previously, however, while at Savannah, Mr. 
Tnnix li:iil been detaileil on live foraging ex|H'di- 



■ 



902 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lions, each occupying alioiit three ilays. AVhen 
leaving .Savannah, the vegiraeut of which our sub- 
ject was a member was in advance of tlie army un- 
der Gen. Sherman. The enemy in the city were 
l)re})ared for tliem and they were lired upon from 
batteries jjlaced on flat cars. One solid shot struck 
tlie file of men in which Mr. Truax was marching, 
knocking him down, and one of his comrades, who 
was marching near him, was thrown thirty feet in 
the air and instantly killed. Our subject refused 
to be taken to the hospital, although quite se- 
verely injured, and remained with his company un- 
til fully restored. 

The Michigan regiment, in corapanjwith a com- 
pany of Missouri Engineers, built a road five miles 
and three-quarters m length througii a deep swamp. 
The^' existed sometimes on very short rations and 
often their meal consisted of rice which they picked 
from the fields. They remained at Savannah for 
two or three weeks and then left with the armj- for 
North Carolina and were about thirty miles from 
Kaleigh, N. C, when Gen. .Johnston's army sur- 
rendered to Sherman. Mr. Truax later took part 
in tlie Grand Review at Washington, I). C, was 
mustered out a few days later and received his dis- 
charge at Jackson, this State, in June, 1865. 

After the close of the war, Mr. Truax came to 
Martin Township, Allegan County, and as he was 
unable to do any kind of work went to his home 
in Canada and spent ii500 in doctor's bills. When 
fullj- recuperated, he returned to Michigan and 
purchased his jjresent property, which then was in 
its primitive condition. He paid |!300 down on 
his land and began industriously the work of clear- 
ing and improving it. 

In April, 1877, Mr. Truax and Miss Eveline U., 
daughter of Russell and Charity (D3'mon) Gaylor, 
were united in marriage. The parents of Mrs. 
Truax were early settlers of Allegan County, where 
the father died in 1889; the mother is still residing 
in Otsego Township. 

Mrs. Truax was born July 16, 1856, in Otsego 
Township, and by her union with our subject has 
become the mother of six children, viz: Jessie L., 
Leonard A., Edith Augusta, Orville G., George 
Olin and an infant not yet named. Mr. Truax 
has sixty acres of his estate under excellent im- 



provements and is ranked among the intelligent 
farmers of this locality. A view of his homestead 
a|3pears on another page. He is a member of the 
Grand Arm^' of the Republic and is also a Patron 
of Industry. In politics, he is a Republican and 
has been Road Overseer of his townshi|). 



r^ 



^^ 



OHN W. HOOVER is the proprietor of a 
general meat market, located at No. 524 
^,^1 I Oak Street, Kalamazoo, where he is doing a 
^^^ very profitable business. He is a native of 
Canada, having been born in Welland County, 
May 16, 1842. His parents were David and Mary 
E. (Pew) Hoover, the father a native of Canada 
where he carried on farming. He continued to 
reside in the Dominion until 1866, at which time 
he emigrated to the States with his family and lo- 
cated in Allegan County, on a farm. He con- 
tinued to cultivate the soil until his death in the 
spring of 1888, his wife passing away on the same 
farm in the fall of 1888. 

John W. Hoover was reared on the home farm 
until eighteen years of age, in the meantime at- 
tending the district school. He then learned the 
trade of a butcher. In 1865, he also came to this 
State, and, locating at Ganges, Allegan County, 
opened a meat market and was fairly successful in 
his undertaking. In 1882, he came to Kalamazoo 
wliere he established a market on Potter Street, 
and prosecuted his business there for four years. 
He later removed to his present location, where he 
has erected a building suitable for the proper 
carrying-on of his line of business. He has one of 
the finest markets in the city, and keeps con- 
stantly on hand a splendid assortment of choice 
meats, making his own sausage, lard, etc. He con- 
tracts for most of his supplies from Chicago parties 
and his patrons are thus assured that they will 
receive the very best the market affords. 

He was married to Miss Emily A. Kitchen, in June, 
1866, and to them have been i)orn one daughter: 
Mary C, who is the wife of Delno llenshaw, of 
Morgan Park, 111. Mr. Hoover commenced at the 
bottom of tlie ladder in starting out in life and 
now has one of the finest businesses in his line 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RKCORI). 



903 



in Kaliiiiiazoo. He owns a i)leasant residence lo- 
raU'd at No. .")22 Oak Slroel, and is so situated 
that he is enjoying a handsome income. Socially, 
ho is an Odd Fellow, and, with his wife, is a nicni- 
lierof the First liaptist Chiirch. Politieally. he isa 
Prohibitionist. 



I 






'AMKS GARNKR CLARK, one of the prom- 
inent liusiness men of (lohleville, A'an 
l)ii;en County, isa prosperous merchant and 
'^^y is also engaged in carrying on a gristmill. 
I lis fatiier was Henjamin Clark, a native of FIngland, 
where he was born in 1800, and was a miller by 
occu|)ation. The mother was Elizabeth Motley 
in her maidenhood, and also a native of England, 
born in l.Sd.s. They were married in England and 
came to America in 18:50, and settled in >Monroe 
County, >,'. v.. where the father carried on farm- 
ing until his death which occurred in 18.54. The 
good wife and mother died in Michigan in 1869. 
'JMiey were the worthy [larentsof eleven children, 
those surviving bearing the names of Benjamin 
R., Mary E. (Mrs. 11. T. llerron), Thomas M., 
Eliza 8., .Tames O. and Marian Z. The deceased 
are Rebecca A., Iliram A., .]osei)h A., Henry and 
I^iiisa. The family- came to Michigan in 1857, 
an<l settled in the "north woods" of Van Buren 
County. 

Our subject was born September 10. 181G, in 
Monroe County, N. Y., and w.ts eleven years old 
when he came to this Stiite. His education was 
obtiiined in the district schools and at Hillsdale 
College, after which he taught three terms. In 
18()8, he embarked in the merchandise business in 
(ieneva Township, and two years later came to 
Ciolileville and put up the (ii-st store here. The 
building is now occu|iied by W. S. Crosby .V Co. 
This he carried on ten years.selling dry goods, Iwot.s 
and shoes, groceries and hardware. In 1882, he 
purchased his mill which was then a small grist 
mill, with a portable engine. He has renuideled 
it completely and now has a full rcjiler system with 
a large elevator. He buys anil han<lles all the wheat 
that is offered here, 'i'he cjipacity of the null is 
lifty barrels per day. It is run all the year roninl 



and does a general milling business. From three 
to four hands are employed in the (ilace all the 
time and Hour of all grades, feed, and buckwheat 
Hour are m.anfactured. His market is mostly 
local trade, but he sends some to New York City 
and Baltimore. 

In additicm to his mill, Mr. Clark has a grocery, 
boot and shoe store. He will erect a good brick 
building the coming spring for mercantile purpose. 
Mv. Clark w.as married in May, 187.5, to Ilattie A. 
Goble, a daughter of Warren and Cordelia (Watte) 
Goble, now residents of (Jobleville. Mrs. Clark 
was born in Erie Conntj', N. Y., March 24, 18.55, 
and to her has been born two children: Pearl .1. 
and Ruby, born .Inly 25, I87C, and November II. 
1887, respectively. The eldest daughter is attend- 
ing the High School department of the Gobleville 
graded schools. Mr. Claik and his daughter Pearl 
are members of the Free-will Baptist Church and 
he h.os lieen Trustee and Clerk of the same and also 
took charge of the erection <}( the present church 
here. He was Superintendent of the Sunday- 
school until his hearing was affected. Mr. Clark 
has taken a prominent part in school affairs and 
has been on the School Board. When in Geneva 
Township, he served .as Township Clerk on the 
Republican ticket, Init the last few j-ears he has 
cast his influence with the Prohibition party, hav- 
ing always been a strong temperance man. He 
built his line residence in 1875 and has also put 
up one other residence, two stores and his mill. 
The ehurcli and parsonage were erected mainly 
through his elTorts and su|iport. For several years 
Mr. Clark was interested in bee culture. He is a 
thorough business man and is a good e.\ample foi 
3'oung men just starting in active life to follow. 



->^-^ 






..^ ENRY Mli;UMA.\ I'AKKER. decea.<ed, w.ts 
*^ one of the prominent and successful busi- 
ness men of Kalamazoo. He was born in 
Waterbury, Conn., April 2. 1823. and w.is 
the son of Charles and Deborah Isalwlla Parker, 
the father a manufacturer of haUs and trunks in 
Tarrvt<^>wn, N. Y. Our subject's mother was a 



90-i 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



native of Connecticut and of English descent.- 
The family later removed to Medina, N. Y., where 
they made tlieir home until coming to Battle 
Creek, this State, in 1857. Our subject came to 
Kalamazoo during the same year, and here the 
elder Mr. Parker started a trunk factory, in which 
business he continued until his death, in 1878. 
He was of Scotch and English extraction and stood 
high in financial circles in his community. 

He of whom wc write was the eldestof the paren- 
tal family of twelve children and p.assed his boyhood 
days in Medina, N. Y. His primary studies were 
conducted in the common schools, which were later 
supi)lemented by attendance at the Medina Acad- 
emy. He engaged to work in a hat factory when 
twelve years of age and while thus employed met 
with a serious accident by having his hand caught 
in the machinery, which caused him to lose that 
menilier. 

The father of our subject having met with finan- 
cial reverses, Henry S. was early in life thrown 
upon his own resources. His pluck and energy, 
however, won him success wherever he went, which 
was greatly needed as he had to care for the fam- 
ily for a time. In 1844, Henry S. Parker was mar- 
ried to Rachel Gregory, of Ontario County, N. Y. 
She was the eldest daughter of I'hilo and Rachel 
(Card) Gregory and soon after her marriage lo- 
cated with her husband in Medina, Orleans County, 
N. Y., where Mr. Parker was engaged as a hatter 
and furrier. 

The original of this sketch came to Michigan in 
1857, and made his home in Kalamazoo, where he 
was successfully engaged in business until his 
death, February 5, 1885. The following children 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Parker, viz: Sarah 
E., IMrs. A. A. Hazzard of this city; Henry P., de- 
ceased; Villa C. who resides with her mother; 
Frances V., also at home; Charles M., Julia L. and 
Ella L. Two children died in infancy. 

In religious matters, Mr. Parker was a devoted 
member of the Christian Church, and in politics, a 
stanch Republican. He was always a liberal and 
(iheerful contributor to all charitable enterprises 
and a man greatlj- respected in his community. 
His family make their home in a comfortable and 
pleasant residence, located at No. 435 Woodward 



Avenue. Few men have done mr>re for Kalamazoo 
than our subject. He built four stores and several 
houses and was always keenly alive to everything 
that tended to the upbuilding of his community, 
and we can truly say the world was better for his 
having lived. The father of Mrs. Gregory made 
his home with our subject until 1884, when he died 
in his ninety-second year. He was a Class-leader 
in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which bodj' 
he had been a member for fifty-seven years. His 
remains were laid to rest in Mountain Home Cem- 
etery. 



1^+^ 



ri^ 



VILBUR F. REED. This gentleman, who 
is one of the prominent citizens of Kala- 
mazoo, is Chief Engineer and Superin- 
tendent of the Water AVorks. His beautiful home 
is located at No. 1026 South Park Street, and ij, 
presided over by his amiable wife. He was born 
at Grass Lake, Jackson County, this State, August 
8, 1851, and was the son of Mulford and Laura 
(Jackson) Reed. The father, who was a native of 
the Empire State, came to this city in 1866, where 
he died in 1872; his wife still makes her home 
here. 

When eighteen years of age, our subject began 
to learn the trade of a machinist, and was thus 
emiil03'ed in different places in this State, at one 
time lieing foreman of the Kalamazoo Foundry ik 
Machine Company. In July, 1890, he became 
Assistant Engineer, and April 20, 18!n, was a[)- 
poiuted Chief Engineer and Superintendent of 
the Water Works, succeeding George II. Chand- 
ler. He gives his entire time and attention to his 
position, and gives satisfaction to all concerned. 

April 25, 1875, Wilbur F. Reed was united in 
marriage to Miss Ella L. Jacobs, of Kalamazoo. 
They have become tiie parents of two sons: Ernest 
and Arthur. Socially, our subject is an Odd Fel- 
low and a Free and Accepted Mason. Mr. Reed 
is a thorough master of his trade, as is evidenced 
by the condition and systematic arrangement of 
everything connected with the engine house. He 
had naturally a mechanical mind and never was 
more at JHime than when at work on some piece 
of machinery. Being thorouglil>- versed in the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPIIICAL RICCORD 



finr) 



teclinicnl systems of ineelianicnl I'ligiiieerinjr, :is 
well as on the practical side of the question, he 
makes a most rIesiraWe man us SiiperiiUenclent of 
sucli an impoiUnt plant as liie water system of 
the city of Kalamazoo. 

Mr. Reed has strong social pioclivilics and is a 
"hail fellow well met," and no more popular man 
can he found in the city. Kalamazoo is snijjilicd 
witli over thirty miles of water main and the cost 
of maiiitainint; tiie department is ^10,000 per an- 
num. Tiie nuuUjer of gallons pum]ied is two liun- 
dred millions per day. They use liie direct sys- 
tem, with no reservoir or stand-pipes, and have 
four engines — a Holly (^uadruplex of one million 
capacity, a Worthington Duplex of two mdlions, 
and two Gaskill Compound engines of three mil- 
lions each. 










HUBAEL AU.«^TIN LINCOLN, of Kalama- 
zoo, was born near Chelsea, \'t., I\Lay o, 
ISO.''), which was the (ifth day of the fifth 
month of the fifth year in the nineteenth 
century, and he is the tiflli child in a family of 
twelve children. Two hrotiiers C)f the name of 
Lincoln came from Kngland to America and were 
the founders of the family in this country. One 
settled in Connecticut, the other in Kentucky, and 
from the latter Abraham Lincoln w.as descended. 
Shubael Lincoln, father of our subject, was born 
on the fith of March, 1770, in Connecticut and 
spent his boyhood on his father's farm. He be- 
came an expert mechanic, and, in the year 182.5, 
emigraled to the Western Reserve in Ohio, locat- 
ing in Lake County, where he made his home un- 
til his death. He was killed by the fall of a tree 
in Ashtabula County.. Ian uary 30, 183;"). His wife, 
whose maiden name \va.> Mary Kills, was born in 
New llanipsliirc. April 2.5, 1775,. and when a young 
maiden went with her family to near Chelsea, Vt. 
Some years after her marriage, Mai'ch 21,1 70.'?. they 
removed to (Irand Isle County, Vt. .She survived 
lier husband some years and died in Kalamazoo, 
September I'.l, 18;")!, her remains being intcrrcil in 
Ml. \\<>[->c Cemetery-. 

The subject of this sket<'li remained under the 



parental roof until he attained his majority, an<l 
in cftnnection with his father built and operated 
a mill near Chariton, Ohio. He is numbered among 
the pioneei-s of Kalamazoo of 1838. Aft*'r locat- 
ing here, he carried on a store for about three years 
as a partner of his lirother Horatio, when he be- 
came Deputy- Sheriff under .lohn Parker and ffir 
two years had charge of the jail. We next fiml 
him engaged in keeping a hotel and the stage sta- 
tion in Texas Townsliip,where he purchased a farm, 
making his home thereon for two yeai-s. Return- 
ing on the exi)iration of that period to Kalamazoo, 
he formed a i)artnersliip with David IJurrell in the 
manufacture of wagons, in which line of trade he 
continued for eight years, after which he turned 
his attention to the real-estate business and also 
built a store on Church Street. The grocery 
trade also engrossed his time and attention for 
some 3'ears, .and he again served as Deputy .Sheriff 
under George Rix. In 1874, he purch.ased his 
home, which is situated on a four-acre tract of 
ground on a hill near the asylum and commands 
a fine view of the entire city. In connection with 
this, he also owns a fine fruit farm of nine acres 
and a uumlter of houses which he rents. 

In Chariton, Ohio. June 1.'), 1824. Mr. Lintoln 
was united in marriage to .lanet .Starr, who died 
ten yeai-s later, and. .Septemlier 14, 1840, in New- 
Castle, Pa., he married Mrs. Cynthia Somcrville, nee 
Brown. She was Iwrn in Ashtabnia County, Ohio, 
and for more than forty-five yeai-s they have trav- 
eled life's journey together. By his first niarriage 
three children w^ere liorn: Horatio, now residing 
in California; .Tidia, who became the wife of James 
Kelly, died in Piersons, Mich., in 1887; and Carlos 
I)., telegraph operator and station agent at Poltei-s- 
ville, Mich. The children of the second marriage 
are Ellen, Kmily, Marietta and Austin, all of whom 
are yet at home. 

Formerly, Mr. Lincoln w.ns a Whig in political 
sentiment and cast his first Presidential vote for 
.lohn <l. Adams l)ut since the organization of the 
Republican party has been one of its stanch sup- 
porters. He is a great admirer of Abraham Lin- 
coln, whom he met while making a speech in Kala- 
zoo. Religiously, he belongs to the Congregational 
Church, which he joined in 1«I2. Mr. Lincoln is 



906 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



i 



a genial gentleman and an entertaining conversa- 
tionalist. He and his family are well and lavora- 
bl}' known throughout the community where they 
have resided for so many years, he having been a 
resident of Kalamazoo City and count}' for a half 
centurv. 



♦=♦=♦ 



_y 



r 







PHRAIM T. MILLS, Treasurer of the Kala- 
mazoo Publishing Company, was born in 
Ann Arbor, this State, February- 13, 1830. 
His father, Sylvester W., removed in 1826 from his 
home in New York to Ann Arbor, and five j^ears 
later came to Kalamazoo County and engaged in 
the mercantile business at Ricliland. A partner- 
ship formed with Mumford Eldred continued un- 
til 1839, when he removed to Verona, Calhoun 
County, and was in a mercantile business there 
with Jeremiah Teed until 1841, when he went back 
to Richland and from tliere to Galesburgli, March 1, 
1843. In 1844, he built a gristmill with David Ford 
and under the firm name of S. W. Mills & Sons, 
engaged in merchandising. Removing in 1859 to 
Chicago, he was foreman in a machine shop until 
his death, in 1863, at the age of fiftj'-four. 

The marriage of Sylvester \V. Mills and Louisa 
Terry took place in Ann Arbor, in 1828. The 
bride, who was a native of Connecticut, accom- 
panied her parents to Michigan at an early day 
and spent the greater part of her life in the State, 
d3'ing at Benton Harbor, at her daughter's home, 
in 1886, at the advanced age of seventy-seven. 
Her mortal remains lie in the cemetery at Ciales- 
burgli, by the side of lier liusband's. Two of their 
five children died in infancy. The youngest sister, 
Ellen L., married N. .1. Eldred, of Benton Harbor, 
where she now resides. 

William T., onl^- Ijrother of our suliject, and now 
a resident of Benton Harbor, enlisted during the 
late war in the first company from Kalamazoo, 
under Colonel Dwight May, and was discharged 
for disabdity but soon after re-enlisted in the Six- 
teenth Regimental Band and served througout the 
entire war. He was struck with paral\sis and for 
two years was unable to sit up, but finally re- 



covered. He became blind through injuries re- 
ceived while in service. 

Our subject, as soon as he was old enough to be 
of .assistance to his father, clerked in his store, be- 
coming a partner when he was twent_y-one and 
continuing in that connection until 1859. In 18G0, 
he was elected County Registrar at a special elec- 
tion (the regular candidate having died of heart 
disease) and was twice re-elected, serving for six 
years. In 1867, in company with L. B. Kendall, 
he bought a milling business at Kendall Station, 
twenty miles from Kalamazoo, and together they 
operated a sawmill and stave factory for three 3-ears 
with great success. 

In 1869, Mr. Mills went to Kansas City and was 
connected willi A. L. Mason, formerly of Gales- 
burgh, in a steam cracker factory, which, unfortu- 
nately, was burned ten da3'S after being established 
but was rebuilt at once. In 1873, he became Assist- 
ant Cashier and Paymaster of the Leavenworth, 
Lawrence & Galveston Railroad, with headquarters 
at Lawrence, Kan., and held the position until he 
returned to Kalamazoo in 1875. Here he became 
connected with the Kalamazoo Publishing Com- 
pany, and for seven years was Assistant Postmaster 
under L. B. Kendall, having entire charge of the 
postollice on account of Mr. Kendall's absence 
from the city a good deal of the time. The office 
under his supervision had the reputation of being 
the best managed of an^' in the State. 

November 28, 1854, Mr. Jlills was married to 
Miss Helen L., daughter of Roswell Ransom, and a 
niece of the ex-Governor. Mrs. Mills was born in 
1836, at Galesburgh, where her father settled in 
1831, and was the third of seven children, six of 
whom survive. Her father, a native of Vermont, 
was a merchant and miller of Galesburgh, and died 
there in November, 1877, aged seventy-five. Her 
mother, whose maiden name was Loretta Shaffer, 
was a daughter of Gen. William R. Shafter, an ex- 
member of the Vermont Legislature, and is now 
making her home with a daughter, Mrs. A. J. 
Burdick, at Kalamazoo. 

A brother of Mrs. Ransom, Hon. Oscar L. Shaf- 
ter, was Judge of the Supreme Court of California, 
and wlien the two brothers were together had 
ninety' thousand acres of land and the largest dairy 



II 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



907 



ill the world, owiiiiij; four tlioiis.nnd t-ows. Another 
liiolhor, .Iiulge .hiiiies M. M., is .-i we;illhy nuich- 
iiiuii. of Sail Kranoisfo. lie has twelve hundred 
iiiiU'ii cows and has twenty-six lhous:ind acres in iiis 
rancii. 

Mr. and Mrs. .Mills are (he parents of six child ion, 
three of whom grew to maturity. Olen \V. resides 
at .lackson, and is one of the lirm in tiie music 
liouse of S. I). Smitli & Comiiau}'; Frank II., an 
actor in the .Mcazar .Stock Company Theater at 
.San Francisco, promises to be a future star of tlie 
stage, and h.as already received many tiattering 
press notices; Mamie E., the only daughter, resides 
at home. 

Although a Hcpuhlican, Mr. .Mills is not a part- 
isan, lie was reared in the Congregational 
Church, hut is not now connected with any relig- 
ious organization, although his belief tends to that 
of the Initarian Church. 



_w<K 



i>^^<! 



(o>— 



OH ACE M. I'ECK. We are pleased to give 
l|l in our list of the best citizens of Kalania- 
^ zoo the old [lioneers an<l prominent husi- 
(^^ ness men, and we therefore take special 
pleasure in presenting to our readers the name of 
llor.ice M. Peck. lie w.is born in i.itclilield 
County, Conn., in the town of Watertown, August 
7, IHll, and is the second in order of birth of a 
family of three children born to Benjamin M. and 
Salima ( Atwo<:)d)IVck, also natives of Connecticut. 

Deacon Benjamin Peck was a very prominent 
.agriculturist in the Nutmeg State and for several 
years took second premium for his neat and well- 
cultivated estate. The Peeks were of Scotch des- 
cent and the parents of our subject were members 
of the Congregational Church. The original of 
this sketch attended the common schools of his 
ii.'itive town and a-ssisted his father in clearing and 
improving the home farm until re.aching his ma- 
jority. 

Horace M. Peck came to Michigan in IH'id 
where he remained for a short time and then re- 
turned to Connecticut. In the spring of 1H38. he 
again made the Wtilverine State his home, this 
time locatiiifrin the village of Yorkville. He later 



im|)roved a good farm where he iii.ade his home 
for the live succeeding years and then came to 
Richland Township and carried on general farm- 
ing. He made a specially of sheep-raising and 
assisted other farmers in starting their tlocks. Mr. 
Peck has done a great deal of i)ioneer work in 
this county. He also carried on a broker.age busi- 
ness. His home [ilace consisted of two hundred 
acres which he placed under most excellent culti- 
vation and unproved with all the buildings nec- 
essary fortlie carryingon ofa first-class farm. He 
continued to cultivate his farm until October, ISG'.I 
when he moved into the then village of Kalama- 
zoo, where he h.as since made his home. 

Mr. Peck, in company with Charles Dayton, C. 
H. Hall and Col. F. W. Cortcnius organized the 
Kalamazoo .Savings Bank. He was made its \'ice- 
prcsldcnt, which position he continued to hold un- 
til 188!l, when his failing health cau.sed him l<i 
sever his connection with the institution. Ho 
still owns his beautiful farm in Richland Township, 
which nets him a fine income. 

.luly 1, 1838, he of whom we write and -Miss 
Amelia B. Barnes, of Yorkville, Mich., were nniteil 
in marriage. Jlrs. Peek is the daughter of Tillot- 
son and Clarissa (Byinglon) Barnes, natives of 
Litchfield County, Conn. Mrs. Peck was l)orn in 
Camden, Oneida County. N. Y. By her union with 
our subject six children have been born, four sons 
and two daughters, namely: Susan C; Horace B.; 
Frances S., wlu) is the wife of .1. C. Burrows, present 
member of Congress from this district; Herbert, a 
capitalist, of Minneapolis, Minn.; Charles A., \ice- 
president of the City National Bank at Kala- 
mazoo; and Benjamin M., who died in 187(j, at 
the age of eighteen ^-eai-s. 

Mr. Pock h.as accumulated a large property, hav- 
ing lieen interested in many of the successful en- 
terprises of the city. Il(f is very lilKMal with his 
means and contributes choorfiilly to the support 
of churches and all worthy objects. He doiialod 
* 1,000 to the Children's Home in this city and 
also the large bell on llio I'rosliytorian Church. 
He is a large stockholder in the City National 
Bank and ranks among the wealthy citizens of the 
c«)iiiity. His beaiiliful residence, which is localeil 
atNo. 21'.l West Ce<I.'ir Stieel. is a handsome frame 



908 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



structure, tastefully furnisliod througliout and 
bears evidence of the retlncnient and culture of its 
inmates. The kindly nature of Mr. and Mrs. Peck 
leads them to make life [ileasant for others, and 
their influence in the conununit^' is always for 
Sfood. 



^ AMES E. SELKIRK, who resides upon his 

I I farm on section 13, Hopkins Township, 
^— ^ I Allegan Count}-, is a representative of one 
^J^/y of the most iirominent pioneer families of 
this locality and one that has been identified with 
the history of the county since its earliest days. 
His grandfather, Jereiv.iah Selkirg (for such was 
the original spelling of the name), was a native of 
New York and served in the Revolutionary War 
as Aide-de-Camp on the staff of Gen. Washington. 
He died at the age of ninety-seven years, six 
months and eleven days and was buried in the 
family cemetery at Selkirk Lake. 

The father of our subject, .lames Selkirk, Sr., 
was born in New York in 1790, and married Han- 
nah Gunn,who was born in Connecticut, in Octo- 
ber, 1806. B}- trade he was a cabinet-maker. In 
early life, he 7nade long voyages on the Atlantic, 
visiting England and Scotland, and in the latter 
countr}' took the Thirty-third Degree of Masonry. 
He served with Napoleon on the high seas and par- 
ticipated in several naval engagements. He was 
an ordained minister of the Methodist Church, but 
in later life changed his views and was ordained 
an Episcopal clergyman by Bishop Onderdonk, of 
New York. In 1835, he emigrated toNiles, Mich., 
where he served as pastoi' for three years. The 
church was too poor to afford an organ, so he set to 
work to make one, conslructing pipes and all, and 
tuned it. * 

.Subseijuently, the Rev. Mr. Selkirk was appointed 
missionary to the Ottawa Indians and located 
ground on what is now the lianks of Selkirk Lake, 
in Wayland Township, Allegan County. The In- 
dians were tlien under their chief, Sagenaw. He 
labored with them for twenty-one j'ears, and to 
support his family carried on farming. His life 
was one of sacrifice, but the world is surely belter 



for his having lived. In politics, he was a stanch 
Democrat and was a prominen t ISIason , belonging to 
Cai'son Lodge, of Detroit. He had studied medi- 
cine and practiced consideral)ly in an early day 
here. 

The name of Rev. Mr. Selkirk is inseparably con- 
nected with the historj- of this count}-, for he was 
among its honored founders. He died October 5, 
1877, and his remains were interred in the family 
cemetery. His wife passed away May 24, 1890. 
B}' his first marriage, he had three children, two of 
whom are now living. Eour children were born 
of the second union, but our subject is the only 
one who now survives. One brother, Jeremiah, 
was killed by an Indian, at Crow Wing, Minn., in 
1858, at the age of twenty- four. 

The yongest brother, Charles C, acquired a su- 
jierior education and partially fitted himself for 
the Episcopal ministr}-. He is said to have been 
the most proficient Indian interpreter in the 
United States. He was thoroughly acquainted 
with several Indian tongues, and at the age of six- 
teen was interpreter to J. L. Breck, missionary 
aniong the (Jjipawa Indians in Minnesota. While 
there a plan was formed to murder him and the mis- 
sionaries. The Indian chief, Hail-in-the-Day, sent 
two braves to commit the deed, l)ut a sub-chief. 
Crow Feather, informed the wliite traders, who thus 
interfered. AVhile among the Leach Lake Indians, 
.lames E. and Charles E. Selkirk were attacked. 
One Indian stood over the brother with uplifted 
tomahawk, but our subject stood with a revolver, 
which intimidated the Indian and he thus saved 
his brother's life. Charles C. returned to his home 
in Michigan and died while teaching an Indian 
school at Point Water, November 19, 1860, at the 
age of twenty-two years and eleven months. On 
another occasion aside from those already men- 
tioned, a band of one hundred and fifty Indians 
passed the night in the Selkirk log cabin. 

The subject of this sketch was born March 4, 
1832, in Pompcy Township, Onondaga Countj% N. 
Y. Few have had the wild exiieriencc, whicli was 
his lot in early life. The Indians were his play- 
mates in boyhood, and he made such use of their 
language that his father had to send him to school 
in Kalamazoo to ro-learn the English tongue. At 




SELKIRK'S CLOCK 
PUM PING MOTOR. 



OLD GRI5W0LD MiSStON, PROPERTY OF JAMES E.SELKIRK, SEC. 28.,WArLAND TP, ALLLGAN CO., 

MICHIGAN . 




.;i« SiA,l..-a.^*;t^(^ijS^5M<«U*^. 



\^.... •4.,W,.a. >,.S.iii-iiiJfilV 



RESIDENCE Of J. B. BREED, SEC.8.. ALMENA TP^VAixi BURLIm CO.,MlCH. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RP:CORD. 



911 



twenty' years, he left hoine, going to New York, 
where lie learned the process of making daguerreo- 
types. Me liien carried on a gallery in Tappan- 
town, N. Y., one suninuM-. after wiiicii lie returned 
to Kalamazoo, Mich., where he worked at his trade 
for .Schuyler T5aldwin. He then traveled in Min- 
nesota until his mairiage and w^as takinji views in 
the neighborhood of I,;ikc Itasca wlicii lli;it event 
occurred. 

The marriage of Mr. .Selkirk ami Miss Henrietta 
E. Legg was celebrated in July, 1860. She was 
l>orn in New York. September 1, 1830, and is a 
daughter of Alfred and Maria (Manley) Legg, fif 
the Empire State. The deatii of lier father oc- 
curred in 1842, and her mother died in 18()fl. at 
the ago c)f fifty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Selkirk 
began their domestic life upon the old liomestead 
on the mission grounds, there residing until about 
eight years ago, wiieii he piuclia.sed eighty acres of 
land on section 13, Hopkins Township, his present 
farm. However, lie still owns one hundred and 
sixty-six acres of the old homestead, lie tarried 
on general farming until two j^ears ago, since which 
time he h.as been constructing an invention which 
embodies the idea of puiiipiiig water from wells 
without the use of windmills. He has just com- 
pleted the machine, which is called the Clock Pump- 
ing Motor, has had it i)atented and exi)ects to 
place it on the market in the spring of 18!)2. It 
has many admirable <|ualities and will doubtless 
have a read\' sale. A view of this motor and also of 
the residence of Mr. Sclkiik will be notlc;'il on an- 
other page. 

I'nto Mr. and .Mrs. .Selkirk were born three chil- 
dren: Addle H.. now tile wife of 1!. .McDermott, 
who resides in Klinira, Mich., with his wife and 
child; Charles K., who operates the old homestead, 
married Jennie Kelley, by whom he has two sons; 
Lulu is the youngest of the family. The parents 
are well and favorably known throujrhout this 
community and rank high in social circles, while 
their own home is the abode of hospitality. Mr. 
Selkirk is a Master Mason, and h.as held nearly all 
the otiices in the Blue Lodge. Hi also belongs to 
several farmer societies and in i)olitics is a Demo- 
crat. A man of more than ordinary ability, he 
lias won for himself an enviable [josition and h.as 

12 



the high regjird of all with whom he has been 

brought ill coiilacl. His lite has been a varied 
one — his ehildliood spent among the Indians, his 
early manhood in travel, his nuire mature years in 
farming and now, in his later life, he has turned 
his attention lo invenlion. 



•^n: 



E^^ 



lIlOSIH'Ar.. Iil!i:i;i). This gentleman is one 
of llie well-known and representative farm- 
ers of .Mmeiia Township, Van Buren 
\2/ County. The origin of this family in Amer- 
rica is centered in Allan Breed, who came from 
Southampton, Knsjiand, to America in 1630. and 
from him the prest'iit family is descended. The 
grandfather of our subject, Nathaniel Breed, was 
born at Cape Cod, Mass., and a .son of Nathaniel, 
also of Cape Cod. The former was married to 
Elizabeth VVhitconib,and the^- had eleven children. 

The father of our subject w.as the youngest in 
the family circle, and was born September Id. 1800, 
ill New Hampshire. The mother of our subject 
was Nancy (Bangs) Breed, born April 18, 180(). 
They were married in Monroe County, N. Y.. in 
1823, and the hiisljand was engaged in farming 
and mercantile business. They came to Michigan 
in 1835 to live, Mr. Breed having been here two 
years before. They located in Columbia Towiiship, 
where Breedsville now is. There our subject erected 
a sawmill and was one of the lii'st settlers. A few 
years later, he moved to Antwcri) Township, near 
Paw Paw, and settled on a farm of one hundred and 
trt-enty acres. After moving several times, in IK.'iii 
he came to Alincna Townshi[), and made a perma- 
nent home on .-ieetion 7. He died in 1876. 

The parental family included the following five 
children: Stillman F.. .lonathan IL, Joshua B., and 
Albert T., Phoebe .\nn, deceased. The mother of 
this family iTlcd in 183'.», and the father took for 
his second wife, in 18tl,Maiy Ann Miller, now 
deceased. She liorc him three children: Nancy M.. 
Mary K. and Silas .\. The fatlicr w.a.s a Deacon 
for fifty yeai-s in the Free-will Ba|itist Church and 
w.is tlie main stav in the church. He was a Whig 
and jifterward a Hepublicaii in his |Kilitieal altilia- 
tions. He helped to organize the township, and 



912 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was Supervisor for seven teeu years, also Supervisor 
of Antwerp Township, holding the office of Iligli- 
way Commissioner here, and taking a lively interest 
in schools. lie was a strong temperance man. 

(^ur subject is the fourth child, born July 5, 
1835, in Monroe County, N. Y. He came to Mich- 
igan when a baby with liis parents, and received 
his education here. His brothers, Stillman F. and 
.Jonathan II., received splendid educations, the 
furnier a graduate of Hillsdale College, studied for 
the ministry, also law and medicine. lie moved to 
Califiirnia, and is practicing medicine there. .Ton.a- 
tlian II. was a student at Hillsdale College, but grad- 
uated at the Kalamazoo Business College. 

-Mr. r.reed remained at home until he was twen- 
ty-one, and lias always been engaged in fanning. 
He had to begin einiity-handed and worked out 
on farms for two years. He then bought a farm 
in Waverl3' Township, in section 12, which he im- 
proved. In the year 18.58, our subject was mar- 
ried to Ilattie Maria Clark, born May 28, 1839, in 
Onondaga Countj', N. Y. Mrs. Breed is tlie 
daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Skultliori)) Clark, 
l)oth natives of JCngiand, who came to America in 
1836 and settled in New York State. They came 
to Michigan in 1848 and settled in this township 
on a farm which they improved. She died in 1858, 
and he in 1886. Four of their eleven children 
are now living: James, William, Mrs. lireed and 
Robert. Mr. Clark, in politics, was a Republican. 

Our subject sold out in Waverly Townslii}) and 
came to this place in 1865 and located on section 
17, just across the road from his present farm. He 
purcluased iiis present farm in 1882, and two years 
ago built his present tine brick residence at a cost 
of $4,000. The beautiful aliode, a view of which 
accompanies this sketch, is handsomely finished in 
hard-wood and grained; is heated by a furnace and 
fini.shed from basement to attic. The exterior of 
this palatial residence is adorned ivith bay win- 
ilows and balconies, while the inferior shows the 
taste and culture of the lady who so graciously 
presides over it. The chaniliers are each decorated 
in one color, such .as blue, red and mahogany. The 
artistic staircase and large, fine hallw.ay add greatly 
to the attractiveness of the place and contriljute 
in making it one of the finest homes in the town- 



ship. Mr. Breed is also the |)ossessor of three 
other residences and owns two hundred and eighty 
broad acres, of which the most are splendidly im- 
proved. He actively carries on his farm himself, 
and is a sagacious and enterprising fanner, as his 
place testifies. 

Mr. and Mrs. Breed are the parents of three chil- 
dren, one deceased. The living are Berdette L.. 
born in 1851), married Anna DeLong, and lives on 
the home farm. Lester E., born in 1868, resides 
at home with his parent*. The children have re- 
ceived splendid educations and the father has 
been an officer in this school district. He is a 
member of the Masonic order at Paw Paw, and 
h.as been for over a quarter of acentuiy. He and his 
amiable wife are members of the Paw Paw Grange 
and were formerly members of the Waveily 
Grange. Both have held offices in this society. 
In politics, Mr. Breed casts his vote with the 
Republican party, and has served his fellow-citi- 
zens as Supervisor, Treasurer and Ilighwa.y Com- 
missioner. He helped to establish local ojjtion 
here. Mr. and Mrs. Breed, with their family, stand 
among the best circles in the townsliip, and are 
iield in respect by all. 










RMSTRONG B. LYSTER. On the old 
homestead in Van Buren County which 
his father purch-ased manj- years ago, this 
gentleman is assiduously- [(erforming his 
part as one of the thorough-going farmers of 
Columbia Township. The place comprises a tract 
of one hundred and four acres on section 16, and 
is eml)ellished with a substantial set of buildings 
for the storage of grain and the shelter of stock, 
as well as by the commodious residence which 
is the abode of the family. As a public-spirited 
citizen, obliging neighbor and open-hearted friend, 
he has won a place among the prominent and 
representative citizens of the community. 

The grandfather of our subject was William J. 
Lyster, a Cai)tai]i in the British army, whose 
wife was in maidenhood Miss Martha Hatton, a 
daughter of Col. Jolm Hatton, of the British army. 
After his inaniage, Capt. Lyster settled in his 



PORTHAIT AM) lUOGRAl'IlK AI, HKCORD. 



913 



native countr3--Ireland-where he died at the age 
of more than four-score. He was :i devoted iiieiii- 
lier of the Episcopal Church and an upiiirht man. 
lie and ids wife liad a family of three rhlldien. 
namely: Armstrong T., father of our sidjjeel; 
William N.. one of the first Episcopal mission- 
aries in Michigan; and ^Matilda. The eldest in 
the family wa.s born in the Emerald Isle .\i>ril ;!. 
18(13, and received a si)lendid education at Trin- 
ity College, Ireland. He studied law and engaged 
in its practice as well as in the supervision of his 
farm of one hundred and seventeen acres. 

On October III. IHl.S, Armstrong T. Lyster and 
his family landed in New York City, having em- 
igrated hither from their native country. They 
at once proceeded west to Lenawee Comity, this 
State, where the father purchased one hundred and 
forty acres and on the homestead he there estiib- 
lished resided live years. Afterward he sojourned 
in Toledo. Ohio, for two years, and was there oc- 
cupied in the olHce of the Toledo Bhuh'. In 
March, IH.'>5. he came to Columbia Township, N'an 
Ihiren County, and after residing for a few years 
on section 16, removed to their present farm, sjime 
section and same townshi|), where he cleared 
and improved a farm. His death occurred on 
that jilace September 21, 187(). In ieligit>us con- 
victions he was a memlier of the Episcopal Church, 
while his political belief brtmglit him iiilo atlil- 
iation with the Republican party. 

The subject of this sketch is one of a large 
family of children, of wlmm the following facts 
are noted: Isdell I)., who served as Eii-sl .Sergeant 
in the Second Michigan Cavalry during the late 
war and afterward died in this St;ite; Armstrong 
15., wlK)died in Ireland when (uil\- six years old; 
(iertriide M., now Mrs. Ely; Willi.-iin .1., who served 
in the Firet New York Light Artillery iiiid died 
in Denver, Col.; Edmund F.. now a resident of 
Oregon, and who also served in the First New 
York Light Artillery; Armstrong 1$., our subject; 
Isabella H. F., who died when eight; Florence I., 
who pas.sed away at the sige of four, and two 
othei-s who died in ciiildhoo<l. 

The mother of this family lx)re the maiden 
name of Anna Isdell. and was born in County 
.Mavi>. Ireland, while her father was there on dutv. 



She was one of five children born to Patrick H. 

and .Vnna .M. (L"Estrange) Lsdell, natives of 
County Westmeath, Ireland. Her father Wiis a 
Captain in the Ihitish army, and the son of 
Fr.ank Isdell, a farmer. In County Westmeath, 
Ireland, Armsli-ong 15. Lyster w.as born April l;'i, 
1817, .and when little more than one year old 
was liiought l)y his parents to the I'liited States. 
He passed his youth on the farm where he still 
lives, and early gained a |)iactlcal knowledge of 
agriculture. He now m:ikes a specialty of peaches 
and grapes, in which he is very successful. 

The marriage of Mr Lyster to Miss Mary I.sa- 
hella Cossar took place February 111, 1871. Mi-s. 
Lyster was born in Chatham. England, and is the 
daughter of Waller an<l Kate ( Lyster) Cossar, 
natives, respectively, of Herwickshire, .Scotland, 
and County Wexford. Ireland. .Mr. Cossar en- 
tered the British army at nineteen and served in 
the Roy;il Marines as CapUiin. In 1865, he emi- 
grated to Montreal, Canada, and two years later 
came to Cliic.'igo, where the family have since re- 
sided. ^Ir. ;iiid Mrs. Lyster are the parents of 
twelve children, as follows: Martha K., Re.ssie G., 
.\nna F.. Edmund IS., Mary .\., Walter I., (ier- 
triide E., Lizzie E., Florence I., Nona !M.. Wini- 
fred F., and Rowland J. C. The members of the 
f;imily tind a religious home in the Episcopal 
Church :ind enjoy the esteem of their large circle 
iif wniin personal friends. 

f^VAniCA'. N. MASON. A beautiful and taste- 
ful home, placed in attractive surroundings 

Jl' and furnished .according to the dictates of 
a cultured mind, is an educative |)Ower in any 
community. The ••new education" of which we 
hear so much nowadays teaches that we learn 
through the eye, and that a lesson which is .agi-ee- 
ably taught has doiiltle force. For that reason we 
hold to the truth with which we open this |)arn- 
graph. 

Mr. M.ason operates a line farm on .section 3"2. 
Portage Township. Kalamazoo County. He is the 
son of .lohn L. and Ruth (Wright) Ma.son. nalive.s_. 
respectively, of Massachusetts and Schoh' 



914 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Count}', N. Y. The father was sixteen years of 
age when he migrated to Wayne County, N. Y., 
where he met and married tlie mother of our 
subject. He was born in 1800, and died in Marion, 
N. Y., in his seventieth year. Mrs. Mason, who was 
born in 1804, still survives at an advanced age. 

Of the parental family of four sons and seven 
daughters, 'Tcorge N. was the seventh child, his 
birth occurring in Mniion, Wayne County, N. Y., 
January 5, 1836. He was reared on a farm and 
given a good education in the common schools of 
the neighborhood. When reaching his eighteenth 
year, he came West to this county, and in Cooper 
Township was engaged in farming and stock-rais- 
ing for a period of twenty-two years. His first 
marriage occurred November 2.3, 1858, in Cooper 
Township, at which time Miss Ellen Delano became 
his wife. Mrs. Mason was born in that township, 
August 28, 1840, and became the mother of the 
following-named four children: Etta, wlio was the 
wife of Frank Young, died in Cooper Township, 
August 7, 1888, when twentj-nine years of age; 
Jennie, who died when four years of age; Ilattie 
and Carl. Mrs. Ellen Mason died February 1, 
1882. 

George N. Mason was a second time married, No- 
vember 25, 1884, this time to Mrs. Mellissa Nash, 
the widow of Horace Nash, who died in Williamson, 
Wayne County, N. Y., November 26, 1873. She 
had become the mother of one daughter by that 
marriage, Jennie E. The maiden name of Mrs. 
Mason was Melissa Cogswell, the daiighter of Will- 
iam and Eliza Cogswell, residents of Marion, N. Y., 
where she was born, June 14, 1840. 

Our subject made his home in Cooper Township 
for four years and then removed to Hojikiiis, Alle- 
gan County, in which place he resided for nine- 
teen months. He next removed to Pavilion Town- 
ship, and after a stay of two }'ears there, came to 
Climax Township, this county, where he lived for 
three years. Later he rctuined to Cooper Town- 
ship and after making this place his home for 
eighteen years, went to Charleston Township. Six 
months thereafter, he made the city of Kalamazoo 
his abiding place, wiiere he was a resident two 
^ears, at the end of which time he spent a year 
anci^a Jialf in Charleston Townshii). Again return- 



ing to Kalamazoo, he enjoyed life there for another 
six months and, in 1887, settled in Portage Town- 
ship. 

Mr. Mason was the first man to engage in the 
wholesale meat business in Kalamazoo. He has 
always taken an active part in political affairs, and 
is a strong Republican. Socially, he is a IMason, 
and for a number of years has been Chairman of 
the Township Committee. He has taken an active 
part in educational affairs and for fifteen years was 
a member of the School Board. ]\Ir. Mason has 
always been engaged in farming and stock-raising 
and ranks among the wealthy members of the agii- 
cultural community. He owns one hundred and 
eighty acres of excellent land which is under thor- 
ough cultivation. He is liberal in his religious 
views and, with his estimable wife, is highly es- 
teemed in his community for his excellent qualities 
of mind and heart. 



SCAR D. MARTIN is a well-to-do farmer 
and stock-raiser on section 36, Lawrence 
Township, "N'mi Buren County. His place 
consists of eighty acres which he cultivates in a 
most profitable manner. He was born in New 
York, August 16, 1838, and is the son of Harry 
and Emily (Hungerford) Martin, both of whom 
were natives of New York. 

Our subject was fifteen 3'ears of age when his 
parents came West to Michigan, at which time 
they located in Waverl}' Township, Van Buren 
County, where the father purchased sixty acres of 
la nd. September 16, 1 86 1 , he en listed in Company 
C, Third Michigan Cavalry and joined the Army 
of the AVest. He participated in the battles of 
New Madrid, Island No. 10, luka, Hudsonville, 
Holly Springs, Hopkins Mills, Tallahatchie, Ox- 
ford and Coffeeville. He took an active [lart in all 
the battles in which his regiment was engaged and 
received his honorable discharge at Arkansas in 
October, 1864. He was in the hospital at Hamburg 
Landing and at Cincinnati for a short period. 

The gentleman of whom we write was married, 
April 12. 1865, to Miss Henrietta Smith, of Paw 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



915 



I'aw. Shi' \v:is huni in ( )rk';ins County, X. Y., 
I'Vliiuai'v 6, l«l.'l,an(l t'aiiio to Mk'liiLraii in lH(;i 
from l.uiain Coniitv. Ohio, whithor the family had 
icmoved ill ISdl. Her parriits were Amos and 
Oivelia (Sheldon) Smitii, natives of New York. 
Mr. Smith died in Ohio in hSCl. After li is inar- 
riai;e, our sulijeet rented a i>iece of land and farmed 
for alxiut four years, when lie look eliarij;e of the 
old homestead until the death of his (laients. lie 
then lioiiijlit out the heirs and operated the home 
farm, wliieli lie sold a few years later and [lur- 
eli.a.sed lii.s [iresent estate, luoviiig here in April, 
IHX;3. 

Our sulijeet aiul his wife liavc lieeoine the |)a- 
rents of t wo ehildren: Harry A., who was born 
on tlie ohl homestead, December 2, 1865, is married 
aiul has two ehildren; Nidlie was al.so born on the 
old homestead. May It, li^tKi. The son has been 
<;ivcn a line education, being graduated from the 
I.awrenee High School and the -Vgrieultural Col- 
lege, iceeiving his diploma from the latter institu- 
tion in 1889. He is now engaged in te.aeliing. 
The daughter has also been a teaeher, having been 
employed in I'aw I'aw. 

In polities, Mr. Martin is a Democrat and a 
member of thefJrand .\riiiy of the Hepiiblie at 
Lawrence. 



'P_^ ARRIS 15. OSHORNK, M. I)., was l)orn in 
i) Sherman, Cliautau(|ua County. N. Y., Au- 
gust 11, 1811. His parenUs, I'latl S. and 
Mary A. (Piatt) Osborne, were natives of 
Kingsbury, Washington County, of the same .State. 
His inaternHl grandfather was Xehemiah I'lall, for 
whom our subject's father wiis named, he being 
an old friend of David Osborne. The Osborne 
family traces its ancestry back to the old Xorse 
conqueror who spelled his name"Asjourn." Three 
brothers who had emigrated to America at an early 
day were driven from Long Island and their 
property confiscated on account (»f tln'ir joining 
the ranks of the Colonists. 

I'latt Osborne was a musician in tht War of 1 Ml 2, 
and lived to the advanced age of eighty-four years. 
He was a meiehanl and iii.-inufactiirini; laniier. 



Our subject worked in his father's tannery until 
reaching his sixteenth year, when he st!irt<'d out 
as a peddler of musical instriimcnl.s anil Yankee 
notions through Ohio and Illinois, and liiiall\- loca- 
ted in Kane County, the latter St;»le. Aft<>r three 
years s|ient there, he began the study of medicine 
under Dr. Samuel McNair, of Ulaekberiy, 111., at- 
tending school at ICIgiii and Aurora until IHGl, 
when he entered the .State I'niversily of .Michigan. 
After attending there for a period, he enlisted in 
the Third Hoard of Tradi' Regiment, at Chicago, 
serving in the Held in .Missi.-sippi and Tennessee. 
He passed examination before the Army IJoard, 
and was commissioned .Surgeon at \'ieksburg. May 
;t, 18(;;5, and after the fall of that city was made 
P<ist .Surgeon and health ollicer at that pl.ice. He 
occupied that position until Octolier, IHCO, when 
the city was turned over to the civil authorities. 

In 18()6-(>7, our snliject was graduated from 
the medical department of the Bellevue Hos|(ital, 
New York, and began the [iractice of his profession 
at his old home in .Slierman. New York, remaining 
there until 1880. In 1874, Dr. Osborne took a 
post-graduate course at the New York College of 
Physicians \- Surgeons, and, in isxd. came to Kal- 
amazoo, thinking the climate would prove beneli- 
cial to him as he was a great sufferer from asthma. 

Dr. Osborne enjoys a lucrative practice, and 
stands high in the in'ofession. He is a member of 
the State Medical .Society of New York, the Amer- 
ican Medical Association, the .state Medical 
As.sociation of Michigan, and the Association of 
Railroad Surgeunsof the I'nited States. He is at the 
present time Surgeon of the Kalamaz<jo Division of 
the L.ake Shore iV Michigan Southern Railroad, and 
is President of the Itorgess Ilospjl^d Staff. In |M)li- 
ties, he is a Republican, and is a stockholder in va- 
rious manufacturing and business enterprises in 
the city. 

October 211, 1H78, Dr. Osborne was married to 
Miss Nettie .1. .Vmes, a n.ative of Rutland, Vt. 
.She was a teacher in Kaneville, Kane County, III., 
at the lime of her marriage. The Doctor is a Vtve 
and Accepted Mason, belonging to l><>lh Chapter 
an<l Council. He was for a iiumlior of yeai-s mem- 
ber of the Pension IJoard of Kxaminei-s. He 
liieiiilK>r of the <;rand .\rmy of the Repub 





916 



PORTKAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 



has been President of the Chautauqua County 
Medical Society'. AVith his wife, lie is a member 
of the Congregational Church. They make their 
home at No. 122 East Lovell Street, where the 
Doctor has erected a handsome, modern brick res- 
idence. 

— 1- 




ON. A. .1. .SHAKESPEARE. Foremost 
among the new.spapers of .Southern Michi- 
gan stands the Kalamazoo Gazette, which 
^\^j is one of the most popular and influential 
journals in this section of the country-. Not only 
is it a welcome guest to many homes, but it has 
always been effective in molding public sentiment 
and advancing the interests of the city, politically 
and socially. When any measure is brought for- 
ward which is calculated to promote the welfare of 
the community, it finds a stanch friend in the edi- 
tor of the Gazette, who is alike courageous in bat- 
tling against unjust and illegal measures, .and firm 
in advocating what is right and true. 

Mr. .Shakespeare, who is owner and editor of 
the Gazette, is a native of Ohio and was born in 
Paris Township, Portage Count}', January 13, 1839. 
When about four 3'ears old, he was brought by his 
parents to Michigan, remaining for two j-ears in 
Yorkville, Kalamazoo County, and then accom- 
panying the family to a wild, unimproved farm 
in Richland Township. In 1848, a final removal 
was made to what was then the unimportant vil- 
lage of Kalamazoo, and here, within a week after 
the arrival of the family, the father was taken ill 
and died. 

At the age of thirteen, our subject entered the 
office of the Gazette as an apprentice, serving four 
years, and later, working during the summer as a 
journeyman and attending college in winter. For 
one 3'ear he was employed on the Chicago morn- 
ing papers and in 1860 returned to Kalamazoo to 
take charge of the Gazette, while the proprietor 
spent the 3-ear in Europe. He then purchased the 
Niles Democrat which he conducted for nine and 
one-half 3'ears with marked success. In 1870, he 
i)ought the Gazette which he still owns and pub- 
lishes. During the more than twenty years in 



which he has been proprietor of this paper, he has 
increased its size from a four-page to a twelve-page 
weekly, and has also established an eight-page 
daily, which is one of the leading organs of the 
Democratic party in Michigan. 

For more than thirty years, our subject has 
served as delegate to almost every count}', Con- 
gressional and State convention, and was also del- 
egate to the Democratic National Convention held 
in Cincinnati in 1880. In 1885, he was appointed 
Postmaster of Kalamazoo, and held that responsi- 
ble position for four years and six months, until a 
change in the administration was made. His 
course in life, both as a business man and citizen, 
has been such as to command the respect of all with 
whom he has been brought in contact, and while 
he stands especially high in the regard of those of 
his own political belief, yet he maintains to a 
marked degree the esteem of those whose political 
affiliations are not the same as his own. 



^^E 



E^^ 



w 



HARLES CARROLL CURTENIUS, the 
l)resent capable Street Commissioner of 
Kalamazoo, is a native of Glenn Falls, War- 
ren County, N. Y., where he had his birth Novem- 
ber 23, 183.5. He is the second-born of his father's 
first family. He received his education in the dis- 
trict school and the Baptist College of Kalamazoo. 
He remained on his father's old farm in Kalama- 
zoo Township, and in the year 1864 came into pos- 
.se.ssion of the farm himself. It is situated three 
miles northwest of the city of Kalamazoo, on the 
Grand Prairie. One hundred and ten acres com- 
prise the estate on which Mr. Cnrtenius carried on 
f.irming until April, 1889, when he removed to 
the city of Kalamazoo. 

The worthy subject of this notice was married, 
.January 28, 1862, to Miss Phebe Smith, a daugh- 
ter of C. B. and Ellen (Bour) .Smith. She is a 
native of England, where her parents were farmers. 
Her father died in Kalaniazoo in 1889. Two chil- 
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Curtenius: 
Edward F., and Elizabeth E. who resides with her 
parents. Edward is carrying on the farm. 

Mr. Curtenius was elected .Supervisor of Kala- 



PORTRAIT AND BKXiRAPmCAL RKfDRD. 



ni7 



mazoo Towiisliij) in IKHf) and servcvl until 188!). 
lie li:us Ill-Id many otiicr towmsiiip olliocs, and is 
now Street Coniinissionor of tlic city, appointed in 
the spriiiir of 18'.)1. Tlie most of his attention is 
Uiven to the supervision of liis farm. In hivS polili- 
eal views, lie alliliales wilh tiie Kepublican party 
and is (|uite active in eonvenlions. Mr. and Mrs. 
Curtenius have a ple;us;int home at N\>. l;5(i West 
Diitton Street, where tiie family command the re- 
spect of the entire community. 






1—1— 1 



^f^M)Wl.\' MAKTl.N. This well-known citizen 
(Is of Kalamazoo was born in Castile, Genc- 
, 'i^^ — ^ see C'ounty(now jiart of Wyoniinu: County). 
N. Y., Novemher 24, 1828. His parents, Zala and 
l.ueretia (Harwood) Martin, were natives respect- i forty years 



road and hardware interests and f)np year later 
removed to Kalamazoo, where he ha.s a pleasant 
home at No. 325 S. Hurdick Street. He was mar- 
ried, October 14, 18.')1, at Murray. N. Y., to Miss 
^lary (J. Thomsus, who died in Taw I'aw, February 
5, 1881. She had two children, one of whom died 
in infancy; the other, Clara M., is now Mrs. 
fJeorge G. IJogue. of Detroit. Mr. Martin con- 
tr.acted a second alliance, choosina; .as his wife the 
widow of -Mexander IJucll, whose maiden name 
was Cornelia M. Granger. 

Mi's. Martin is the daughter of David and Lucy 
(Canfleld) (Granger, natives of Sandislield, Mass., 
and is of English ilcscent, her grandfather, Klihu 
Granger, having emigrated from Shellield tt> this 
country. Her jiarents took up (Joverninent land 
in Jcffei-son County. N. Y., and there resided 
January 23, 1850, Cornelia was mar- 



ivelyofNew York and Connecticut, the father 
l)eing engaged as a manufacturer of plows in the 
Empire State, also managing a hotel and conduct- 
ing farming operations. In 1837, he removed to 
Mrginia and several years afterward died at 
Forcstville, Jlrl. 

In 1860, the widow and orphaned children re- 
turned to New York, where Edwin engaged in the 
mercantile business at Ilindsburg, Orleans Count\', 
until 18(i,'j. During the following year, he came 
to Michigan and with his mother located at Paw 
Paw. He was also accompanied by his sister Char- 
lotte M., the widow of Horace Nichols, formerly 
of Forestville, Md. She now resides in De- 
troit, the mother having died in Paw Paw about 
1880. 

For some years .Mr. -Martin engaged in the saw- 
mill business fourteen miles north of Paw Paw; he 
also conducted a meat market in the village and 
later carried on a hanlware store for fourteen 
yeai-s under the firm name of Free it Martin This 
firm owned one-third interest in the Toledo iV 
.Sjuth Haven Railroad, being among its incorpora- 
toi"s, and Mr. Martin being Treasurer of the Com- 
pany. The lirm also i)ureh;ised the old Paw i'aw 
Railroad of four miles and changed it to a narrow 
gauge road, incorporating it with the Toledo it 
South Haven Railroad. 

In l^HC, .Mr. Martin disposed <•( Imlh lii~ rail- 



ried to Charles ^I. Curtis, a merchant at .S.ackett's 
Harbor, who in 1857 embarked in the mercantile 
business at Paw Paw. One year later, he engaged 
.as a nurseryman, in which he continued until his 
death in April. I8(J3. 

October 28, 186!). the widow was married to 
Alexander Uuell, whose death enUiiled upon her 
e.xtensive business interests. She is a shrewd, 
careful, business woman. She became the wife of 
Mr. Martin, Se[)UMnber 6, 1887, and in their pleas- 
ant home, amid happy surroundings, they are 
wont to entertain their extensive circle of friemls. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. ^lartin have a large develop- 
ment of social qualities and are welcome guests in 
gatherings where sparkling wit and e.a.sy repartee 
are found. Polilicalls'. Mr. Martin is a Democrat. 
Mi>. Martin is a member of St. Luke's Ejiiscopal 
Church. 



SE^^b^tj^ 



OIIN .VNDERSON ( .VMI'l'.Kl.L. a resident 
at Ni>. 322 Henrietta Street, Kalamazoo, is 
by trade a contractor and builder. He was 
born in (Jl.-isgow. Scotland, Novenilwr II. 
1833, to Henry anil .Mary (Andei-son) Campbell. 
Our subject served some time with a linn of ship 
builders tin the Clyde and after a short time went 
to Ircl.-iiid. where he w;is married in lielf.asl. .\u- 



k 



918 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



gust 15, 1854, to Miss Jane jMiller, a native of the 
same place as our subject. Slic was born Septem- 
ber 30, 1834, to John and Jane (Smith) Miller, and 
liad moved to Ireland with her parents four jears 
before her marriage. Sir. IMiller was in the nurs- 
ery business at Belfast. 

The day of the marriage of our subject, the 
young couple set sail for Amei'ica from Liveri)ool, 
and after a voyage of twenty-eight days' duration 
they landed in New York City. A lirotlier of Mrs. 
Campbell came with them, and a Maj. .Sanford. of 
Durhamville, Oneida County, N. Y., a tanner, hired 
tliern all, and with him they remained a year. From 
there thej- went to Toronto, Canada, and after a 
stay of one yiar at that place journej'ed to near 
Gait and eleai'ed a farm, residing thereon until 
1873. 

In the last year given, our subject and liis fam- 
ily came to Kalamazoo County. Another brother 
of Mrs. Campbell had located here and engaged in 
carriage manufacturing. Our subject had expected 
to go South, but instead was engaged as carpenter 
in the manufactory, where he worked only one 
year, at the expiration of which time he journeyed 
to Austin, Tex. Mr. Campbell remained in the 
Lone Star State only one winter, when he decided 
to return to Kalamazoo and remain here. His work 
since that time has been contracting and buildingon 
his own account, and he has in his employ from ten 
to thirty men nearly all the time. He has erected 
a number of large schoolhouses and the better class 
of dwellings, store-houses, etc. His business at 
times ranges from *30,000 to 150,000 annually, 
and besides his contracting business he is interested 
to some extent in real estate. In liis political 
views, Mr. Campbell votes for tiie man, irrespect- 
ive of party, in the local elections, but in National 
affairs is a stanch Democrat. The Presbyterian 
faith was that in which he was reared, but he is 
now associated witli that of the Congregationalists. 

To Mr. Campltell and his estimable wife the fol- 
lowing children have been born: Marion, Mrs. D. 
N. White, wiiose husband is a merchant at 
Petoskej; Jane married Anthony- Ta^ior, of Kala- 
mazoo; Henry is a ranchman on the Upper Elk 
River, in Routt County, Col.; William is a sales- 
man for a Chicago House; Isabelle is at home; 



Elizabeth, who is a graduate of the High Seliool, 
is a teacher in the Lake Street public school; Mary 
is an artist and resides at home; James is with the 
Gilmore Bros., merchants of Kalamazoo; and Jes- 
sie, who is attending the High School, lives at 
home. The honored parents of these children are 
lioinilar, pleasant and upright people and in tlieir 
comfortable home a gracious hospitality is dis- 
pensed. 




(MJNELIUS INIASON, a representative pio- 
neer of Kalamazoo County, has been a resi- 
dent here since 18"25, at which time he 
accompanied his parents to Richland Townshi|), 
coming from Connecticut bj' lake and canal to De- 
troit, and making the remainder of the journey 
by ox-team and wagon. Our subject is a son of 
Edwin and Clarissa (Johnson) Mason, natives of 
Connecticut. The paternal grandfather was a Rev- 
olutionary soldier, and he was also born in Con- 
necticut. 

Tiie father settled in this township and county 
in the year above mentioned and took up land 
which was only partly covered with timber, tlic 
rest being natural |)i'airic. Tiie family, of course, 
had to endure tlie usual hardshi[)s and privations 
ciiiiinion to pioneer life. Four of the family of 
children Ijorn to the parents of our subject arc still 
living: Maria, the wife of John Nevins; Betse>-, 
the wife of Frank Storms; Cornelia, who married 
Martin Olmstead, and our subject, Cornelius. The 
father is among the veneralile and honored pio- 
neers of Richland Township, and is now in his 
eighty-ninth year. 

The subject of this notice is a native of Lilch- 
lield County, Conn., where he was born, September 
2!), 1822. He was reared and educated in this 
county amid scenes of pioneer life, choosing farm- 
ing as his life vocation. He has seen this county 
converted into tlourishing cities and fertile farms 
and he himself has cleared over two hundred 
acres, of timber land, on which he carries on general 
farming and stock-raising. 

Mr. Mason was united in marri.age, in 1851, to 



i 




RESlDLr^CL OF CORNELIUS MASON, SEC. 3., RICH LAND TP,KALAMAZOO CO., MICH. 




RESIDENCE &. FARM PROPERTY OF MARION MEAD. SCC.l., CHARLESTON TP.KALAMAZOO CO , MICH. 



PORTRAIT AxNl> IJUHiRAl'HlCAL RECORD. 



921 



Frfinoes Slater wIk) bore liiin six cliildren, of whom 
five survive, namely: Grace, the wife of Conrad 
Miller: Ida, the wife of Oscar Barnes; Kdwin S.; 
Hcrlie. and Editli, who is the wife of Charles 
(;rat)<,'er. Minnie is the name of the deceased 
child. Mr. Mason 's second marriage took ])lace .)an- 
ii:irv 13, 1885, this wife lieiiig Mrs. Afariiaret 
(iilison, the widow of II. A. (libson, of Kalamazoo 
County. She was horn in this count3', April 30, 
ix')0, and is a dau<;hter of Alexander (deceased) 
and Kva .Jackson. The mother now resides in 
IJarry County, and is a native of Ohio; the father 
was a native of Vermont. AVheii aliouloiirhl years 
old, Mrs. JIason's fallier dieil and the mother was 
married to William Scott, who is also deceased. 
The home of Mr. and Mi's. Mason has been l)les»ed 
by the advent of one sou. I5i uce. who is attending 
school. 

Mr. JIason is a meiulicr of tiie I'resbyterian 
Church, while the faith of his wife is in the Jlelh- 
odist Episcopal Church, and both arc .active nicni- 
bers of society. In iiolitics, the vote of Mr. Mason 
is cast with the Kci)ublican body. lie is known 
as one of the most skillful hunters in this part of 
the State, and has hunted more or less during his 
whole life. He killed many deer when he (irst 
came here near his own door, but now has to go 
to Northern Mic'.iigan to find game. He is also 
vei'v fond of fishing. 

On another page of this vnluuie ;i[ipears a view 
of the homestead of Mr. Mason. 



-^^. 



■^^^^^ 



jlK^l ARION MKAIJ, coming of the old pioneer 
I \\\ stock of Kalamazoo Coun ty, and belonging 
I W to one of its well-known families, has liim- 
^ self materially coutribuled to its growth, 

:iiiil is to-day one of the most successful and 
wealthy fainier-;. lie h.as large farming interests 
here and elsewhere, besides other valuable property, 
and his home on his farm on section 1. Charles- 
ton Township, is a very pleasant abode, the center 
of true comfort and genuine hospitality. 

Mr. Mead is one of the native-born sons of 
.Michigan, \i\> birth taking place May (5, IM.'Jti, near 
(ira.<s Lake, in Washtenaw County. Ilis father, 



Thomas Mead, who wjus born in 1801, came U) 
Michigan in 1833, when in the full Hush of early 
manhood, and took up (ioverninent land in Wash- 
tenaw County. Three years later, he sold that 
l)lace. and, coming to Kalamazoo County, he [uir- 
chased one hundred and forty-eight acres of land 
in Charleston Township, and was among the first 
settlers of this vicinity. He moved with his family 
into a log cabin that he had erected, and while he 
dwelt here he did good pioneer work, and was 
greatly respected iis a man and as a citizen. His 
last days were passed in Battle Creek Township, 
where he died in ^lay, 1H78. He was a well-known 
figure in the early history of this county. He 
kept a breaking team, and he broke land where the 
city of Battle Creek now stands. He w.as a sound 
Democrat, and was well posted in political mattei-s. 
He was also well informed in history, and was as 
conversant with the Bible as many a minister, al- 
though he was not a church member. He had a 
broad, tolerant mind, and was liberal in his religi- 
ous views, and generous in contributing of his 
means to churches, or to .anything that would in 
any wa.y prove beneficial to the public. 

The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden 
name of Fanny Bloom, was a native of Tompkins 
County, N. V. She was reared within six miles of 
Ithaca, and died in 18H(;. Four sfnis and fourdaugh- 
tei-s were born of her marri.agc, all but one of whom 
grew to maturity, and six of whom arc now living: 
Christina, the widow of Henry Eberstein, and a 
resident of Battle Creek; Marion; William, who 
resides on section 1, Charleston Township; George 
W., a resident of Battle Creek; Mary, the wife of 
.lames JIcDonald, of Kalamazoo; and .Mmira, a 
resident of Battle Creek. Henry B. and Alincda 
are the nanus of those deceased. 

Marion Mead, of whom we write, is the second 
son and third child of the family. He Was two 
years old when his parents t'jime fnim Washtenaw 
County to this county. IU> lirst scluK>liiig wius 
obtained in Bedford Townshi|i, Calhoun County, 
ill a private house. The next school lluil he at- 
tended w.as partly in Kalamazoo County ;ind partly 
in Calhoun County, and his education w.a-. com- 
pleted ill Hedford Township. He remained an in- 
mate of the parental home until he attained his 



922 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



jiiajority, and in the meantime was tliorougbly 
grounded in all that pertains to agriculture. He 
was only ten years old when he began to drive 
oxen to help his father break sod. At the age of 
twenty-one, he started out for himself, and worked 
four years with a threshing machine. He had no 
money, but he had a better capital in his strength, 
capability for work and clear brain. 

After his marriage, in the summer of 1860, J\Ir. 
Mead took up his residence on the nortiieast cor- 
ner of Charleston Township, and entered actively 
upon the pioneer task of developing a farm, build- 
ing the first house and barn on the place, and 
otherwise improving it during the fifteen years 
that he stayed thereon. At the end of that time, 
he removed to the farm that he now occupies on 
the same section. This comprises one hundred 
and eighty-eight acres of very fertile land, which 
IS under fine cultivation, is neatly fenced, well 
drained, and supplied with all the modern im- 
provements and machinery necessarj' to carry on 
agriculture in a proper manner. In 1875, he erected, 
at a cost of $3,000, a commodious residence, two 
stories in height, a view of which accompanies 
this sketch. He has roomy, convenientlj' arranged 
barns, and in all respects his farm is a model. He 
still retains his first farm on this section, which 
contains one hundred and twenty acres, and is 
jirovided with a good dwelling house, a barn and 
other necessary buildings. He also has a valuable 
farm of one hundred and fifty acres in Battle 
C'reek Township, which he bought eight years ago, 
and on which is a neat house and two good barns. 
Besides this, he has valuable prf-perty in the city of 
Battle Creek, and he is numbered among our most 
substantial citizens. 

A resident of this count}' for more than half a 
century, the name of Mr. Mead is indissolubly 
connected with the history of its growtli. He is a 
fine type of our self-made men, his steadfast cour- 
age, persistent industry, and far-seeing business 
tact, together with his adherence to right princi- 
ples and correct habits, making his life a success, 
where a man of less stamina might have failed. As 
a good citizen should, he takes an intelligent inter- 
est in politics, having a clear understanding of the 
various issues of the day, and favors the Demo- 



cratic party, but does not let that interfere with 
his voting for the candidate whom he considers 
best fitted for the office, without regard to party 
ties. He has mingled in the public life of the 
township as an incumbent of various local offi"ces. 
Our subject went to New York for his bride, 
and was there married, in Ontario County, .Tune 27, 
1860, to Miss Electa Roy, the second daughter and 
fourth child of William and Harriet (Harris) Roy. 
Mrs. Mead was born in the town of Phelps, Ontario 
County, N. Y., August 28, 1842. Her father was 
a native of that county, while her mother was born 
in Dutchess County, the same .State. The father 
of Mr. Harris was from Scotland, and the father 
of Mrs. Harris was a native of Dutchess 
County. Mrs. Mead was reared in her native 
place, and besides receiving a careful home train- 
ing, was given a good education at Lyons, in 
Wayne Couut}% her native State. She was thus 
earl}' fitted for the profession of teaclier, and 
taught from the time she was fifteen years old until 
her marriage. Her marriage with our subject has 
been a congenial union, and has brought them two 
children: Estella, wife of E. R. Cowles, a traveling 
man, with his residence at Battle Creek; and Ma- 
bel, who is attending school at Battle Creek. 



^^ 



^M ]\I ASA M. BROWN. By means of persever- 
@/LI|i ance and energ}', Mr. Brown has become 
well known as one of the most successful 
farmers of Columbia Township, Van Buren 
County. He owns and operates a fine tract of 
land, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, and 
upon his farm has an attractive residence, besides 
the numerous farm buildings necessary to the 
proper management of the place. His upright life 
not onl}' sustains, but even advances, the honorable 
name made by his forefathers, who were early set- 
tlers of Michigan and contributed not a little to 
the development of its vast resources. 

The grandfather of our subject, Amos Bro wn, 
was for many ^-ears a farmer in his native State, 
Vermont, wlienee he removed to Monroe County, 
N. Y., and later came West to Van Buren County, 
this State, in 1835. He settled on section 32, Co- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAHIICAL RECORD. 



923 



I 



Imnhia Tiiwiisliii). I'litviiii^' from the ( iovcniinciit 
OHO Inuiilit'd ;iiul sixty :icres :iiul rosidiiiir upon 
that [ilaco until dcatli called him hence. Of his 
first marriage eight children were born, namely: 
Amasa M., a physician in Voniionl; .Vmos S., .lesse 
1\., Kymaii. Wells (!., Kli/.a, Sarah and Minerva, all 
of whom married and reared families. The second 
marriage of (Jrandfather Brown was childless. 

\'crmont was the native State of Wells (i. IJiown, 
father of our subject, and tlicncc he accompanied ; 
his parents to New York, later coming with them 
to Michigan. The journey hither w.is made by 
way of the lakes to St. .losejiii. from which place 
they came overland to Columbia Towniship. .VI- 
tiiough he had no money with wiiich to gain a 
start in life, he possessed abundant courage, unre- 
mitting industry and a seemingly Diexhanstible 
fund of energy, and with tiiese ipuditications for 
capital, it is not strange that success crowned his 
cffort.s. The greater part of his life was p.assed in 
Columbia Township, where he died Sei)tember 2, 
liSTil. Ilis father's estate had been divided among 
the heirs in 1860, and the one hundred and sixty 
acres which he received for his share was traded 
for a body of land of the same size, located on 
section 32. 

Besides cultivating that [)lace, Mr. Hrown, Sr., 
supervised a mill in Hreedsville, which he built in 
company with (ieorge Ilann-di, and in which he 
owned a <me-half interest. lie posses.sed the vari- 
ous (pialifications which adapt one for puiilic otiices, 
and his felhtw-citizens, realizing that fact, called 
upon him to till various local [lositions. lie was 
an .Tdhercnt to the principles of the Republican 
party and cast his inlliiencc and ballot in behalf of 
it.s candidates. After his death, the nnither of our 
subject Wits unil4>d in marriage with .\bram Cramer, 
and still survives, making her lionic in lirceds- 
ville. 

.\iiiasa M. r.idwn was Imhii OctoIierH, 1»1."), uii<»n 
the old homestead where his grandfather and father 
.so long resided. His educational advantages were 
limited to a brief attendance at the common 
schools of this district and .at an early age he be- 
gan to a.ssist his father on the farm. lie now re- 
sides on section 32, and, with his mother, owns the 
old homestead. From the time he was tweiit\-six 




until he was iliirty-six years old, he served .is Su- 
pervisor tif Columbia Townslii|i, and was instru- 
mental in advancing the interests of his fellow- 
citizens, lie is an active worker in the ranks of 
the Republican party, and a leading member in the 
Jlasonic order, having attained to the Thirty-sec- 
ond Degree. 

On November 1 I. 18()7, .Mr. lirown was married 
to Miss Klizabclh A., the daughter of Alexander 
and Jemima Laferty, and a native of Albion, N. Y. 
Mr. Laferty, who was a farmer, came to Michigan 
about 1860, and is now dece.ised. One child lia.s 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown, a son, Wells O. 
In the social circles of the community, they pos.scss 
marked inlluencc and are welcome guests in the 
best homes of this vicinity. 



SULKY CLAIM", Commissioner of .Schools 
in Kalamazfio County, w.as born in .Syra- 
1 cuse, N. Y., .September 1, 1844, and is the 
^ son of Thomas .1. and .Mmira (Rose) Clapp, 

natives of Vermont and Connecticut, respectively. 
The father,wlio wa.s a carpenter by trade, died when 
Ashley w-.as but four years of age; the mother 
still survives and makes her home in Kairpfirt. 
N. Y. 

Ten children in the parental family lived to 
manhood and womanhood and live still survive, 
one sister, ^I IS. (. II. I'.olles, l>cing a re-sident of 
Oshtemo Townsliip, Kalamazoo County. The 
eighth in order of birth was the subject of this 
biographical notice, who received a fair education 
in the district schools, supplemented by acoui-se in 
an academy at Mexico, N. Y. In .luly, IKtit, he 
enlisted at Oswego, N. Y., in Comimny 11, One 
Hundred and Highty-fourth New York Infantry, 
and served in the Virginia Campaign of 1864, 
taking part in various actions around Richmond 
and relersbnrg. .\t the time of the linal sur- 
render of (ieii. Lee, he was stationed at City 
Point. 

After a service of one year, Mr. Clapp received 
his honorable discharge at Syincu.si', in .luly, l«fi.">. 
and then came West to Kalamazoo County, where 
for one vear he workeil at the trade of a iiirin-nler. 



924 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Later he found emi)lo3-ment in a store, where he 
clerked for one yeai, and tlien engaged in school 
work, first teaching in Oshtemo Township and 
then pursuing a course of studj- at Kalamazoo Col- 
lege. Next he assumed control of the graded 
schools at Vicksburg and filled that position with 
marked success for a period of six years. 

Prof. Clapp early became connected with the 
school S3^stem of this county ofBcially, serving as 
Superintendent of Oshtemo Township for six 
years, and being identified with the Board of Edu- 
cation as one of its most active members for eleven 
years. He is now (1892) in the seventeenth j'ear 
of his connection with the examination of teachers. 
For ten years he was Count}' Secretary of Schools 
and was elected to the position of School Commis- 
sioner (the office that succeeds County Secretary) 
by the Board of Supervisors, June 22, 189L 

The present high position in educational circles 
which is held by Prof. Clapp is largely dependent 
upon his native talent and willpower, and his edu- 
cation has been acquired by actual teaching and 
independent methods of stud}'. Although his 
special talent is in the direction of mathematics, 
his mastery of their intricacies being compara- 
tively easy, he is accomplished in other branches of 
literary and scientific study. He is an all-around 
man, well read in all fields, and conversant with 
the classics, science and philosophy. 

As a teacher, Prof. Clapp stands high among 
educators in the State and his administration of 
the schools over which he has presided has been 
characterized by firmness and tact in management, 
excellence of discipline and the thoroughness of 
knowledge attained by his pupils. Realizing the 
benefits of independent study and investigation, 
he has ever attempted to have his pupils secure a 
thoroughly-grounded knowledge of the funda- 
mental principles, rather than a superficial polish 
for the purpose of display or exhibition. 

Thoroughly detesting superficiality himself, his 
most earnest efforts have been toward eradicating 
surface display and sham in all school work, and 
the teacher who is unable to reach the basis of 
all education, or understand the difference between 
education and knowledge, finds in him a weak 
support, but tlie conscientious and hard-working 



teacher has in him a friend and advisor. Recog- 
nized on all sides as an earnest educator, he was se- 
lected as instructor in Kalamazoo College during 
a course when the exi)Ccted teachers were not 
available, 

Kalamazoo County schools are among the best 
in Michigan and no small part of their present ef- 
ficiency is due to the personal efforts of Prof. Clapp. 
The schools have been placed under a regular 
system or course of study, prepared by a committee 
of County Secretaries, of whom Prof. Clapp was 
one. The regular work has been largely advanced 
and much more rajjid and systematic work is thus 
accomplished. Reading circles are established, to 
which each active, progressive teacher is attached. 
Two local teachers' associations have been organized 
meeting each month, and a county association 
meeting once in two months. Prof. Clapp was 
also one of the committee that prepared a course of 
reading for the State Reading Circle. 

No more painstaking or kindly oflicial can lie 
found in the State or one who has the advance- 
ment of the school system more at heart than Prof. 
Clapp. In politics, he is a Republican, and so- 
cially, is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the 
Indeiiendent Order of Odd Fellows, and Orcutt 
Post, G. A. R. He has a cosy home at No. 820 
Oak Street, presided over by his cultured wife, 
to whom he was married in Oshtemo, September 19, 
1869. She was formerly known as Miss Fran- 
ces V. Drummond. Their children are: Mina, a 
student in Parsons' Business College; Bert, who is 
clerk in the Michigan National Bank; Wesley and 
Leah, who are attending the Kalamazoo schools. 



ilLLIAM ELISHA JOHNSON, Superintcn- 
yfgj dent of Construction at the Insane Asylum, 




^V/''^ has for about thirty-seven years been con- 
nected with this work. He was born in Erie 
County, Pa., April 25, 1834, and is a son of Rob- 
ert and Elizabeth (Murray) Johnson, the former a 
native of the Keystone State and the latter of 
Maryland. His father was a farmer and in the 
usual manner of farmer lads our subject spent his 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



925 



4 



lioyliood (lays until seventoen years of am*. Wish- 
iiiir. liowfvcr, tociitratfo in odior jiursuits than tliat 
to wliicli In- was reared, lie then liepiii leaiiiinu: Hn^ 
tra(1e of a eaipentei-. serving an apprenticesliip of 
tliroo years with I!. R. Tiittie. in tlie et)iMity of liis 
nativity. In IH.jI. at the age of twenty, lie came 
to Kalamazoo, helievini; that in this new eity on 
tlie Western frontier he would have belter advan- 
tages than in the older and more tiiiekiy poinilated 
cities of the East. For some lime he worked hy 
the day for various partners. On the expiration 
of that time. Mr. Johnson aeeepted a position at the 
As\iuni. where lie remained for live and .t li:ilf 
years, when the linaneial panic of IS;')? deterred 
the continuanee of the work there for ahout live 
years. When he first went to the Asylum, the main 
building w.as only partially completed and he w.as 
the first ear|)enter employed after the foreman. 
He assisted in building the Kalamazoo House in 
1861. and subseriuently spent three and a half 
years in the employ of Kellogg A- Co.. operating 
tlie inaehinery in their s.ash, (Uior and iiliiid fac- 
tory. A year later, we find him engaged in business 
for himself and in JIarch, IH(!(), he resumed work 
on the Asylum, and for almost eight years w.as em- 
ployed as a journeyman. 

On the 1st of .lanuary, ISdl. in Kalamazoo. Mr. 
Johnson formed a matrimonial alliance willi Mis.-. 
Alice E. Pei-shall. daughter of William W. rershall, 
who came from Lockport, N. Y., to Kalamazoo, 
where lie engaged in the harness business and made 
his home until his death. 

Into Mr. and Mrs. .lolinson were horn the 
following children: Anna, the wife of F. P. 
Johnson, of Kalamazoo, who is coniie( ted with 
the li. S. Williams Manufacturing Comiiany. 'I'lie 
lady W.1S for seven years employed .as teacher f)f elo- 
cution in the public schools, and of her Prof. French 
said, "It is impossible to (ill her place. " She still 
occasionally gives private readings. F<lward is 
connected with the Continental Clothing House, of 
Omaha. Neb.; Laura E. shows a decided talent in 
painting, and the house is adorned with many 
splenilid specimens of her hamliwork; William A.. 
who is also in Omaha, and Kate Isabel, who grad- 
ualeil from the High ScliuDi in the Class of '91. 

After eight yeans' labor as a journeyman. Mr. 



.InhnMHi \va> made loremaM of construction at the 
.\sylum. which position he still tills. During this 
time many of the lnuldings have been completed. 
He oversees the entire work from foundation to 
garret. He has also con>lructed the buildings on 
the .\sylum dairy farm, two miles north of Kal- 
amazoo, and all of the details of the architectural 
work are i>repared by himself. In politics, he votes 
with the Republican party on all ([uestions of Na- 
tional importance but at local elections votes for 
the man whom he thinks best (|ualilied for the pos- 
ition, regardles of party alliliations. In his relig- 
ious views, he is a Congregationalist. We lind in 
Mr. Johnson a companionable and agreeable gen- 
tleman, thoroughly an optimist, for he is ever l<K)k- 
iiig on the bright instead of the dark side of things. 
He is conscientious in the discharge of all his <>\y- 
ligations and is regarded as an upright, straight- 
forward business man. 

G< KOROE Fri.LER. .senior member of the 
firm of Fuller A- .'^on. proprietoi'sof a livery, 
ig^ h.ack and 'busline in Kalamazoo, established 
Inisiness in this way some twenty years since and 
has since continued his operations. He is one of 
the well-known citizens of the community .iiid it 
is with pleasure that we iiresent his sketch to our 
readers. Mr. Fuller is a native of New York. He 
was born in the village of Whitehall, January 2S, 
18.34, and is a son of Henry and Dorc.is P'liller. 
When he w.as only two years of age. Ins parents 
removed to Cayuga County-, N. Y., where he grew 
to manhood. His education was aciiuired in the 
common schools of the neighliorl d. ami he be- 
gan to earn his own livelihood by working .is a 
farm hand, which he fnllowt'd until twent\' years 
f)f age. 

Relieving that the West furnished young men 
Ix-tter opportunities than the older and more 
thickly populated States of the E:ist. .Mr. Fuller 
bade good-bv to his New York home, in 1 851. anil 
einigrated to Michigan, kK-ating lii-st in Kalamazoo 
CountN'. He worked both in this county ami in 
Van Rurcn County as a farm liancl for a time, and 
then went to the citv of Kalania/oo. where he on- 



926 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



gaged in the coopering business for five j'ears, 
manufacturing flour barrels. At the same time, he 
carried on farming. He then began buj-ing grain 
and produce and carried on the shipping business. 
He was quite successful in this undertaking but 
in .Tune, 1874, again changed his line of work and 
embarked in the livery business, in connection 
with which he runs a hack and 'bus line. He also 
began buying and selling horses, cattle, sheep and 
hogs, shipping to the Eastern markets, and this 
yields to him a considerable income. 

At the age of nineteen years, Mr. Fuller was 
married to Hester Slack, of Wajne County, N. Y., 
daughter of .lames Slack. By their union have 
been born two children, sons: .James Hudson and 
Horace .J., the latter the junior member of the firm 
of Fuller & Son. The famil3- is well known 
throughout this community where they have so 
long resided. Mr. Fuller li.as represented his ward 
in the City Council, being elected to that oflfice hy 
the Republican party. He is a member of the 
Fraternal Alliance, of Philadelphia, Pa. In his 
business, he has met with good success, and although 
he began life empty-handed, has now a comfortable 
competence and is enjoying a lucrative patronage. 
His barn is fitted up in modern style and he has 
all the appurtenances of a first-class livery. Will- 
ing and anxious to please his patrons, he has se- 
cured many customers and his success in business 
is well deserved. 



•^E 



m)^m 




11/ ON. JOSIAH L. HA WES. The brilliant 
attainments and legal erudition which 
have characterized tiie entire professional 
career of .Judge Hawes have made him not- 
able among the citizens of Kalamazoo and con- 
spicuous among the eminent men of Michigan. 
For a number of j-ears, he served efficiently and 
honorably as .Tudge of the Ninth .Tudicial District 
and has filled other jiositions with credit to him- 
self and the party which he represents. 

Some time during the last century, there was 
born in the town of Lyme, Conn., of F^nglish 
ancestry, a child to whom was given the name of 
Lyman Hawes. He married and became the fatlier 



of a son, Lawrence, who was born at Kinderhook. 
N. Y. The latter, who was reared to agricultural 
pursuits, married Ursula Lord, who was born at 
Lyme, Conn., January 8, 1792 and was the daugh- 
ter of Marvin and Emily (Wolcott) Lord. After 
their marriage, the young couple settled in Scho- 
harie County, N. Y., where three children were born 
to them: .Josiah L.; Mary E., now deceased, and 
Emily, who now lives in Nebraska. 

After residing for a number of years in Scho- 
harie County, the parents of our subject removed to 
Kalamazoo County and located upon a farm in tlie 
i town of Comstock, where the father died, .Tanuary 
8, 1884, aged eighty-six years. The mother had 
preceded him to her final rest, dying June 8, 187L 
The oldest son, Josiah L., was born in Schoharie 
County, N. Y., October 12, 182.3, and passed his 
boyhood in his native county, where he attended 
the district schools. Later he entered the academy 
of Gallupville and afterward studied at Syracuse, 
N. Y. 

His literary education completed, our subject 
commenced the study of law and entered the office 
of Ibm. .1. jMiller, of Schoharie County, with whom 
he continued to read for some time. His studies 
were completed at Unadilla, N. Y., and he was 
admitted to the Bar, in 1847, during the session of 
the Supreme Court at Cooperstown, N. Y. For 
several years, he continued his practice alone in 
Unadilla, then, returning to his native county, 
there followed his profession atCobleskill in 18.52. 

Thence removing to Kalamazoo, our subject as- 
sociated hiuiself in partnership with Thomas R. 
Sherwood, a former member of the Supreme Court, 
and continued in partnership with that gentleman 
for several years. He took an active part in poli- 
ties, first as a Whig and afterward as a Democrat. 
He was ap|iointed by Gov. Bagley, who was a 
stanch Republican, to fill the unexpired term as 
Circuit Judge, which was caused by the resignation 
of Hon. Charles Brown. At the expiration of that 
term, he was elected to the same office for the term 
of six years and while acting in that capacity 
gained the cordial esteem of members of the Bar 
and his constituents. On retiring from the Bench, 
he resumed his practice, which he has since con- 
diictcil. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



927 



.lime .'i, lh.")(l. .liidyv llnwi's wa-^ liianici] to 
l^iiciu K., (l.-Hiifliler of k-lialKul ('. Footc, uf Kniiik- 
liii. N. V. Shi' was liorn in l)S2ll and (lied Sopt- 
eniber 8, 1«8(), leaving one daui;litcr. Maria \V., 
wife of Tlionias A. Soaker, wlio i-esides at Halifax, 
Nova Scotia. Oelolier 21, IHH,!, the .lud<je was 
united in marri.au:e to Mi-s. KlizaheMi ('. Kdjjer- 
ton, of Deliii, N. Y., the dauiilitci- of Sheldon 
(iri,sw(dd. Hy her previous marriage to 'i'lionias 
Edgerlon, Mrs. Ilawes became tiie mother of two 
children. .She is an active nienil)er of the Episco- 
[>al Church, the Judge, being an attendant of the 
same, and both are prominent in the social circles 
of the citv. 



_:=^y 



' -^iS' 



>-^<m= 



-J- 




i»' ^ ON. ALEXANDER CAMKHON. This ven 
I erable citizen of Kalamazoo was born in 
Deerfield, Oneida County, N. Y., .Septem- 
ber 20, 18I.1, and is the second son of ])an- 
iel and .lennette (McVain) Cameron, who were 
l)orn in Scotland in 1779 and 1781, respectively. 
The mother, who belonged to an aristocratic fam- 
ily, acctvnipaniod her brother to Canada ■•ind mar- 
ried Mr. Cameron, Sr.. against the wishes vf her 
relatives. 'I'liey removed from New York to Minn- 
esota about 1854, settling in a little hamlet oppo- 
site La Crosse, where both died, the father .Sei)tem- 
ber 3, 1860, and the mother April 2.i, 18(;.-). 

After completing his education an<l engaging 
for a few months as a teacher, our subject came to 
Michigan in 1834, and after landing at Detroit, 
started afoot and alone for the interior of Michigan. 
Tn due time, he arrived at Kalamazoo (then known 
as Bronson),and engaged as clerk in the Land Ollice 
for a time, lie was married, March II, 1838, to 
^Iiss Sarah I'aul, whom ho had known in New 
York, and who h.ad removed to Harry ('(juntv 
with her step-father, Sipiirc l.eiiii:iril. .Mrs. Cam- 
eron was the fii-st scIkjoI teacher in Harry County, 
and their marriage was the first celebrateil there. 

To the home in Kalamazoo which he had al- 
ready prepared. .Mr. Cameron brought bis bride, 
and that house is still standing, within a few 



rods of wheie it was lirst erected. 



.\ f terward 



tliev ienio\ed to a new house, which conlained 



greater conveniences and was more commodi- 
ous than the tirsl I le. Eiom the lirst, Mr. 

Cameron |n-ospered, and held a position among his 
neighbors to which he was entitled by his abilities, 
his decision of character and practical good sense. 
The gold excitement of 18|;iled him to tjike a 
tiii) across the plains to California, whence lie re- 
turned home with a large experience and little of 
the precious ore. 

Upon his return, Mr. Cameron embarked in buy- 
ing and shipping stock, a business with which he 
has since lieeii identified. He owns a fine farm, a 
convenient distance from the cit^', and is carrying 
on farming operations with success. In 1835, he 
was elected School Inspector, and in 1854 was a 
candidate for the Legislature, his successful oppo- 
nent being C;ov. Ransom. In 18fii), he was elec- 
ted to the State Legislature and ciuitiniied to 
serve his district in that body until 1873. He had 
l)ecn present at the organization of the Uepiililican 
l)arty at .Jackson, in 1851. and always took a live- 
ly interest in [)olitical matters — lirst as a Whig and 
later as a Republican. 

To Mr. Cameron is due much of the credit for 
the advanced position taken by Michigan upon the 
subject of the education of women. He iiitrodue<>d 
and strongly advocated a bill to institute a iini- 
versit3- for the education of women, separate from 
the State I'niversity, but being unsuccessful in .se- 
curing its passage, he, in eoiijimction with Col. 
Phillips, in the .Senate, secured the adoption of a 
resolution opening the rniversily to educate the 
women, and this l)ecaine the lirst movement to- 
wards the popularity of tin' I'liivei-sity. He had 
the satisfaction of seeing the first fruit.s of his 
efforts, in the matriculation of the fu-st lady student 
in the rniversity — Mrs. .\deliiie StcK-kton, of Kala- 
mazoo. 

For more th;in forty-five yi'ars, .Mr. Cameron has 
been a memljer of the Independent Order of t)dd 
Fellows at Kalamazoo, and has tilled all otiiees 
with credit U> himself and benelit to the order, Im>- 
ing repeati'dly elected to the Orand Lodge. He is 
also a charter meml>er of the Kalamazoo County 
Pioneer S(K'iely. In his religious iK'lief. he is lili- 
eral, although inclined to the lielief of the Presby- 
terian Church, and has l)ceii I'liairinan of the 



928 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Hoard of Trustees of the society for a Imig time. 
In every position to which he h.as been called, he 
has discharged his duties Vith intelligence and fi- 
delity, winning the praise of all. He has served 
as Supervisor of Kalamazoo. At a meeting of the 
Ladies' Library Association, held at their rooms 
November 1, 1855, he was elected an honorary 
member for valuable services in bclialf of the asso- 
ciation. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cameron are the parents of five 
children, nameh': .Lanet E, wife of James B. Ayres; 
Don Carlos; Isabelle, now Mrs. Arthur Brown; 
Douglass and Emma, who married Ileber C. Reed. 
The family circle, which has never been broken by 
death, is a happ^- one and, surrounded by loving 
children, affectionate friends and all the comforts 
of life, the aged couple are passing their declining 
years. Their golden wedding was celebrated 
March 14, 1888, but owing to the illness of Mrs. 
Cameron, only the immediate members of the fam- 
ily circle were present. An unusual interest, 
however, was felt by all in the happj- event, on 
account of their long residence in Kalamazoo, and 
tiie high esteem in which they have always been 
held. Congratulation and presents were numer- 
ous, and many wishes were expressed that the 
pair might enjoy life for years to come. 



d*+**|i 



-I****'? 






^^EORGE W. PARKER. This gentleman, 
III ^—^ who is one of the active business men of 
^^ Kalamazoo, is at present engaged in con- 
ducting a fine meat market, located at No. 222 
West Main Street. He is a native of this county, 
his natal da}' being April 2-4, 1845. His father, 
Isaac M. Parker, was a native of Ohio. 

In 1832, the elder Mr. Parker came to Kalama- 
zoo and was married to the mother of oiu' subject, 
who bore the maiden name of Catherine Pat- 
terson. She was a native of \'irginia. and the 
daughter of a Mr. Patterson, who, with his familj', 
emigrated to Kalamazoo Comity in 1833, where 
they were among the earliest pioneers. After his 
marriage. Isaac M. Parker located on a farm two 
and a li:ilf miles north of K.alamazoo, now occu- 
pied by the Insane Asylum, wliert lie carried on 



general farming up to the time of his death, 
which occurred in 1882, when in his seventieth 
year. His wife preceded him to the better land 
several years, her death occurring in 1852. They 
were the parents of two children, one of whom 
died in infancy. 

George W. Parker was reared on his father's 
farm and attended the district school, remaining 
under the parental roof until reaching his major- 
ity, when he began to learn the trade of a butcher, 
being in the employ of Thomas Richardson, in the 
then village of Kalamazoo. Two years later, our 
subject worked for Wicks & Tyrrell, in the same 
line of business, being thus engaged for three suc- 
ceeding years. He then launched out in the meat 
liusiness on his own account, in partnership with 
C. Miller, their market being located on Burdick 
Street. They continued together for two years, 
when the stock was divided, and Mr. Parker con- 
tinued akme at the old stand for fourteen 3'ears. 
At the expiration of tliat time, he removed to 
his present location, where he has a neat and con- 
veniently arranged market, which is fitted up with 
all the appliances of a first-class establishment. Mr. 
Parker packs all of his own meats and manufac- 
tures his own sausage, which is of a superior qual- 
ity. He carries constantly a large supply of the 
choicest meats, and is doing one of the finest busi- 
nesses in the city. He is a practical butcher, and 
his long and varied experience in that line gives 
him the advantage over many of his competitors. 

In LSGfi, the original of this sketch and Miss 
Laura A. Norton, of this city, and the daughter of 
Thomas Norton, were united in marriage. They 
have become the parents of a son: Herbert, who is 
a bookkeeper in the City National Bank, having 
held that position for the jiast seven years. 

Socially, our subject is a member of Lodge 
No. 22, F. & A. M., also Chapter No. 8, and the 
Kalamazoo Coramandeiy, Knight Templars. He 
is also an Odd Fellow and stands high in that or- 
der. In addition to the fine business already men- 
tioned, Mr. Parker owns a splendid farm of one 
hundred acres in Cooper Township, Kalamazoo 
County, which is under his supervision. The 
pleasant home of our subject is located at No. 119 
Dutton Street. 



i 








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J/axAnJ) ^jO^^c^cS^ 



M. 



^/^S^^-z-^-t-t?^ 




^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RPXORI). 



933 




'iti'HIAS I{. FOX. M. 1)., nvIk. for twc'iily-livc 
yejirs li;is liceii n idoiiiiiiuiit niul iiuiHilnr 



pliysifian ftf Allegan Cnmily, Ims now rc- 
tii(>(l fioiii active practice, an<I is enjoying the 
conifuits (if life in his pleasant home on a line farm 
of one hnndred and lifty-lhree acres in Wayland 
Township. His parents, Jacob ami Ainm (Fox) 
Fox, were natives of Pennsylvania, who leinoved 
to Ohio when they were mere children, ami were 
there married and resided for many years, llu' fa- 
ther being a farmer. 

Born Decemlier H, 1831, in Knox Township, C'ol- 
nmbiana Countv, Ohio, our siibject there spent the 
llrst twenty yearsof his life. As soon as old enough 
he commenced to assist his father ui)on the farm. 
He was the seventh in a family of ten children. He 
was given a common-school education, and at the 
age of twenty years entered an academy at Mt. 
Union, Ohio, in which he was a student for about 
three years. At the expiration of that time, he en- 
tered Alleghany College at Meadvillc, Pa., where 
he was graduated in the cla.ssieal course with the 
degree of Hachelor of Arts, and three years after 
received the degree of ^Faster of Arts. 

Our subject then entered the profession of a 
teaclicr, and remained for some time in the acad- 
emy at Cireensburg, Ohio. In the fall of 186.'), he 
came to Michigan, and for six months was a stu- 
dent in the Medical Department at the University 
of Michigan. In the spring of the following year 
he came to Allegan County, and began the prac- 
tice of medicine at Ilffpkinsl urg, Hopkins Town- 
ship. The ensuing lifteen years were spent in the 
general practice of his profession, in which he was 
ver}' successful. He then came to the place where 
he now resides, taking ni) a tract of land on sec- 
tion 30, Wayland Township, which was entirely 
unimi)roved, and on which he has made all the im- 
provements, logging about forty acres himself. He 
has brought this place to a high state of cultiva- 
tion, and improved it intr) one of the finest farms 
in the county. 

Dr. Fox was married, June 27, 1857. t<j Hosanna 
\V., daughter of Jacob and Mary (Norton) AVill- 
iams, and a native of Heaver County, Pa. They are 
the parents of eight children, name]}-: Josephine, 
Klma, Lutitia, Jessie, Philena, Krnie. Wallace. How- 
13 A 



.•ir<l J., and Homer. Fliria and Homer .are deceased; 
.losephine married W. II. Trimble, and resides in 
Holland, Mich.; Jes.sie is the wife of I'erdinand 
Young; Lutitia married Klmer Doxey, and, with 
her husband and three children, resides in Shelby- 
ville, this Stjite; Philena is the wife of W. C. 
Youngs, and makes her home in Lafayette, Ind.; 
F'.rnie \V. and Howard J. are at home. 

In political matters, the Doctor favors the Prohi- 
bition party, lint always votes for the man whom 
he considers best (pi.alilied for the position in ques- 
tion, irrespective of party ties. He has served as 
Townslijii Clerk of Hopkins Township for five 
years, and with his family occupies a high pf)sition 
in the social circles of the community. Tlieattcn- 
tion of llie reader is invited to the lithographic 
portraits of himself and wife, which appear in con- 
nection with this biographical notice. 




ORKX H. HOWARD. This worthy and 
honorable gentleman is ranked among the 
successful farmers and fruit-growers of 
tlanges Township. Allegan County. His tr.act of 
eighty .icres is located on sections 7 and H. twenty 
acres of which are in fruit. .Mr. Howard is a native 
of New York, having been born December "28, 
182fi. His parents were Oriii H. and .Sarah How- 
ard, the father born in \'ermont where he was 
reared on the farm of an uncle, his parents dying 
when he was quite young. He received his educa- 
tion in the common schools of the(ireen Mountain 
State, and, when starting out in life on his own 
account at the age of eighteen, went to New York, 
and. locating in Jefferson County, worked at chair- 
making, having served an apinenticeship at that 
oeciiiiation in Vermont. 

The father of our subject was married in .Mont- 
gomery County, N. Y., to .Sarah, daughter of 
Harnabiis and Betsey Kenyon, and to them were 
born ten children: Susan K., Ix;verclt C, Lyman, 
our subject, Lowell, Martha. Milo. Mary .1., Liell 
M. and Sanih M. The father of these chihlren 
came to White Pigeon, this Stjite, in 183J, and 
after spending a year in that place, went t<^> Pretty 



934 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Prairie, Ind., where he died in 1854. He was first 
a Whig and later a Republican in politics, and for 
man}' years was a Deacon in the Presbyterian 
Church. 

Loren 11. Howard was married when reacliing 
liis majority to Miss Maria Van Houteii. Tlie 
young couple soon came to Cass Count}', tliis 
State, where the wife died in 1848, leaving a 
daughter, Josephine, who is now the wife of Har- 
vey Green. Our subject was again married in In- 
diana, this time to Betsey Flanders, who died one 
month after her niarri.age. His third wife was 
Sarah Akey, and to tlieiu were granted tliree 
children: William II., Mabell and Myron D. 
The present wife of Mr. Howard was formerly 
Mrs. E. (Parkham) Spencer. 

In 1861, our subject enlisted in Company C, 
Eleventh Michigan Infantiy, and w.as assigned to 
the Fourteenth Army Corps under Gen. Thomas. 
He participated in the flght at Stone River, Chicka- 
mauga, and many other prominent battles aiid 
skirmishes. He was wounded at Stone River and 
lay for a short time in the hospital. Mr. Howard 
entered the army .as Second Lieutenant, but in rec- 
ognition of his valuable services at the battle of 
Stone River, he was promoted to be First Lieuten- 
ant, and after the battle of Cliickamauga, was made 
Captain of his company. He is a member of Jacob 
Fry Post, No. 46, G. A. R. He is also a conscien- 
tious member of the Congregational Church, to the 
support of which he is a liberal contributor. In 
politics, he votes the straight Republican ticket. 



/^ OL. JOSEPH FISK. In the history of Alle- 
(•( ^ gan County, ihere is no name which will 
^^^ live longer than that of Col. Fisk. Though 
years have come and gone since he closed his eyes 
on the scenes of time, j'et his influence did not 
die with him. Though he left no memorial save a 
world made better by his having lived in it, those 
who knew him in life reverence his memoiy in 
death, while to his descendants he bequeathed the 
priceless legacj' of a spotless name. In the early 
days of this count}-, no pioneer contributed more 
to the development of its resources than he, and 



from the time he purchased the first lot in Al- 
legan, after the village was laid out, until his 
death a half-century later, he maintained the deep- 
est interest in the progress of the community. 

The childhood days of our subject were passed 
in Charlemont, Franklin County, Mass., where he 
was born May 22, 1810. From his native place 
he removed to New York, whore he obtained a 
good education and learned the trade of a carpen- 
ter and joiner. In 1832, he was married in the 
Empire State to Miss Betsey Davis, and two jears 
later brought his young wife to Michigan, settling 
in jMarengo, Calhoun County, and there remaining 
until his removal in Allegan County, March 7, 
1835. Soon after he located in this county, he 
took a contract to build ten houses for a Boston 
•Company, and in that way, as well as in doing 
general carpentering, he was engaged for some 
time. About 1840, he was appointed Colonel in 
the State Militia of Michigan. 

In 1852, Col. Smith took the contract for the 
construction of the Chicago breakwater, which now 
stands, a monumens to his mechanical skill. The 
successful completion of that difficult enterprise 
gave him prominence among the large contractors 
of the West and secured for lain all the contracts 
he could fulfill. He commenced railroad contract- 
ing in 1853, at which time he contracted to build 
the Eel River Railroad in Indiana, one hundred 
miles in length. During the two following years, 
he was connected with the construction of the Du- 
buque & Pacific Railroad in Iowa, and built the 
pile bridge across the baj' at Milwaukee, a double 
track one mile and a quarter in length. He also 
built a bridge across Mud Lake on the Watertown 
Road, the length of which w.as the same as that 
just mentioned. 

Between the years 1857 and 1863, Col. Fisk 
was engaged in Missouri in building the South- 
west Branch of the St. Louis A P.acific and was 
also at work on the main line, besides building 
twenty-five miles of the Iron Mountain Road. In 
1866, he was associated with the Messrs. Champlin 
ife Smith in building the North Missouri Railroad, 
as far .as the Iowa State line, and a branch road of 
two hundred and fifty miles to Kansiis City. Dur- 
ing the next 3'ear, he took the contract for fifty- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RKCORD. 



935 



seven miles of railroad between Kalamazoo and 
(irand Rapifls, tlu> road from A11il;mii (o Muskegon, 
till- Alleuaii Hiaiicli of llic (irand Hapids and Ind- 
iana Railroad, and a portion f)f tiic I.ansiny A- .Mich- 
igan Soutlii'in. maiving aUo^ellier about one 
thousand niilos of i;iiliuad. In all the l)usines.s 
transaclion.s with which he was connected, his ex- 
cellent judgment and sterling honesty commended 
liini to the confidence of tliosc with wlioni he was 
associated. 

In county and State politics. Col. Fisk ligurcd 
conspicuously as a menilier of the Democratic 
parly. He was the (irst Register of Deeds of Alle- 
gan County, for many years Justice of the Peace 
and .'^heriff, licsides holding other otliees of minor 
importance. A man of great l)enevolcnee, he con- 
tributed liherally t<^^) charitable project-s and 
the destitute never appealed to him in vain. In 
1880, failing health coniiH-lled him to retire from 
the active duties whii-h had formerl}' occupied his 
attention, and four years later. May 19, 1884, he 
passed to his final rest. He was an exemi)lary 
member of the Baptist Church, which he aided in 
organizing, and for ten years he served as Super- 
intendent of the .Sunday-school. A strong temper- 
ance man, he used his influence for the u|)lifting 
of the community both morally and socially. For 
man}' years he was identilied with the .Ma.sonic 
order. 

The wife of our suliject w.is the daughter of Will- 
iam and Rachel (Doane) Davis, natives respectively 
of Rliode Island and New York. They were married 
in the Kmpire Slate, where Mr. Davis followed the 
trade of a ear))enter and joiner. During the War 
of 1812, he served as Orderly-Sergeant, and later, as 
a member of the Democratic |)arly, held various 
otliees within the gift of his fellow-citizens. He 
and his wife had a family of eight children, of whom 
two are now living: Mrs. Fisk ai\d Daniel 1). Davis. 
The former w.as educated in New Vork. wheie she 
taught school prior tf) her marriage. Her union 
with Col. Fisk took place in M.-irion. Wayne 
County, N. Y., and she afterward accompanied her 
husband to this then .«parsely settled country. 

When Mi-s. F'isk arrived in Allegan County there 
were only three white women within it.s boundaries, 
and her son. .loseph A., whose birth occurred in 



1837, was the first white male child born in Alle- 
gan. The Colonel ami his wife liecame the parents 
of six children, four of whom attained to matin-e 
years: .lulia A. is the widow of .lames A. Lee, who 
died in 188(1, and is the mother of one son, Joseph 
F.; Jas|)er C. died in I'tah when thirty-six years 
old; Charles W. served throughout the entire 
period of the Civil War as lii-st Lieutenant of 
Coinpany I,, Fourth .Michigan Cavalry, and to his 
coiii[iaiiy belongs the lunior of having captured 
JefFer.son Davis. He married .\nnie M. Carjienter, 
of Y|)silanti, and they have oiu' .sou living, Jasper 
F., a lumber dealer in Arkansas. (Jeorge I), died in 
Chicago when thirty -six years old. 

Mrs. Fisk is a lady of reliiiement. and her sincere 
Christian life has won for her many warm [lersonal 
friends. The Baptist Church counts her as one of 
its most faithful members and active workers, and 
for about twenty years she was a te.aeher in the 
Sunda\'-school. She emitributes liberally of her 
means to the maintenance of benevolent enterpri.ses 
and dis[)l.ivs considerable executive ability in man- 
aging the estate left li\' her husband. 



KU.BKN ^y. FOX, who h.as been a resident 
of Wayland Township for the past twenty 
(k\ \V j-ears. is an enterprising farmer and is well 
known throughout his community. He 
was torn in Columbiana County, Ohio, July ."), 
18.37. and is a son of J.acob and .\nna (Fox) Fox. 
His parentis were born and reaiH'd in Pennsylvania, 
where his father was a farmer. There were ten 
children in the parental family, of whom our sub- 
ject is the eight and tlie youngest son. He was 
given a good common-school education and im- 
proved the advantages offered liim. l)ecoming a 
well-inforineil .'ind intelligent man. I'pon his 
father's removal to Ohio, he assisted him upon 
the farm and. being the youngest son. remained at 
home until the death of his father, wliieh oi-cuned 
in August, 18611. 

In September, 1870, our subject came to Mich- 
igan and located in Allegan County. Previous 
to his removal to this plac<', he had U-en married. 



936 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in 1859, in Ohio, to Rebecca Whiteleather, by 
which union one child was born, Leander J., wlio 
now resides in Sagiuaw County, tliis State. Tliis 
wife died in 1861, and he was again married in 
Columbiana County, Ohio, December 25, 1862, this 
time to Frances Ann Weaver, a native of the same 
county as her husband and the daughter of David 
Weaver, a farmer lesiding in Ohio. Of this union, 
the following children have been born: Marcellus, 
David, Franklin, Grant, Anna Mary, Oria S., Simon 
Z., Alice Belle, Charles Edward, and Loretta May. 
Of these, two, Mary and Oria S., are deceased. On 
his arrival in Michigan, Mr. Fox took up eighty 
acres, on which he still resides, and on which he 
has made all the improvements himself. He has 
erected all the necessary buildings and has his place 
in a fine condition. Here he carries on general 
farming and stock-raising, in wliich he has been 
very successful. In politics, he is a Republican 
and has held the offices of Assessor of the School 
District and has also been a Director on the School 
Board. He and his wife are members of the Con- 
gregational Church at Bradley, and also belong to 
the Grange, which holds its meetings at that 
place. 



4r^ 



1 



SAAC N. HOYT, wlio is a well-known and 
highly respected old citizen of Allegan County, 
/i: resides in Wayland, where for inanj' years he 
has been engaged in bu^-ing and selling lumber. 
He was born in Onondaga, N. Y., October 1, 1834. 
His parents were Isaac and IMary (Weed) Hoyt. The 
father died when our subject was a child. He re- 
sided in New York witli his relatives until sixteen 
years of age, and, being deprived of his parents' 
loving care and attention, he received but few 
advantages in the way of an education. The lack 
of these, however, has been supplied by careful 
observation and reading and lie is now one of the 
well-informed, intelligent men of the community. 

At the early age of sixteen, he started out in 
life for himself, and two years afterward came to 
Micliigan, making his home at tirst at Kalamazoo, 
where he was engaged in running an engine. He 
then spent two j'ears at Michigan City, and in 



1857 came to Wayland, where he has since resided. 
Wlien the Civil War broke out, he became one of 
the boj's in blue from this State, enlisting in Au- 
gust, 1862, in Company E, First Michigan Engin- 
eers and Mechanics. He was assigned, with his 
company, to the Army of the Cumberland, it being 
reall3' an independent command. He was taken 
prisoner at Mumfordsville, Ky., and was paroled 
in the field and was in parole camp for about two 
months. In June, 1865, he was discharged and 
returned to Wayland, where he engaged in the 
manufacture of shingles, also running a mill for a 
number of 3'ears in Dorr. In 1870, he built a mill 
in Wayland, which he operated for about ten years, 
when it was destroyed by fire. Since that time, he 
has been engaged in the lumber business in this 
place. 

Mr. Hoyt was married in the fall of 1858 to Miss 
Ellen Truman, a native of Geauga County, Ohio, 
and they are the parents of two children, Lillian 
and Fannie. Lillian is the wife of H. F. Buskirk, 
and Fannie is at home. The family is highly re- 
spected and is among the best-known citizens of 
Wayland. 

In politics, Mr. Hoyt takes but little interest, 
having been too much occupied with his own 
affairs to devote anj' time to office-seeking. He, 
however, casts his vote with the Republican party, 
and gives his ballot to the men he deems most 
suitable to represent the interests of the people. 
Socially, he belongs to the Masonic fraternity. 



^^ ARRIT J. NYKERK. This gentleman, who, 
III ,— -, for thirty-four years was a minister of the 
^^jjj Gospel in the Reformed Church, is now liv- 
ing in Overisel, retired from the active duties of 
life. He was born in Holland, .lanuary 25, 1819, 
and is the son of Berend and Jane (Tenneman) 
Nykerk, also natives of Holland, where they lived 
and died, the father passing awa}' in 1847, and 
tiie mother in 1849. 

The parental family numljcred six children, four 
sons and two daughters. Our subject received a 
fair education in his native tongue, and was 
reared to faimiiig pursuits. On coming to Amer- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



•137 



i(.-ii, wliicli III' ilid ill IS50, lie eaine directly to 
Mit'liigaii, and located in Ovi'iisol Township, Alle- 
gan Couiily, wlu'iv 1k' iniivliascd a farm of sixty 
acres. He continued to cultivate the soil for two 
years, when, deciding to turn his attention to the 
n)inistrv, he went to liolland, Mich., and entered 
Hope College, from which institution he was 
graduated in 18.5K, and for tliirly-four years 
preached the (iospel. 

I'lic Kev. Mr. Nykerk was married, in 1850, to 
.lohanna Rerendena, and to them have come a fam- 
il}' of five children, three sons and two daughters. 
They have all been given excellent educations, 
and one son is now professor in Hope College, 
Holland, this county. .Mrs. Xykerk passed from 
this life in OveriscI, in September, 1861, and our 
subject was married t'O (Jerrcdiena Schipper, a na- 
tive t»f Holland. By his second marriage, Mr. Ny- 
kerk became the father of six children. 

The gentleman of whom we give this brief bio- 
graphical sketch is the owner of one hundred 
acres of excellently developed land, which is 
under thorough cultivation, and which nets him 
a comfortable income. His farm is embellished 
with all necessary buildings, and in every sense of 
the word is in a first-cl.ass condition. The Rev. 
Mr. Nykerk is not interested in politics, other 
than to cast his vote for the best man, regardless 
of party, and he favors Prohibitif)n principles. He 
has taken (piite an .active |)art in local affairs, and 
has held the ollice of School Inspector for a num- 
ber of years. He is quite vigorous for one of his 
years, and is much revered in (Jverisel and the 
surrounding coiintrv. 




;()I{i;UT KONKI.K. Not only in Watson 

Township, but throughout Allegan County 

i4!>\\\ as well, this gentleman is known and es- 

M) teemed. His farm of eighty acres, which 
he purcha.sed in 1866, is pleasantly located on sec- 
tion 2, and when it came into his possession was 
wholly unimproved, with the exception of thirty 
acres. Now the entire place has been cleared, ini- 
)>roved and cultivated. Aside from general farm- 



ing, Mr. Konkle was for a long time one of the 
I most prominent lumberinen in this section of (onn- 
trv and has at various times been interested in six 
different mills. He is both a g(xjd trainer an<l a 
splendid judge of horses, in which he has dealt ex- 
tensively and has used .as many as twenty teams 
in his lumbering oiierations. 

A native of Pennsylvania, .Mr. Koiikle wxs born 
in Chester Hill Townshi|i, Luzerne Co\inty, Sep- 
tember 13, 1822. His father, .\bram,who likewise 
was born in the Keystone State, wa.s reared to 
farming ojierations. He removed first to New- 
York, and later to Micliigan, where he bought a 
farm, in 1839, in Plainlield Township, Kent County. 
The place consisted of eighty acres and its only 
improvements were a log house and a small barn. 
Five years after buying the fai'm. .Vbram Konkle 
sold it and with his sons engaged in milling on 
Mill Creek for eight years and also operated a farm 
of one hundred and sixt.v acres. His death took 
place in Allegan County at the .age of seventy- 
eight. The paternal grandfather of our subject, 
George Konkle, was a native of Germany and early 
emigrated to the United States, where he served in 
the ^^'ar of 1812. 

The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
was Catherine Driesbach, wa.s a native of Pennsyl- 
vania and survived until 1H(JG. Her father. ,Ios- 
eph, who w.as likewise born in the Keystone .State, 
w.as a farmer and lumberman, and for many years 
served as .Justice of the Pe.ace. Our subject wa-s 
the second in a family of eleven children, eight 
sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to 
mature years. At the age of twelve yeai-s, he ac- 
companied his (larents to New York, where he re- 
ceived a common-school education. From there 
he came to Michigan when nineteen and remaiiie<l 
with his parent.s until he attained to his majority. 
When he started out in life for himself, he not 
only had no moneyed capital. but wasii<|0l>in debt, 
so that his present prosperity re|M'--i'iii- In- Miiniilid 
and arduous exertions. 

For alX)Ut six yea|->. Mr. Konkle »:i.~ enj.';iged in 
milling and lumbering with his father and brother 
on Mill Creek. In ISftLhe Ixnight a farm of one 
hiindn'd ami sixty acres. liM-ated in Plainlirld 
Township. Kent Coiintx. .-ind ciiltiv:ited it until 



938 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1862, when he sold and bought another farm of 
tlie same size, in the same township, and located on 
Rogue River. In 1864, he made a trip to Cali- 
fornia, via New York Citj- and the Isthmus of 
Panama to San Francisco, and returned through 
Salt Lake City with a drove of horses, the home- 
ward journey occupying four and one-half months. 

In 1845, Mr. Konkle was married in Grand 
Rapids to Miss Eliza Tuffs, who was born in Frank- 
lin, Ohio, February 1.5, 1824, and is the daughter 
of AViUiam and Philinda (Olmsted) Tuffs, natives 
of New York and Canada, who located in Saginaw 
Count}-, this State, in 1831. They spent their last 
days in Kent County, where the father died when 
seventy-four, and the mother at the age of seventy- 
five. Mr. and Mrs. Konkle became the parents of 
eiglit children, namely: Sopbronia, who died at 
the age of twenty-eight, leaving four children ; 
Abram W., who is in the milling and lumbering 
business in Mason County, this State; Wallace R., a 
resident of Muskegon; Sidney J., also residing in 
Muskegon; Elagan E., wil'e of Stephen Carver, a 
farmer of Hopkins Township; Myrtle A., deceased; 
Ilallie D., the wife of Verner Goucher; and Cath- 
erine E., who died when two months old. 

Politically, Mr. Konkle is a Democrat, and served 
as Supervisor in 1879-80 and in 1890-91. He was 
Highway Commissioner and Pathmaster in Kent 
Count}' and also served in the last-named capacity 
in Watson Township. In all public measures, he 
maintains the deepest interest and with his family 
stands high in the esteem of the community. 



_^] 



"S3 



^-^ 




NDREW PATTERSON, a [irominent hard- 
ware merchant of Martin, was born in 
Scotland, August 18, 1844. His parents, 
Thomas and Margaret (Alexander) Pat- 
terson, were natives of the same place as himself, 
and his fatlier, who was a fanner by occujiation, 
emigrated to the United States in 1855. He pro- 
ceeded directly to this State, settling in Martin 
Township, Allegan County, and commencing the 
work of improving a farm. After remaining alone 
for one year, he sent for his family, whom he had 
left in Scotland. They soon arrived and aided 



him in the work of clearing the place which he 
had purchased. Busy years of toil and hardship 
followed, and on the comfortable homestead which 
he had gained by ceaseless industry, the father re- 
mained until his death at the age of sevent^'-four. 
The mother passed away when sixty-six years old. 

The family of Thomas Patterson and his good 
wife comprised nine children, all of whom grew to 
mature j'ears, excepting one daughter, Agnes, wlio 
died in Scotland when thirteen. Margaret, who 
was born November 17, 1829, became the wife of 
Mr. L. Monteith, but is now deceased; Thomas, 
who was born January 17, 1832, in Scotland, re- 
sides on the old homestead; William, whose birth 
occurred April 15, 1834, came to this country with 
his sister Margaret, and six weeks after his arrival, 
while working on the farm of John Blair, received 
a sunstroke which resulted fatally; Agnes, born 
F^ebruary 29, 1836, died in her native place at the 
age of thirteen; Robert A. was born February 1, 
1838, and now resides on the farm which he and 
Andrew bought of Elder Stanford in Martin Town- 
ship. His brother Andrew and he cultivated the 
farm and kept "bachelor's hall" for two years, 
after which Andrew sold his interest for $1,000. 

The remaining members of the family were: 
Christina E., who was born February 28, 1840. 
and was killed July 18, 1890, the buggy in which 
she was driving being struck by a train on the 
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad; George F., 
who was born July 17, 1842, and with Ids wife. 
Kittle (Wylie) Patterson, located on a farm in 
Martin Township, where he remained until his 
death; and Charles, who was born July 12, 1846, 
and now resides on a farm on section 35, Martin 
Townsliip. The subject of this biographical no- 
tice was the eighth in order of birth, and received 
his schooling in Scotland, whence he emi- 
grated with his mother to America, when he was 
about eleven. Until he reached his majority, he 
remained with his parents, and aided his father in 
the work of developing the home place. 

When Mr. Patterson started out in life for him- 
self, he had no moneyed capital and was unfortun- 
ate at the very commencement of his career. His 
first work was to clear a piece of land and, while 
doing so, he cut his foot so severely that he was 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



939 



ill danjjer of l)l(H'(liiii; to death ;m<l for tliicc 
inontlis was unalilc to ongatrc in ial)oi' of any 
iiiiid. Moantinu' lii.s lioaid liill at *.( per week con- 
tinued to grow and wIkmi 1i(> once moie started 
out. he was ^C>\ in debt, rndaiinled liy liis mis- 
fortunes, he again commenced the battle witii ad- 
vei'se surroundings. For a time he was employed 
in splitting' rails, and followed any honest means 
of earning a livelihooil. After continuing in that 
way for a consideral)le period, he |iuiiliascd a farm 
in partnership with iiis brother Rol)ert and en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits for two ye.'irs. 

Afterwaid Mv. Patterson worked for Joseph 
Wylic. receiving a compensation of ¥20 a month, 
and later was engaged by David Wylie toclear ten 
acres on section 23. During one winter he cleared 
i)ver $.300 liy means of his axe, and gradually 
accumulated a consideralile amount of this world's 
goods as a reward of his indefatigable Labors. He 
then engaged as clerk for William Mathews in Mar- 
tin and continued in his employment almost two 
years, at the expiration f)f which, time he pur- 
chased his hard ware store, a small building 18x24, 
containing 4^2.7(10 worth of stock. Since then he 
has remained in that business, man.aging his inter- 
ests with great success and gaining the i)atronagc 
of the citizens of JIartin and the surrounding 
countr3'. His stock is now valued at f55,OO0 and 
he also owns the store, a building 60x22 feet in di- 
mensions, with one addition, C0x22 and 22x1'). 
Resides bis stock of hardware, he carries a full line 
of paints, oils, stoves, agricultural implements and 
groceries. 

October 23, 1876, Mr. Patterson was united in 
marriage to J^Iiss .\gnes Shepherd, a native of 
this State, and one child has blest their union, 
Clyde, who was born August 23, 1877, .and is now 
attending school in Martin. Mr. and Mrs. Pat- 
terson have a comfortal)le and commodious resid- 
ence, erected at a cost of $2,000, and tlicy have a 
large circle of devoted personal friends. In his 
jiolitical sympathies. .Mr. Pattei-son is a Republican 
and has served his fellow-townsmen in many po- 
sitions of trust. For eight yeai-s he was Postmaster 
in Martin, and also .served with elliciency as Town- 
ship Clerk, School Treasurer and Chairman of the 
Puilding Coinniittee, when the lino brick schonl 



building was erected. He is a consistent member 
of the United Presbyterian Church and has been 
its Treasurer for lifteen years, t.akii)g an active 
part in chiiich work and contnlmting generously 
to the relief of the destitute. 



^S^DWARI) K. ROOT. Tiie g.nlleiiiau whose 
|fel name wc place at the head of this .sketch is 
"' — ^ the jiresent Marshal .of Plaiiiwell, where he 
is recognized as one of the best citizens. His na- 
tive State is Connecticut, his birth having occurred 
in Greenwich, October 17, 1811. His parents were 
natives, rcsjiectively, of Pennsylvania and Con- 
necticut and were John IJ. and .Susan (Moo) Root. 

The senior Mr. and Mrs. Root were married in 
the Nutmeg State. The father was a well-to-do 
agriculturist and came with his family to Michigan 
in 18.57, locating in Oshteino Township, Kalama- 
zoo County. The surrounding country, even at 
that late d.ay, showed very little of its present im- 
jirovcment. The family resided f)n the tract which 
the father had purchased until the death of the lat- 
ter in 1883, in his seventy-seventh year. His wife 
l>assed away in 1890, when eighty-one years old. 
They were influential and ccmscieiitious members 
of the First Baptist Church in Kalamazoo, and had 
granted to them a family of eight children, all of 
whom, with one exception, are living. 

Mr. Root of this sketch received a s[)lendid edu- 
cation, making the best of his opportunities in the 
common and High .School of Kalamazoo. He fully 
appreciates the value which a knowledge of Iwxiks 
gives to those who are willing to study, and is to- 
dav one of the intelligent and well-read men of 
Allegan County. He was a lad of thirteen years 
when his parents came to Michigan, and when fin- 
ishing his studies aided his father upon the farm. 
lie subsequently, however, in choosing a life m-cu- 
pation became a brick-mason and h.as been engaged 
in contr.actingand building for a quarter of a cen- 
tury. He came to Plaiiiwell in IHCrt. and, since 
his advent here, has been one of the leading work- 
men and contractoi-s of the plac<'. 

In 1861. Miss Cleora O. I.oveland united her 
fortunes for life with those of our suliject. She is 



940 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the daughter of Josiali and Laniira Loveland and 
was born in Comstock, Kalamazoo County. Her 
father was a native of Vermont and came to 
Kalamazoo County, where he made his home until 
his death. To Mr. and Mrs. Root have come two 
children: Cora May, who is deceased, and Susie M. 
They have an adopted daughter, named .Jennie M., 
who has made her home with them since five years 
of age. 

In his ]iolitieal |)redilections, Mr. Root is a 
thorough Republican and has represented his party 
in county conventions. He has been very promi- 
nent in local affairs in his township, having filled 
the oflices of Township and Village Clerk, and has 
been a member of the Village Council for six years, 
lie is now serving his second term as Marshal, 
performing all the duties pertaining to his respon- 
sible office in a most capable and efficient manner. 

Mr. Root occupies a high position among the 
Odd Fellows of Michigan, being (Jrand Patriarch 
in the Grand p]ncampment of the State. He has 
filled all the chairs in that ordei- here and was on 
the Brigadier Staff in the department of Michigan. 
He is also a member of the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen. Our subject and liis most est- 
imable wife are members in high standing of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, in which body they 
are active workers and liberal contributors. 




LTO^' 11. FOSTER, of the firm of Foster 
Bros., prominent breeders of Shropshire 
^\ sheep, Poland-China swine and English 
.Shire horses, resides in Allegan. The firm 
also conduct an immense business as dealei's and 
jobbers in all kinds of farm tools and machiner}', 
wagons, buggies and sleighs, carrying a very large 
and complete stock. A young man of stability and 
integrity, Mr. I'oster is contributing greatly to the 
general progress of Allegan County. 

Alton II. Foster is a native of this county, having 
been born in Monterey Township, .January 17, 
1863, and is the son of Oirin L. and Sarah E. (Rich) 
Foster. His parents were natives lespeL'tively of 
New York and Michigan. The father came to this 



State in 1857, and on locating in Monterey Town- 
ship engaged in farming, which occupation lie has 
since followed. He is a prominent man in his 
township and for ten years was .Justice of the Peace. 
In politics he is a stanch Democrat. 

The maternal grandfather of our subject is the 
oldest settler now living in Eaton County, this 
State, having reached the advanced age of ninetj'- 
two years. The parental family numbered two 
children: Our subject and a brother, Frank B. 
Alton ir. began his primary studies in Monterey 
Township, which were supplemented by a course 
in the Allegan schools .and later in a Commercial 
College, from which he was graduated early in 1886. 
He then took a position in Detroit as stenographer 
for Frederick Stearns & Co., manufacturing phar- 
macists, with whom he remained a twelvemonth. 
At the end of that time he went to Cadillac and 
entered the employ of J. Cummer & Son, extensive 
lumbermen. Ho continued with that company 
over a 3^ear when he went to Greenville, M<mtcalm 
Count}^, in the emplo.y of .1. S. Crosby, manufac 
turer of lumber and importer of fine stock. He 
remained in that gentleman's employ for over 
three years when he came to Allegan, in 18!(l,to 
manage their rapidly growing business here, which 
had been established in 1888. 

On another page of this work will be found a 
view of the old homestead which is used by Foster 
Bros, as their stock farm where they have some 
valuable and magnificent animals. The fine sheep 
which they raise are shipped all over the United 
States. They own the Grove Sandy stallion, regis- 
tered in England as No. .")090, and in America as 
No. 942. That Hue animal stands without a peer 
in Michigan, as a draft sire. The brothers keep 
fully posted in all matters which will prove of ben- 
efit to them in their business and have a large cor- 
respondence in every State in the Union, and Can- 
ada and IMexico. They have just sold to a promi- 
nent breeder in Northern Dakota a Shropshire ram 
for II 50. They are exceedingly enterprising young 
men and publish annually a catalogue of their 
pure-bred Shropshire sheei). Shire horses and 
Poland-China swine, also issue semi-annually 15,000 
copies of an excellent journal called Foster Bios'. 
Journal of Agriculture. The persistent industry 




RE51DENCE: OF R. C . HARMON , SEC. iG. ,CHESH 1 RL, ALLEGAN CO., MICH . 




|. 1,5^/: 



'isT' 



VAlL.: 



^ 



rr :3R0S.PR0PRitT0RS, BREEDERS or SHROPSHIRE SHECP. - H A.^ :.' . l 
NORTH OF DCPOTS., ALLEGAN, MICH. 



PORTRAIT AND IIIOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 



on 



and good jndj;;inent manifested l>y Foster Urd^*. are 
sure to will tlieni success, for iiimhi the [lossessor of 
these traits of character fortmio almost invariably 
showeis her blessings. 

Alton II. Foster was married to Miss Addie E. 
Wetmore, the date thereof lieinj; October 1, 1H87. 
Mrs. Foster is the daughter of .losepli 11. and Caro- 
line Wetmore, natives of New York. To our sub- 
ject and his estimalile wife have been ijranted three 
children: Winnifred, Wellington and Hazel. They 
have a pleasant home in .\llegan and arc sur- 
rounded by a wide and admiring circle of friends. 
In politics Mr. Foster gives his vote and inlluence 
to Democratic candidates. 



-=^=m>^-<n 



e;^^ 



[p«\OWLANl) C. lIAimo.X, who is engaged in 
lUir general farming on section 36, Cheshire 
Townsliip. .\llegan County, is one of the 
^ leading and intluential citizens of tiiis com- 
munity, and during the lale war was one nf tlie 
defenders of the I'liinn. .V native of Creece, X. 
Y., he was l>orn ^lardi 1 1, 1M.'5."), and is one of a 
family of four children, all yet living, except the 
elder brf)tlier. Mortimer '1'., who died Decenibei- 8. 
1891. His parents, Henry and Almira (Rowland) 
Harmon, were both natives of the old Ra3" State. 
In 18(;(), they emigrated to Michigan, locating on 
a farm near Battle (reek, Calhoun County. In 
religious faith they were Methodists, and took an 
active interest in church work, while in his politi- 
cal alliliations, Mr. Harmon was a IJcpublican. He 
died in IJarry County. .Micli.. in Octobti. I.s7;5,and 
his wife departed this life in IHOT. 

Oursubject received a good academic ediiiation, 
and at the age of twenty began tiacliing, which 
l)rofe.ssion lie rollowed for twenty years. He holds 
a life first-grade ccrtilicate in New York, where he 
taught prior to coming to Michigan. Init t-veiy 
other consideratiim was juit .iside during the hour 
of the couutry's peril, and he joined tin' boys in 
blue of Company H. Kightli New Y..rk Heavy Ar- 
tillery, in .Inly. 18(;2, a> a non-commissioiied 
ollicer. 

'I'lif regiment was organized at l^ix'kport. N. ^ ., 
and was stationed in liallimoie on garrison duly. 



until the battle of the Wilderness, when it w:ls 
sent into the field as infantry, ."iiid att.iclied to the 
."second Corps. Army of the I'otomac, where it w.-is 
known as "Hancock's first class in geography." 
With his company. Mr. Harmon participated in the 
liattles of Spottsylvaiiia, North Ann, Cold Harlior 
(where two hundred and seven of the regiment were 
killed), and Petersburg, in which engagement he 
was wounded in the right thigh by a minie ball. 
He was then sent to Davids Island, N. Y., and 
thence to the hospital in HiifTalo, but on his recfiv- 
erj', joined his regiment at Hatches Run, and tiKik 
part in the movements that caused the surrender 
of Gen. Lee's Army at .Vppomattox, Va., on the 
9tli of April, 1865. He also took part in the Grand 
Review at Washington, where wave after wave of 
bayonet-crested blue passed by the reviewing 
stand, while cheer upon cheer arose for the de- 
fenders of the country. With one exception, the 
Eighth New York lost more men than any other 
regiment of the war. Mr. Harmon was a vali.aiit 
soldier, who never shirked duty, but was always 
found at his post defen<ling the old flag. He re- 
ceived his discharge in .lune. 18fi.j, after three 
years of honorable service. 

During a furlough in 1861. Mr. Harmon was 
united in marriage to Miss ."sarali \. Haiglit. Her 
father, .Tacob .\. Haight, a stone-mason, removed 
from his home in New York to Michigan, in 1860, 
and .settled in Cheshire Township, where he cleared 
a farm, and pa-ssed away from this earth, February 
1 7, 189"2. Four of his children are now living. The 
wife of oursubject w.asborn in New York, Novem- 
ber .'», 1842, and engaged in leaching twth in that 
State and in Michigan. They have no children of 
their own. but have an adopted daughter, Cora L, 

III IMi'ii;, Mr. Harmon brought his wife to Michi- 
gan, locating on a farm in Calhoun County, from 
which they removed to their present farm on the 
Kith of Novemlier, 186'.i. It was then a wild place, 
but now forty-four acres are under a high state of 
cultivation, leaving only eight acres unimproved. 
In connection with general farming. Mr. Harmon 
also works at the trade of a cari>enter, which he 
learned in his younger ilay-". On anothi-r page ap- 
peal's a view of his ctimfortable residence which he 
erected alMUit a year .-igo, dniwing up the plans 



94i 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and superintending its construction. Hit* life has 
been a busy and useful one, and luis been well and 
worthily spent. Himself and wife are members of 
the Disciples Church, in which he holds the office 
of Elder. He has served as Su|)erinteudent of the 
Sundaj'-sciiool, also as assistant and as a teacher. 

In |)olitics, Mr. Harmon is a supporter of Repub- 
lican principles, and for six years was Supervisor 
of Cheshire Townslii|i, for eleven years was Justice 
of the Peace, w.as School Superintendent of the 
township, and has been a member of the School 
Board. Socially, he is a member of B. F. Chapin 
Post, No. 287, G. A. P., of which he has been Com- 
mander several years; he also belongs to the Masonic 
order of Allegan, and to the Grange. The cause 
of temperance finds in him a stanch advocate, and 
he does what he can for the suppression of the 
liquor traffic. In all public and official positions, 
his duties have been ever faithfully discharged, 
and he is alike true to every private trust. One 
of the highly respected and valued citizens, he 
well deserves representation in his county's his- 
tory. 



-J.5..J..J..J.I 






w 



' OIIN OPPERMAN, an independent and re- 
spected farmer and citizen of section 7, 
Hopkins Townsliip, Allegan County, is a 
son of Christian Oitperman and Fredericka 
(Wagner) Opperman, natives of Hanover, Ger- 
many. The family came to America over forty 
years ago and stopped in New York State a short 
time, and then came to Kalamazoo County, Mich. 
Our subject was born July 24, 1833, in the pro- 
vince of Hanover, Germany, and there received a 
good education, .and was about eighteen years old 
when he came to America. Two years after com- 
ing to this country, he started out to make a liveli- 
hood for himself. In Germany, he had learned 
the trade of a nail maker, Imt at Kalamazoo he 
was engaged with a numlier of other Germans 
working upon the Insane .\s3ium, and he .acted as 
their interpreter, being the onl^' one that could 
speak English. He also made lime for this same 
building. He then went to Indi.ana and helped 
build the railroad tiiere, remaining twelve years. 
John Opperman was married, in 1853, to JNIay 



Bentz, a native of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, 
where she was born November 18, 1827. In 1862, 
he again came to Michigan and lived on a rented 
farm for a year and a half and then purchased his 
present farm, which was all covered with timber. 
His neighbors were few and far between, and as 
there were no roads, all provisions had to be 
carried on his shoulder for a distance of three 
miles. Potatoes at that time brought $1.25 a 
bushel, and pork sold at Kalam.azoo for sixteen 
cents a pound, live weight. He started out 
empty-handed and with no one to help him but 
his wife, and at once set to work to convert 
his f.arm into fertile fields. He cleared his forty 
acres and soon bought another like amount, which 
he also improved. He erected a rude house and 
worked in the sawmill for Mr. Hilliards, when he 
could, to help get along. He had no team to 
assist in his cultivation. Kalamazoo was his mar- 
ket and it was thirtj'-six miles distant. He has 
lived here for thirty years continuously and is the 
only settler now living who settled here so hjng 
ago. 

The gentleman of whom this sketch is a lirief 
life record is the father of eight children, four 
now living: C. Jane, the wife of Charles M. Jones, 
a resident of Bradle}'; Emanuel J. is the hus- 
band of Mar}' Shanks and lives in Salem Town- 
ship at his father's other farm; Andrew Porter 
and John E. live in Hopkins. Mrs. Oiiperman 
has two children bv a previous marriage. Mr. 
Opperman w.as at first a Lutheran in belief, but 
later a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
He served as Superintendent and Librarian of the 
Sunday-school, and was instrumental in org.anizing 
the school district here, being tiie first Treasurer. 
He has given his children a good district-school 
education. In politics, he was first a Democrat, liut 
helped Abraham Lincoln. He afterward joined the 
Greenback party, but is now independent. He has 
been the incumlient of a number of local offices, 
such as Highway Commissioner and Koad Overseer 
and was nominated for Justice of the Pe.ace and 
Constable, hut refused to serve. In his social re- 
lations, he l)elongs to the Masonic order. Blue 
Lodge of Wa3dand, and was the first member of the 
Ancient Order of United AVorkmen in the locality. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RPXORD 



915 



He organized tlic ludtrc lierc aiul was the lirsl 
minster of tlial oiganizalion. lie is a cliartor 
uieinlier of (lie Kniglit.s of ihe Matraliees, and 
lias lieeii Ciiiniiiaiidei-, I.ieiiU'iianl-t'nimiiandcr, Ser- 
Licaiit ai'd Prelate. He was a nu'inlier of the 
( )(ld Fellows and held different ofliees in that 
liidLre at Monterey, and was active in the organiza- 
tion of the lodge at Salem. ^Ir. Oppernian is a 
ineniher of the Patrons of Industry and has been 
their President. 

Mr. Oppernian (purchased the lirst wagon and 
horses in this locality, which were (luite a curiosity 
to all. He and his life companion have seen 
hard trials and passed through many privations 
hut have surmounted them all and are now living 
in peace and plenty, lie has been agent for the 
Karmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of 
Allegan and Ottawa Counties for eight or nine 
3'eai-s. 



]f^ .TOSKPH HKXIHAN. One of the promis- 
11 Jjj '"o .young business men of Allegan who 
(^f^ have a l)right future before them is the 
gentleman whose name heads this sketch 
and who is a member of the firm of Turner it 
Renihan. hardware merchants. They carry a 
large stock of heavy goods and shelf ware and, 
l)eing energetic and pos.sessing good business qual- 
ifications, they have a prosperous trade. 

Mr. Renihan isa native of this State, being born 
in Crand Rapids, October 22, 1861. His parents, 
.lolni and Catharine (Cashin) Renihan, who were 
natives f)f Ireland, both came when (piile young 
to America, and were married at Poughkeepsic, X. 
Y. The father came West in 1856 and settled in 
Walker Township, Kent Comity, this State, where 
lie was engaged in farming, which he carried on 
until two years before his death, when he retireil 
from active business and died at Orand Kapids. 
November ;">, 1SM7, aged lifty-seven years, lb- 
was a Republican and a most worthy man. His 
widow is still living and resides in (Irand Kapids. 
This couple were the jiarents of six cbiblren, 
namely: .lohn. wlioisa memlier of the lire depart- 
ment at (irand Kapiils; Thomas, deceased; Mary, 



who marriecl 1). noimliuc .-inil resides at(iran<l 
Hapids, where her husband is engaged in the 
cooper business; 1). .Joseph; Christo|>her, employed 
with Rindgc, HerUsch iVr Co., boot and shoe dcalci-s 
in (Jrand Kapids; and Magu^ie. who married Frank 
Iloopes, who is an extensive farmer, of Hammer- 
town, Pa. 

Mr. Renihan aci|uired his education at the 
Central High School of (Jrand Pajiids and the 
Grand Rapids Business College, from the latter of 
which he was graduated, July 10, 18k;$, being se- 
lected at that time on account of his line peiunan- 
sliip, by Prof. .1. W. Welton, to copy the essays. 
Prior to his graduation and when sixteen years old, 
he taught school in district No. 1. Walker Town- 
ship, Kent County. On completing his education. 
Ml-. Renihan w.as offered a position with the prom- 
inent merchant*, SherwiKxl A- Oriswold, of Alle- 
gan, as their book-kceiwr, which he accepted, re- 
maining with them frfun .Inly 19, 1883, until 
April 6, 1886. He then purchased the interest of 
H. W. Foster, of Foster A- Turner, hardware mer- 
chants of that pl.ace. since which time he has given 
his undivided attention to the business of the 
firm. Mr. Renihan has not yet left the ranks of 
the bachelors. 

In |)olitics. Mr. Renihan is a Republican and 
takes a lively interest in tlie issues of the day. \\v 
was elected, in 180O, .as Township Clerk an<l re- 
elecU'd in 18'.ll. Socially, he belongs to the 
KniL'hts of P\thias. 



T*- 



I 1 1 I . < ^ 



JlJolIN MII.I.KH. .Section l.J, Tiowbiidge 
11 Townshi|i, Allegan County, is the present 
I home of our subject. He wa,s Ixtrn in the 
/ (Jrand Duchy of Hesse, ( iermaiiy, in 1826. 

and is the son of Nichrila.s and .\iina KlizalK-lh 
(Killer) Miller. The parents came to Amerii-a 
alK)ut 1H.'>2. where the father died in 1860; the 
mother survived a iiuiiiIht of years and pjusmmI 
away in 187;'i. 

.loliii Miller w;is the eldest inemlMM' of his par- 
ents" family of eight children. He remained in 
(;ernian.\ until ninet«'cn yeai-s of age. being 
•liven an excellent education in the model schools 



946 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of that countiy. In 1845, he came to America, 
and made his homo for a few years in Canada. 
Before the Civil War, he removed to New York 
State. Me followed the trade of a cooper for 
twenty 3'ears. 

In 1847, Miss Catherine Killer became the wife 
of our subject. Siie was also a native of Germany, 
and by her union with Mr. Miller has become the 
mother of five children, as follows: Conrad, who 
married Grace Masen, is a merchant in Kalamazoo 
and has three children. Kate is the wife of Charles 
Wheeler, and lives in Allegan; she has four chil- 
dren, two of whom are married. Adeline is the 
■wife of Charles W. Marsh, and lives in Topeka, 
Kan.; she has one child. Mary is unmarried, and 
John H., who is living in California, is married 
and has two children. 

Mrs. Catherine Miller died in 1859, and our 
subject came to Michigan in 1863 and located on 
his present farm, wliich was partially cleared. He 
was again married, in 1865, this time to Anna J. 
Webber, a native of Bavaria, and by her became 
the father of two children : Anna B., who is the wife 
of John Dellinger, lives at White Pigeon, this 
State, and has one child. Clara E. is the wife of 
William Knobloch, and lives in Monterey; she also 
has one child. 

Our subject has one hundred and twenty acres of 
of land, seventj- of which he has cleared himself. 
He lias a good residence and all the needful farm 
buildings, and has planted an apple orchard of 
five acres, and also a five-acre peach orchard. He 
does a general farming business, and has his 
l)lace stocked with a good grade of horses and 
cattle. The family are members of tlie Lutheran 
Church. Mr. Miller has always been interested 
in educational matters in his district, and has 
held the offices of Director, Moderator and Asses- 
sor. His children have been given good educa- 
tions, Mrs. Dellinger and Mrs. !Marsh having been 
school teachers. Our subject is a Patron of Hus- 
bandry, in which order his daughters have held 
office. In politics, he is a Democrat, and has been 
Drain Commissioner and Road Overseer of his 
township. 

When first purchasing his farm in Allegan 
County, Mr. Miller jiaid $200 down and went in 



debt for the remainder. He is doubly proud now 
in knowing that what he has. is the result of his 
industr_y and perseverance. No one ever appeals 
to him in vain, for he is very liberal to all worthy 
charitable objects. Mr. Miller fully appreciates 
the value of a knowledge of books, and has a fine 
library in his home. 




ILL! AM V. TRAUTMAN, the present ef- 
ficient Postmaster at Moline, Dorr Town- 
W^J ship, Allegan County, is a member of the 
mercantile firm of Bates & Trautman, of that 
place. He was born in ISIedina County, Ohio, 
April 24, 1858, to Victor and Lucy C. (Young) 
Trautman. The father was born in France, and 
the mother in the State of Vermont. The father 
■was by occupation a farmer and came to Michi- 
gan in 1858, when it was but a wilderness with 
very few settlements. Our subject was at that 
time but six months old, and here grew up and 
received a good common-school education, attend- 
ing the graded schools of Plainwell and Wayland. 
He was a regular attendant at school until he 
reached his twentieth j'ear, when he began teach- 
ing in Hopkins Township, this county. He taught 
for only two winters, and worked on the farm dur- 
ing the summer months. 

Mr. Trautman started in active life for himself 
in 1880, working on his father's farm in the sum- 
mers, and during the winters engaged in lumber- 
ing. He thus alternated between these lines of 
work for two j'ears, when, in the spring of 1883, 
he embarked in the mercantile business with his 
brother Charles. The name of the firm thus or- 
ganized was McLeod & Trautman Bros., now car- 
ried on under the name of Bates it Trautman. 
They keep a goftd stock of drugs and all articles 
kept in a general store, besides buying and ship- 
ping grain, stock and general produce. They con- 
duet the grain elevator at Moline, and manufacture 
cheese at this place and also at liilliards. 

This gentleman was married October 1, 1884, 
the lady of his choice being Miss Anna McLeod. 
of Moline. Their marriage has been blessed by 
tiie birth of three children, naiuel3-: Edna, Ethel 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 



9i; 



;iMil llhdii, all of wIkpiii mic nl Ihhiu' jiihI rccciviliir 
good i'(Uic;iti(iii!il !ulv;uil:in('~. Mr. 'ri-autinnn is 
idi'iitilicil with tlio KcpiililicMn party, and is now 
liolding Ills second aiipointnicnl as Postmaster of 
Moline, tlic liist licing iluriiig < iaiticlcrs adminis- 
tration and tlio iiri'scnt imkIit Pii'sidcnl Harrison's. 
lie liad held the olliee of Townsliii) Sciiool Inspec- 
tor ereditalily, and is now a niemher of tiic He- 
pnlilican Township Committee. In the niereantih- 
worhl.this gentleman is ivnown to be a man of un- 
doiihted integrity and substantial l)nsiness ability. 
In his social and public life, he is one who is cap- 
able of forming his own opinions and resolutely 
adhering to them. 









JAMKS FREW is a prosperous farmer resid- 
ing on section 3, Hopkins Township, Alle- 
gan County. lie is the son of William and 
Jennett (Smith) Frew, natiyes of Scotland. 
They emigrated to America in 184.3, and resided 
in Summit CV)unty, Ohit>. until tln-ir removal to 
Michigan, ten years later. The father had pur- 
chased land from the Ciovernment on section 9, 
Hopkins Townshi[), \vhicli was then but little more 
than a wilderness. The nearest house w.is two 
miles distant, and their neighbors were principally 
Indians. Their humble home was built of logs, 
covered with shakes, and it was in this township 
that the j'oungcst son died when five years of age. 
The family were in quite reduced circumstances in 
those early days, and at one time their (irovisions 
consisted of four quarters of venison, five bushels 
of potatoes, one bushel of cornmeal. one peck of 
salt, and ten cent.s in money. 

Our subject and his I>rother .lohn, when old 
enf)Ugh ti) go out and work, went to (irand River, 
and hired out at chopping wood in the pineries. 
The money earned in that way was sent home to 
their ]>arents. The father made his home on that 
tract until his death, in 1K(!(), and during that 
time cleared forty acres. Our subject's mother 
died in lH(>;i, after h.aving become the mother of 
the following named children: .lames, .lolni, de- 
ceased; Rol)ert, William, Abigail and Edmunil, the 
latter two deceased. Mr. anil Mrs. William Frew 



were members of the Fpiscopal Churi-h in .Scol- 
l.nnd. but .-ifter making .Vnierica their home, joineil 
the Christian Church. In politics, Mr. Frew wa^i a 
Republican. 

.lames l-'rew was born in Scotland, May IK, 
IH3fi, and was seven years of age when he accom- 
panied his parents on their removal to the New 
World. He attendee! the district .school until 
reaching his seventeenth year, and remained at 
home, aiding his father, until twenty-five years 
old. He enlisted, .\ugust 2(1, IStil, in Conipan\' 
O, .Sixth Michigan Infantry, as a private. With 
his regiment, he went from Kalamazoo to Balti- 
more, from there to Fortress Monroe, then to Ship 
Island, and then to the mouth of the Mi.s-sissipiii 
River. During the siege of Ft*. .lack.son and .St. 
Phillips, with his regiment he embarked on the 
Mississippi River, and received the surrender of 
New Orleans, under (len. Williams. Then, under 
(!en. Butler, they went up the "Father of Watei-s" 
to Carrollton, and later to X'icksburg. They then 
returned to the southern part of the State, and 
participated in the battle f>f Haton Rouge. Alto- 
gether, our subject was engaged in the following 
named conflicts: Camp Williams, New Orleans, 
Morganza's Bend. While River, then again to 
Morganza's I>end. He also participated in the 
battle of Port Hudson. While at the latter place, 
he was wounded in the right leg. May i.'t, 186.1, 
and w!is sent to the hospital at Baton Rouge, 
where he remained until Octobei-. .\t the end of 
that time, he returned to his regiment at Port 
Hudson, which had, in the meantime. Ih'cu trans- 
ferred to the heavy artillery. Mr. Frew w.as de- 
tailed as Colonel's Orderly, and served thus for 
six weeks, when he wa.s made Assistant Wagon- 
ma.ster, which ])osition he held until disi-harged, 
Atigust •2H. IMfil, at Kalamazoo, this Stj»te. 

March I, 1807, om- subject, and Fannie, daugh- 
ter of O. K. and Mary .\nn (Chambei-s) Mudgel, 
natives of Caniida, were married. .Mi>. Frew had 
previously married Daniel HeydenUM-k. Her par- 
ents came to the States in 1842, settling in Ver- 
mont, whence they came t*i Michigan ten years 
later, and bx'ated in CiMiper Township. Kahimnzoo 
County. In 1H54, they came to Dorr rownshi|i, 
.Vlh-LMn County, and made their home on an un- 



948 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fultivated tiat-t of land. The father still lives iu 
Don- Towiisliip, aged seveut3-four years, lie be- 
came the father of eight children, five now living. 
One S071, Edward, was a soldier during the late war 
in the Eleventh Michigan Cavalr}-. 

Mrs. Frew was born January 10, 1839, in Can- 
ada. She was married, September, 1854, to Mr. 
Heydenberk, who was a soldier in the Fourth 
Michigan Cavaliy. He died at Nashville, Tenn. 
By that union, she became the motlier of adaugii- 
ter, Frances P^stella. Mr. and Mrs. Frew have no 
children of their own, but liave adopted a son, 
Allen C. Frew, who is now twenty-two years of 
age. 

Our subject is a memlier of the Grand Army of 
tlie RepubHc at Wayland, also of tiie Ancient Order 
of United AVorlcmen, in which bodj- he has been 
Master Workman, Past Master, Overseer and Guide. 
Mr. Frew is an Odd Fellow and a Patron of In- 
dustry-. In politics, he is a Republican. He has 
held the responsible office of Constable of his 
township and has also been Pathmaster. 

Mr. Frew carries on general farming and his 
estate numbers eighty acres of excellent land, 
every incii of whicli is put to some good use. A 
sister of Mrs. Frew married Samuel Paul, who was 
a soldier in the Civil War and died while in ser- 
vice, leaving a wife and two eliildren: Katie and 
Nellie. 



■^OEL T. CARPENTER. The farms of Alle- 
gan Countv are remarkable for fertility and 
richness of soil, and among them perhaps 
the most highly improved is that of Mr. 
Carpenter. Comprising seventy-five acres on sec- 
tion 18, Martin Township, it has been embellished 
with a good set of buildings and subdivided into 
fields of convenient size. Besides that place, he 
owns forty acres on the same section, and thirty- 
two and one-half acres on section 1.3, Watson 
Townsliip, making a total acreage of one luindred 
and foity-seven and one-half. 

The parents of our subject, Amasa and Lucy 
(Stone) Cari>enter. were natives of Connecticut. 
Tlic fatlier, who was born near Williamsville, 



April 2, 1787, was a carpenter by trade, and also 
followed the profession of a school teacher for a 
period of about seven years. After his marriage, 
which took place in his native State, he settled in 
Sandy Creek, Oswego County, N. Y., where Joel T. 
was born May 30, 1824. Eighteen months after 
his birth, the wife and mother -was called hence. 
Amasa Carpenter served in the War of 1812 as a 
private, and was an active worker in politics as a 
Whig, often taking the "stump" in behalf of his 
favorite candidate. For many years he served as 
a Supervisor of Sandy Ci-eek, and occupied other 
positions of responsibility. 

In his religious affiliations, the father of our sub- 
ject was a devoted member of the Presbyterian 
Church, in which he' was an earnest worker, and 
was familiarly known as "Deacon." The most of 
his life in the Empire State was spent on a farm, 
and he was the owner of one hundred acres, which 
he purchased for $4 per acre, and brought to a 
high state of cultivation. He and his wife were 
the parents of four sons and three daughters, all of 
whom attained to mature years. Of these Lucy- 
ette, Asa, Dollie and jMaria, are deceased, as is also 
Amasa, who died of typhoid fever at Murfrees- 
boro, Tenn., while in the service of his country. 
The surviving members of the family arc Addison 
and Joel T. 

L'ntil he was twenty-one, our subject remained 
in his native place, and afterward worked three 
and one-half months for his father for #35. Sep- 
tember 24, 1845, he started for Michigan in a lum- 
ber wagon, stopping en route .at Cleveland, Ohio, 
where he was swindled out of 811 in a watch-chain 
deal, the first trade he ever made. He arrived in 
Martin Township with 15 in his possession, and 
commenced to work for Thom.as M. Russell, with 
whom he remained for one and one-half years. He 
invested liis earnings in eighty .acres of land in 
Martin Township, for which he paid 8400. He af- 
terward sold that property, and purch.ased one hun- 
dred and sixtj' .acres on section 3, Martin Town- 
ship, which he improved. When he sold that place, 
he bought where he now resides, then a tract of un- 
improved land on which stood a little log house. 

April 2, 1854, Mr. Carpenter w.as married in 
Wayland Township, this county, to Miss Emeline 



PORTILUT AND BIOGRAI'IIICAL RECORD. 



04n 



K., il:uii;litfr of .lacnli and Klizatiolli (Kink) Ayics. 
Tlio wi'ddinu I'orcinoiiy was iK-ifoiiiii'd l>y an Ind- 
ian niissionaiv. llic lvi'\-. .lames Seikorcg. Mrs. Car- 
licntcr IS a native of Tcnnsylvania, and was born 
in Rush Townsliiii, Ck-ailii'ld Count v, Septi'nibcr 
30, 1828. She is the motlierof six children, namely: 
Isabel, wife of Albert Taylor, of Watson Town- 
sliiii, and the inothei- of two eliildren, Aliee and 
Dellie; EtHe, who is at lioine; I'lstella. who inairii'd 
.\veiy (iillett.and lias one child, Walter A.\ Aniasa, 
who resiiles at home and manages the farm; Clara 
who rniirried the Rev. .1. I'", resflniiann. member of 
the .Miehigan Confeienee, resides with her parent*; 
and .lay, who died when two and one-half years 
old. 

In political matters, .Mr. Carpenter was originally 
a Whig, and later a Uepnblican, Imt is now a Pro- 
hibitionist. He at one time served as a Constable, 
••iiid was formerly a member of the t! range. The 
famiiy holds membeishii) in the .Methodist Episcfj- 
pal Chiircli, and its members are regular attendants 
at the Sunday-school. Mr. Carpenter for many 
years has -served .as Steward and Trustee, and li.as 
ever been active in gospel work, contributing 
liberally to the siippoit of the church, and aiding 
generously in it,s building. 



, LBERT W. NYSSON. This respected eiti- 
zcn of .\llegan Ctnintv is residing in the 




village of Saugatuck. lie is a farmer and 
fruit-grower, having his fine tract of land 
located on sections 10 .and 15, Saugatuck Town- 
ship, Allegan Count}-. His parents were Adrian 
and Minnie (Dekepe) Nysson, natives of Geldener, 
Holland, where our subject w.'is born, September 9, 
IHl.T. He was brought by his parents to America 
when only four ycai-s of .age. they making settle- 
ment in Ottawa County, this State. 

In his boyhood days, Albert W. Nysson w.-ti 
given a cominon-scliool education and remained 
with his parents, assisting his father in the home 
duties, until reaching his eighteenth year. He 
came to Allegan County and Saugatuck in 1861, 
and eng.ageil in the lumbering business for several 
veai-s. March ".1. lM7lt, he was happily marrieil to 



.\senalli Whiting, who was Ihhii August 21. 1m|h, 
in HiK'lu'ster, N. Y., and brought by her parents to 
Kalamazoo County, this Stat<', in the spring of 
1 H.J2. 

Mr. and Mis. Nysson are the parents of three 
children: .Minnie, Elizalielh 15. :ind .Mlie .\., all of 
whom are at home anil are receiving excellent 
training. The father of our subject is still livinjj 
in Ottawa County at the advanced age of eighty- 
seven years. The line farm Itelonging to our sub- 
ject is well improved and nets him a handsome in- 
come. At present he is engaged in the nursery 
busines-s, general farm iiig, fruit-grow in gaud he also 
loans money on real-estate security. In politics, he 
casts his vote for the candidates (»f the Democratic 
party and is interested in all movements which have 
for their object the elev:ition of the community in 
which he makes his home. .Ml the membersof the 
family are connected with the Congregational 
Church at .Saugatuck. 



♦^^[ 



B, 



vHl 



U* 




jILLIAM W. I'KIIUK, who is engaged in 
the general inerchandise business at .Mo- 
^Y' line, is a native of I'otter County, I'a., 
where he was born Octolicr ir>, 1848. He is a son 
of .Tames and Sarah IJ. (I'reston) I'eiree, who were 
born and raised in Cayuga County, N. Y., the 
father following the occupation of :i tiller of the 
soil. 

The first liftcen years of the life of our subject 
were passed on the home farm in the .State of 
Pennsylvania, at which time he went to .Vlfred 
Center, N. Y., where he attended the academy for 
three yeai-s. The old district scluxilliouse. which 
he attended in Pennsylvania is still standing and 
also the hon.se his father lived in there. He 
started out on his own account at the age i^f twen- 
tv-two in the grwery business at .Moline, having 
ciune here with his parents when eighteen years 
old and settled in Leighton Township. He kept a 
store for one year at Duttun, Kent County, and 
was also engaged in that business at <• rand Rap- 
ids for the same length of lime. He then came 
to Moline and worked at gardening for two years, 
and in IMT7 began the grocery ami general iner- 



I 



950 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



chaiidising business, wliicli lie has since enniefl on 
with great success. 

July 9, 1868, was the date of tiie marriage of our 
subject and Miss Annie E. Jones, and of tliis union 
two children were born: Charlie S. and Editli L., 
who died at the ages of fourteen and thirteen, re- 
spectively. Mr. Peirce was a second time married, 
taking as iiis wife Miss Ora A. McConnell, of Dorr 
Township, and they have become the parents of 
one child, Sarah Blanch. 

In politics, Mr. Peirce is a stanch Democrat and 
has held many offices, the duties of which were 
faithfully and conscientiously performed. lie was 
appointed Postmaster of Moline during Cleve- 
land's term of service and is now serving his first 
term as Justice of the Peace. He has been Chair- 
man of the Democratic Township Committee and 
School Inspector of Leighton Township. He is the 
possessor of eight acres of splendidly improved 
land in Leighton Township, near Moline station, 
on which he is breeding fine blooded horses, and 
the estate is known as the JNIiddleton Stock Earin. 




LBERT P. CONGDON, who has made 
farming his life work, now owns and oper- 
ates one hundred and ten acres of land 
in section 26, Hopkins Township, Alle- 
gan Count}-. He is a representative of one of the 
pioneer families of this county, and here almost 
his entire life has been passed. Michigan is the 
State of his nativity. He was ))orn in Comstock 
Townsliip, Kalamazoo County, December 26, 1837, 
and is the only survivor of a family of twelve, in- 
cluding parents and ten children. His father, 
Erastus Congdon, was born in Clarendon, Vt.,Eeb- 
ruary 26, 1799, and was a son of George and Sal- 
lie (Palmer) Congdon. He married Emma Sperry, 
a native of Burlington, Vt.. and made his home in 
the Empire State until 1834, when he emigrated 
to the Territory of Michigan, locating in Kalama- 
zoo County. Five years later, he settled upon a 
farm in section 26, Hopkins Township, where our 
subject still resides. He enteied one hundred and 
sixty acres of land from the Government, and, 



with the exceptifjn of J. O. Round, was the only 
resident of the township. Every thing was wild — 
a wooded country, inhabited by Indians and wild 
animals, and Indi.an trails were tlie only roads. Mr. 
Cougdon built a log cabin and began clearing the 
farm. With the aid of his sons, he developed a 
good farm, and thirty-five 3'ears ago erected the 
present residence, which is j-et one of the best in 
the township. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Congdon were members of the 
Congregational Church. The cause of education 
found in him a warm friend, and he served as 
a member of the School Board. In politics, he was 
a Democrat and attended the first town meeting 
in Hopkins, and was chosen one of the inspectors 
of the election. He was the first Town Treasurer, 
was Justice of the Peace, Supervisor of the Poor, 
and was the first Postmaster of Hopkins. He be- 
longed to Otsego Lodge, A. F. & A. M. A part of 
the village of Hopkins has been built upon land 
which he owned. His wife died in July, 1863, and 
he passed away on the 3d of May, 1871. Thej' were 
both members of the Congregational Church, and 
their remains were interred in the cemetery near 
their home. None are more deserving of mention 
in this volume than Mr. Congdon, for he aided in 
the upbuilding and development of the county, 
taking a prominent part in all pulilic affairs calcu- 
lated to benefit the community. 

We now take up the personal history of A. P. 
Congdon, who, during his infancy, was brought to 
this county, and has since, made his home here. He 
attended the first school in Hopkins Township, 
and aided in the arduous labor of clearing and 
developing a new farm. As a companion and 
helpmate on life's journey, he chose Miss Emma 
A., daughter of William and Betsy (Noyes) Inger- 
son. The parents were born, reared and married 
in the Green Mountain State, where the mother 
died, in 184;j. Mr. Ingerson was then again mar- 
ried, and came to Michigan in 1 8,")0, locating in 
section 26, Hopkins Township, Allegan County. 
The land was still in its primitive condition, but 
he made it a tract of fertilitj', and resided thereon 
until his death, which occurred in May, 1887. 
The principles of Democracy found in him an ad- 
vocate, and he took (juite an active part in politi- 




' t 




'(^OM^C^-^aojc 




y- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



953 



cal MtTairs, si'rvinjj; as lliirliway ( 'oinuiissimu'i', 
Coiistalilo iiii'I Drain ('oiiimissioiici-. \'>\ Ins lirsl 
inarriaoc, lie liad six i-liiklren. liiit after Hit' dcalli 
of their inoUier tliey were scattered. 

The wife of our siihject was horn in \'ernioiit, 
Sei)teinl)er 21, 188(). She lost her mother when 
only nine yenvs of aijfe, and from that time had to 
take eare of herself. In 1850, she came to Miclii- 
<ran, and on the "iOth of December, IHfil. ijrave her 
hand in marriage to Mr. Congdon. Into them 
were born three children, two yet living. ],avina 
is the wife of Dan Hound, of Hopkins, and they 
have one child; Frank K. married Mina McClin- 
tock, and resides upon the old homestead. 

Mr. Congdon still follows general farming, and 
his valuable fai'in of one hundred and ten acres, 
the greater i)art of which is improved, pays a 
golden tribute to his care and cultivation, lie is 
classed among the leading and representative ag- 
riculturists of the community, and is a valued cit- 
izen. Him,self and wife are charter members of 
the drangc, in which he has held office for seven- 
teen years, and she h.as served .as Chaplain. In 
politics, he was for many years a Democrat, but of 
late years he has alliliated with the Prohibition 
l)artv, owing to his temperance principles. For 
more than half a century, Mr. Congdon has re- 
sided in this county, and has watched with inter- 
est its growth and progress and has aided largely 
in its develot)ment. 










»)RAYTON PAGK. Allegan C:ounty is favored 
with a numerous population of intelligent 
and progressive farmers, who are interested 
not only in what concerns themselves and their 
own prosperity, but are willing to place themselves 
in line with all who are working for the welfare of 
the commmiily. Such a one is .Mr. Page, who is 
the owner of two hundred ami lifly-two acres, coin- 
))rising the tine farm loe.aled on section i:$, Wat.son 
Township. Here he is engaging in a general busi- 
ness as a farmer and stock-raiser, being the owner 
of thirtylive head of cattle, one hundred head of 
sheep and eight hoi-ses. (»f his land, all but sixty- 
live acres has been placed under cnltivati<m and 

II A 



yields gratifying returns in the way of bountiful 
crops. The family residence, a view of which is 
presented on another page. Is a substantial struc- 
ture and one of the most comfortable in the 
township. 

The parents of our subject. .Moses ami Flizalieth 
(.Martin) Page, were natives of .Su.s.sex County. 
Kngland, and died when Trayton w.as live years 
old. He was born in the same county as were 
his parents, the date of his birth being Oetolter (!, 
\Hi)7. There were six children in the [larental 
family, all of whom are now living, with the 
excei)tion of Ruth, who dierl in Michigan. Kllen 
is the wife of William Halt, and lives in London, 
F.ngland; Harriet, the wife of .loseph Ijiwience, is 
likewise a resident (>{ London, Kngland; Fsthcr, 
who is married, and Klizabeth. both reside in Sus- 
sex, Kngland. Our subject is the only sf)n in the 
family and after the death of his parents was taken 
into the home of his aunt. .Mrs. Harriet Hook. 

When eleven years old. our subject came to 
.\merica with his uncle. Isaac Page, whose portrait 
is presented in connection with this .sketch. The 
latter gentleman had emigrated to the I'liiled States 
in 18.55 and returning to Kngland on a visit in 1868, 
brought our subject back with him to this country. 
Isa.Hc Page was a prominent man in this county 
and held many inlluential and re8i»onsible |)osilioiis, 
among them that of Supervisor for three yeai-s, 
.lustice of the Peace and Highway Commissioner. 
He was a stanch DenuK-ral and a niemlwr of the 
Grange. When he first arrived in Michigan, his 
moneyed capital consisted of twenty-live cents, 
and the fine property which he accumulated repre- 
sented his unaided eflfort.s and tireless industry. 
While not a member of any church, he was a lib- 
eral contributor to the Gosi)el. and the destitute 
alwavs found a friend in him. 

For several yeai-s after coming to this country, 
our s\diject made his home with Isjuic Page, and 
when ready to cst«bli>h a home of his own. wjvh 
married, .May 1. 1878. to Miss Lucy Townsend. 
Mrs. Page wii.s born in Sussex County, Kngland, 
and w.'is the daughter of Samuel and .Sarah (Siggs) 
Townsend. natives of Kngl.and. who came to 
Michigan in 1 87 Land settled in Martin Township. 
.Mlegiin County. Thence they removed to Watson 



954 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Township, and located on section 13. The father 
died at Cadillac, Mich., at the age of fifty. The 
mother still survives and makes her home at the 
place where her husband died. Mr. and Mrs. Page 
are the parents of two children: Pearl E. and Earl 
]., and have adojited the children of Mr. Page's 
sister, Carrie and Nellie. Mr. Page adheres to the 
piinciples of the Democracy, and li.as served as 
Schdol Assessor for nine \ears, beside holding other 
local ollicial positions. 



■ " "i^i^ >] p fa 




IIARLES C. ROGERS, a prominent farmer 
of Wayland Township, Allegan County 
was born in Middleville, Barry County, 
Mich., May 3, 1859, and is the son of Jacob V. 
and n. Matilda (Carmichael) Rogers. IIis fatiier was 
born in Pierpont, Ashtabula County, Ohio, and 
his mother was a native of Wheatland, Hillsdale 
County, Mich. Mr. Rogers, Sr., was a prominent 
lawyer of this comity, following the practice of 
his profession for t\vent\-eiglit years, and coming 
to Plainville in 1853. During Cleveland's admin- 
istration, he was appointed Postmaster at tiiat place, 
being the first Democrat to hold that oHice there. 
He was at one time a member of the State Central 
Committee and could have held many prominent 
offices had he been so inclined, but preferred to 
give his entire attention to the duties of his pro- 
fession. He was a public-spirited, enterprising 
citizen, and his loss was greatly felt at his death, 
which took place April 5, 1891. His wife, who 
had been his devoted companion for so many 
years, soon followed her husband to the silent land, 
departing this life, August 8, of the same year. 
The remains of both are interred in the cemetery 
at Plain well. 

When our subject was but six years old, his pa- 
rents removed to Plainwell, Allegan County, and 
here he was educated, principally in the public 
schools, adding to this one year in the Normal 
School at Valparaiso, Ind. At the end of his school 
life, he learned the trade of a printer in the office 
of the Plainville Itepuhlic, where he worked for 
two years. When his father was appointed Post- 
master, he became his assistant, and held the posi- 



tion until the spring of 1891, when he came to 
Bradley Corners, since which time he has followed 
the occupation of a farmer. 

Mr. Rogers was married, Novemljer 14, 1883, to 
Miss I mo Ban lialkin burgh. She was born in 
Kalamazoo, this State, August 31, 1858, and is the 
daughter of Theo D. and Mary E. (Hoyt) Balkin- 
burgh. Our subject has a fine estate of one hundred 
and fifty-five acres at Bradley, and takes great in- 
terest in agricultural pursuits, being a lover of fine 
horses, and owning one fine thoroughbred, of 
Hambletouian stock. He also has a handsome 
residence in Plainwell. In politics, he is a Demo- 
crat, as was his father before him, and has been 
Township Treasurer of Gun Plain one term. He 
Ijelongs to Lodge No. 235, A. E. k A. M., at Plain- 
well. 

V ♦^^♦^=1i' / 



if? YMAN A. LH^LY, the present Supervisor 
ji /& of Hopkins Township, Allegan County, is 
j lL-\v,, residing on his beautiful tract of land on 
section 3. His father, Augustus Lilly, was born in 
1826, and was a farmer until the outbreak of the 
Civil War, after which event he followed mercan- 
tile life, and was the oldest grocer in Allegan at 
his death. In the Civil War, he was Second Lieu- 
tenant of Company B, Nineteenth Michigan In- 
fantry, having been mustered in as Orderly- 
Sergeant. He was in many of the hard-fought 
engagements of the war and was taken prisoner 
and confined in Libby Prison. He was also dis- 
abled for some time b\' a sunstroke which he re- 
ceived while laying siege to Atlanta. 

The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
Mary Smith, a native of the Bay State, where she 
met and married Augustus Lilly. They resided 
in that State until they came to Michigan, 
in the year 1854. In 1865, our subject's father 
opened a grocery in Allegan, which he contin- 
ued to operate until his death, May 1, 1888; he 
died very suddenly while in his store. They be- 
came the parents of nine children, three of whom 
are living: our subject, Mrs. Alice Iddles, and Mrs. 
Emma Stillwill. They were members of the Epis- 
c-opal Chuii'h, Mr. Lilly being Vestryman and Su- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX'ORD. 



955 



perintendent of the Siinday-H'liodl. ami :il>u a 
prominent sintfer in tiie clioir. in politics, lie was 
a Repulilican, and was 'I'rnstee of the village of 
Allegan. Socially, lie was connected with the 
(irand Army of the Republic at Allegan. 
' The gentleman of whom we write wiis horn De- 
cember 13, 1854, in Allegan. He attended the 
schools in his native town, and was later graduated 
from the Michigan Agricultural College at Lansing 
in the Class of '77. After completing his studies, 
he clerked in his father's store a short time, but 
decided to ft)llow the vocation of an agrieiilturist 
.as a life pursuit. 

Lyman A. Lilly was married, in 18S(), to Miss 
Lelia B., daughter of Norman A. and Kliza (Kast- 
niaii) Barrett, natives of the Kmpire .Stiite, who 
came to Michigan in 1H7I). Mr. Barrett was Prin- 
cipal of the schools in Mason, .Saline and Plainwell 
at different times, and is at present connected with 
Bryant iV Stratton's lousiness College in Chicago. 
lie is finely educated, having been a student in 
the Rochester (N. Y.) University. During llie late 
war, Mr. Barrett enlisted as a private, Ai)ril 22, ISfil , 
he w.as elected Captain, and served three months 
in Company C, Nineteenth Ohio Infantry. He 
took part in the battle of Rich Mountain and was 
mustered out at the cxijiratioii of three months, 
the limit of the term of service. In the fall of 
18(!1, he recruited a company of cavalry, w.as 
elected Captain, and after drilling the men through 
the winter, joined the army in Virginia in the 
spring of 1862. He participated in the batlle of 
Cross Keys, in Pope's battles on the Rapidan, 
Cedar Mountain, Bull Run (second battle) and 
Chantilly. 

In 18(!3, Capt. Barrett was at Kelly's l''ord. 
Chancellorsvillc, Brandy' Station, Aldie, .Middle- 
burg, Upperville and Octtysburg, then at Hagers- 
town and Falling Waters. In 1861, he took an 
active part in the battles of the Wilderness, Han- 
over Court-house, Yellow Tavern. Hawes' Shop and 
Cold Harbor. After (i rant cro.s.sed the .lames, he 
was at Strawberry Plains, Lee's Mills and Ream's 
Station. He was also with .Sheridan at Trevilian 
Station and in a score or more of minor engage- 
neiits. He had three horses shot under him but 
received no w(iuiid>. excepting f>iie from a tiall 



wliii h glanced from a tree and broke a bone in his 
I right lianil. For meritorious .service, he was ap- 
pointed Major and promoted to be Lieulenniit-Col- 
onel, serving as Colonel during much of the 
summer of 1861, and receiving an honorable dis- 
i charge at the expiration of his term of service. 
] Col. and Mr-. Barrett had fcuir children, three of 
whom are living: Mrs. Lilly, Clyde K. and Sadie , I. 
I Our subject and his wife have four children: 
I Clyde A., .\lice Pearl, Scott B. and .Mary Avis. 
j Mrs. Lilly wjis born .Vugiist K!, 18.")'.t, in Ohio, and 
I is a graduate of the Plainwell High .School. She 
h.-is been a .school teacher in .\llegan County, is a 
very intelligent and cultured lady, and a nieinlwr 
of the Kpiscopal Church. 

Mr. Lilly gives his attention exclusively to 
farming, cultivating two hundred acres. He has a 
line apple orchard on his place and raises a tine 
grade of grapes. In politics, he is a Repiiblii-an, 
and li.as served his fellow-townsmen as .Insticc of 
the Peace for one term. He w.as also School In- 
spector for two terms, and is the present popular 
Supervisor of Hopkins Township. 



— <Q Y 



\>^r-<m^ 



DWAKD S. FITCH, who for the piist twenty- 
five yeai-b has been a resident of Wayland, 
.MIegan County, is the jiroprietor of a hard- 
ware store in that pl.ace, and is well known as an 
enterprising, successful l)usine.ss man. He is a na- 
tive of Newark, Ohio, his birth t.aking pl.ace De- 
cember 29, 181.'). His father, K. M. Fittli, w.as a 
native of Vermont, and by profession an altorney- 
at-law, and was the first man to start a har<l«are 
store in W;iyland. His mother, whose maiden 
name w.as Sarah .\. Brown, w.as born in New 
York. 

Our subject received a gootl iiimmon-school 
education in his native place and i-emainod at 
home until twenty years of age, when he went to 
Chicago and learned the trade of a tinner, serving 
an apprenticeship of four yeai-s. He came to Way- 
land in I8(i(;. having s|K'nt the previoii> six years 
in various part- of .Michigan. Here for ten years 
he did journey-work and jobbing, and in 1M7G, l>e- 
gan in bu.sinoss for himself, o|K'ning a general 



956 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



hardware store, handling also stoves and croekery- 
ware. By strict attention to his affairs and straight- 
forward methods of dealing witli liis customers, 
lie has not only built up a good trade but has 
earned the reputation of a thorough-going busi- 
ness man. 

Mr. Fitch was united in marriage, in February', 
1869, to Miss Flora M. Smith, of Wayland. Mrs. 
F'itch was born in New York, where she received 
the advantage of a good education. Her father, 
Charles II. Smith, was a farmer by occujiation. 
Mr. and Mrs. Fitch have one child, F^dward C, who 
is now fourteen years of age. 

In politics, Mr. Fitch affiliates with the Republi- 
can party, whose views he deems correct on all im- 
portant issues relating to the government of the 
Nation. lie has held the otflce of President of the 
village of Waj'land, and sociall}', belongs to the 
Masonic fraternity'. In religion, his belief coincides 
with Ihatheld by the Fnivprsalist Church. 




"oS- 



ON. WILLIAM F. HARDEN. The citi- 
zens of Martin are accustomed to point out 
to the visitor, with more than ordinary 
pride, the beautiful residence owned and 
occupied by Mr. Harden, which is undoubtedly 
the most elegant structure in the village. It was 
erected by the present owner at a cost of ^.5,000 
and is not only handsome in exterior finish and 
modern in architecture, but also jierfect in its in- 
terior arrangement. The life of Mr. Harden is 
well worth}' the emulation of the young, for his 
present influential position has been gained by his 
unaided exertions, and what he has is the result 
of bis untiring industry. 

The father of our subject, Hiram Harden, was 
born in 1800, in Hartford Townshii), Washington 
County, N. Y., and remained in his native place 
until he was twenty-five years old. He was then 
married to Lucinda Corbett, likewise a native of 
Washington County. After his marriage, he re- 
moved to Williamson Township, Wayne County, 
N. Y., where he purchased a tract of land for 81 
per acre. Forty busy and happ}' years were passed 
on that place, and there the children of the familv 



grew to maturity. F'ive years prior to his demise, 
Mr. Harden, Sr., removed to the village of Will- 
iamson, and there passed to his final rest, in 1873. 
In his political belief, he was not onl^' a strong 
Republican, but was well known as the first Alwli- 
tionist in the county. In his religious convictions, 
he was a devoted Presbyterian. 

The family born to Hiram and Lucinda Harden 
consisted of the following children: Mary L., who 
married Abram Peen, of Kalamazoo County, this 
State, and is now deceased; William F., of this 
sketch; Eliza J., the wife of Josepli Harden, and a 
resident of Wayne County, N. Y.; Hattie M., now 
Mrs. J. M. Noble, of Kalamazoo City; James B., 
wliose home is in AVilliamson, Wayne County, N. 
Y.; and Fllnora, who is the wife of Charles Vaughn, 
also of Williamson. The subject of this notice 
was born in Williamson Township, Wayne County. 
X. Y., July 19, 1831, and was reared in his native 
place, where he ol)tained a common-school educa- 
tion. After he was twenty-one years old, he took 
charge of the homestead on shares for seven 
years, and then, in 1859, came to Michigan, set- 
tling 111 Martin To^^niship, Allegan County, and 
buying a farm of one hundred acres on section 7. 

About one-half of the tract of land was im- 
proved, and Mr. Harden at once set to woi'k to 
bring the remainder under cnltivatiou. As time 
passed, he added forty acres to the original estate, 
and erected a residence, as well as substantial out- 
buildings. He has since given the farm to his son 
Mahlon, who resides there with his family, and 
does a general farming business. Mr. Harden is 
the owner of three hundred and ten acres of good 
land, the most of which is in Martin Township, 
and he has owned as much as five hundred acres 
at one time, having forme'rlj' been one of the most 
extensive land speculators in the township. 

In 1852, Mr. Harden was married to Mary J. 
Wilcox, a native of Marion, Wayne County, N. 
Y., and five children were born to them, as fol- 
lows: Jane J., now the wife of Thomas J. Shep- 
herd, of Martin; Mahlon D., who resides on the 
old homestead; Jennie, the wife of Alex. Monleith, 
of Martin; Hattie M., who married W. F". Kimball, 
and lives in Martin; and Cora, who died at the 
age of sixteen vears. IMrs. Maiv J. Harden died 



1\)RTRAIT AND tlOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 



;t;>7 



Aii.i,Mist 2(1. IKHH, and Mr. H.-iidi'ii aftorwanl 
foiiiu'd a iiiatiiriKiiiial alli;iii<;u willi Mrs. Ivillie H. 
(Wiley) rattorson, tlic widow of (Jcorj^e V. I'altcr- 



a faiin, rwcivinga fjood lominon-wliool e<Iiication, 
and rt'maiiu'd at iiomc until ffaciiinj,' liis Iwpnty- 
seeond yi'ar, wlirn lu' wimiI to New York. The 



.son. When lieslarted out in life. Mr. Harden had maiden name of our sul>jcel's mother w.n.s .leniii 



a \«|)itjil of 4^1 no. which wa.s the nueleu.s of his 
])rpsent possessions, and ho owes his success to his 
industry .'nid excellent judi^nuMil. In 1M81I, he vis- 
ited (';ilifornia. si)en<iini;- seven months on the Pa- 
cihc Slope, and two years later hi' ni,'ain traveled 
Westward, and spent nine weeks in various (jarts 
of the West. 

I'ntil 1X73, Jlr. Harden voted the Kepuhliean 
ticket, hut at that time he chanjied his allegiance 
to the I'lohiliitionists. He has served with credit 
to himself in many positions of honor, among 
them School Inspector, Highway Commissioner. 
Supervisor of ^^artin Township for seventeen 
yeai-s, and Hepre.sentativc from the Second Dis- 
trict of Allegan County, in the .state Legislature, 
during the years lH7t-7."i. He w.as formerly Di- 
rector of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance CV)m- 
pany. of Allegan and ( )ttawa ('(Uinties, and is now 
President and rrc.'i.sui('r of the same. His markeil 
ability and unllinching integrity- have won for him 
the confidence of the entire community, and he is 
often called upon to serve as .idmiuistrator of es- 
tates, .as well as in other positions of trust. 






^i^ 




n\\\ N. CI{.\WF()1{1). Were there to he 
a reunion of (lioneers of Allegan County. 
Ganges Township could furnish, we 
donlit not, a larger proportion than al- 
most any other, and many wouhl he the experi- 
ences and adventures related liy the old-timers, 
that would he of thrilling interest to the young 
peo[)le of to-day, and also to the older people :ls 
reministences of experience. He of whom we wiitc 
a farmer residing on section :5(l, Ganges Township. 
has the honor of being the third settlor in the 
township. 

Mr. Crawford was horn in .Madison tount\. .N. 
Y., November 1(>, 18(17. and is .a son of .hiel and 
tlemima Crawfoi-d, the father being Iwirn in Mjissa- 
chusetts, .March 2. 17(!7. \\r was Iheie reared on 



Mills. She became the mother of live children: 
Lucy;. Sarah, dece:i.sed; Levi, our subject, and Hen- 
jam in T., dec-easecL 

The elder Mr. Crawford livi'd a numlier of years 
in the Empire SUite, wheie he followed farming. 
After the death of our subject's mother, he wa.s 
married to Lyda Little, and she dying in 1S13, he 
came to Michigan and maile his home with our 
subject until his death, which occurred when he 
had reached the advanced age of eightv-seven 
years, si.\ months and eighteen days. In [lolitics, 
be was a Democrat, and very jiopular in his com- 
munity. 

He of whom we write wa.s given a fair educa- 
tion and. when reaching his thirteenth year, de- 
cided to learn the hatter's trade, serving an ap- 
prenticeship of six years. Ho followed that occu- 
pation oidy one year after m;istering the trade, and 
later was employed on a farm in his native county, 
working three years each for two men whose farms 
adjoined. In 1836, Mr. Crawford and .Miss Eunice, 
daughter of Daniel Mack, were united in marriage, 
and to them were born six children: .lane. <le«'a.s«Ml; 
Cornelius R., Helen M.. Edwin. (leorge and Fred- 
erick. EdwMi enlisted in Company L. Fourth 
Michigan Cavalry, umler (k-n. Prichard, and died 
from disease contracted in the army. 

In 1H3."). the origin.-il of this sket<'h emigrated 
frtun his native State to Calhoun County. .Mich., 
where he remained for the sovi'u su<-eeeding years, 
and in 1813. set out with a slow ox-toam for his 
|)rosent farm in .Vlleg:in ('ount>'. This honoreil 
and energetic pioneer braved Mi:iiiy hardsliip.«. 
which lh()Se who followed did not have to undergo. 
His estaU^ consisted of four hundreil acres of un- 
improved land, inosl of which he cleared him.M-lf. 
lie has been very generous with hischildren. <livid- 
ing his properly among them, reserving oidy lifly- 
four acre-s for himself, sill of which i.oin fruit. He 
lia.s also iH'en very lilK-rnl in his contributions to 
churches an<l :dl worthy objects, and is regaided 
a.-» I'ne of the benevoleiil and popular citizens of 
the countv. 



958 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In those early days when Aiba N. Crawford first 
came to the county, neighbors were few and far 
between, and Kalamazoo and St. Joseph were the 
nearest markets on the south, and Douglas, on the 
north. Wild game of all kinds was plentiful, and 
thus the family were always supplied with fresh 
and choice meats. In going to St. Joseph, the 
Black River had to be forded, and many times our 
subject had a narrow escape in crossing that river. 
Three different times during his younger days, he 
was carried from the forest with a broken limb, the 
fracture being such, on one occasion, that he was 
compelled to walk with the aid of crutches for 
two years. 

Although the gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch is eighty-four years of age, he is very active 
and does more work than many men who only 
carry half his weight of years. Mrs. Crawford de- 
parted this life June 2, 1878. She was a very in- 
telligent and capal>lc lady, and greatly respected 
by all her acquaintances. Our subject is a member 
of the Count3' Grange, and supports Democratic 
principles. 



1=^ 



$+^^-- 



^i OHN A. TURNER, attorney -at-law and also 
Postmaster of Wayland, Allegan County, is 
^,^ well known as one of the enterprising and 
\^f' successful business men of that pLaee where 
he has resided since 1885. lie was born in Green- 
wood Township, JlcIIciuy Ccninty, 111., and is the 
son of Dr. H. C and Harriet C. (Tyler) Turner, 
natives of Steuben Count}-, N. Y., and Connecti- 
cut, respectively. His father was a i)hysician who 
was graduated from the Michigan University at 
Ann Arbor, in 1855. Ho spent the most of his 
professional life in Orangeville, Barry County, 
this State, residing tiiere at the time of his death, 
in 1885, the latter being caused by that terrible 
disease — cancer of the stomach. 

Our subject spent his early days in Barry County, 
where he attended the iniblic schools, gaining a 
good education, and in the spring of 1875 entered 
the law department of the Michigan University, 
at Ann Arbor, being graduated in the Class of '77. 
He then returned to Orangeville and began the 



practice of law, remaining here until 1885, when 
he removed to Wayland, where he has since re- 
sided. His brothers, Horace J. and C. A., took the 
medical course in the same institution as our sub- 
ject, the latter being now a practicing physician in 
Cleveland, Ohio. 

Mr. Turner for two years, 1887-88, engaged in 
the banking business in Wayland, and in June, 
1889, was appointed Postmaster of the village un- 
der Harrison's administration. He has always been 
a Republican in his political views, and has been 
active in whatever has seemed to him best adapted 
to aid in the progress of his town and count}'. 
While a resident of Orangeville, he held the office 
of Township Clerk, and, with the exception of one 
year, has served as Justice of the Peace ever since 
coming to Wayland. 

Mr. Turner was married, Sei)ternber 13, 1886, to 
Miss Belle Frue, daughter of John Frue, of Way- 
land, the father being a farmer by occupation, who 
died when she was a mere child. Mr. Turner is 
an energetic, go-ahead, indefatigable worker, as is 
shown by the number of enterprises in which he is 
engaged and the ability with which he carries 
them on. In addition to his duties as Postmaster, 
in which he serves the public to their satisfaction, 
he does a general insurance, loan and collection 
business, keeps up the practice of his profession, 
and carries on a store, dealing in cigars, tobacco, 
confectionery and stationery. He and his wife are 
highly regarded by their fellow-citizens and merit 
the estimation in which they are held. 



I@^'^l^l^ 



QETH KNOWLES is a prominent farmer and 
fruit-grower, who resides on section 29, 
Manlius Township, Allegan County, where 
he is the fortunate owner of eigh y acres 
of highly improved land, about thirty-five acres of 
which is devoted to fruit culture. He is tlieson of 
George R. and Elizabeth (Wetherby) Knowles, na- 
tives of New York, where they were married, and 
removed to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where the sub- 
ject of this sketch was born October 24, 1843. 

The father of our subject was a farmer by occu- 
pation, to which business his son was also reared, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



959 



lein.iininjr upon the farm iinlil llie bieakin<j oiit of 
tlie R('l)(>llioii, wluMi lio.willi live of his hrotlicrs, imi- 
hstcd ill tho scivifoof their comitiv. It is scldoiii 
th:it' the liistori;in cjiii reeord an iiistaiiee of so 
many in one family offerini; their serviees at tiie 
s:iine time in such a eause, hut it gitef, to show the 
patriotism iiiid luavery of tliesc worthy sons of a 
worthy fatiier. At this time, 1«() 1, Seth Kiiowies 
was only seventeen years of aye, and when he 
offereil liiiiiself to the recruiting oflicers, they 
wouhl not accept him. lie, however, ftilhiwed the 
rei;inienl to Harper's Ferry, \'a., and there entered 
the service .as a driver in the Commissary Depart- 
ment, remainiiiii in tliis occupation until tiic win- 
ter of lH(;2-(;.'i, wlicii he was so unfortunate .as to 
hreak his lei;, and was sent home. After liis recov- 
ery, he enlisted in the Ninth Ohio I i\de])eiideiit 
Hatlery for three years, or durinj;: the war. lie 
was sent to tlie .\.rm\ of tiie Cumberland in Ten- 
nessee, and participated in vaiious enicaijements 
until the close of the war, being disciiarged in .Tiily, 
1M(!,'). Four of his hrothers belonged to one regi- 
ment from Wisconsin, their record being .as fol- 
lows: (leorge, who served three years; Henr^-, who 
was t.aken prisoner, and ended his days in Andcr- 
sonville. dying October 11, IMIil; .lolin W. served 
until lw> contracted a fever, from which he died; 
I li iiace R. served three years, w.os taken prisoner, and 
w.as confined at I,il)hy and Uelle Isle; Seth Knowles 
served in the Ninth ( )hio Independent liattcry, and 
after his discharge returned to the paternal home, 
where he worked for his father until the death of the 
latter, when he bought out the other heirs' interest, 
and took the old homestead, on wliic li he lived 
until 1H80. He removed to Michigan in lMMj,and 
took possession of the farm where he now lives. 
April I'.». 

Mr. Knowles was united in marriage, .Inly 1, 
IH()7, to .\lice M. Rowe. and their union was 
blessed with six children, namely: (ieorgeR.. born 
June 2."). IHt!8; Charles N., September 9, IHTd; 
Seth II., March 5, IHT.i; Nina, born .Inly iX, I87:>, 
died at the age of six j-ears; K. Blanch. Iwrn No- 
venilier (!, 1877; and William W.. April ;>, I««0. 
The mother of the.se childien died l-'cbniarv 2, 
IH«;5. 

.Mr. Knowles was mairied. Aiiu'ust •_>«, I m.h | , ihi- 



time to Rosa A., the widow of Charles A. Field, 
and a daughter of .Samuel CrolT. She is a native 
of New York, and by her lii-st marriage was the 
mother of two daiiglitei-s. May B. and .le-ssie K. 
Mrs. Knowles, who was a most estimable woman, 
departed this life .Inly \i,. IK'.M. Mr. Knowles is 
one of the most enterprising citizens of the town- 
ship, and is deeply intereste<l in all th.at concerns 
its welfare. He is also a lover and breeder of the 
light harness horse. lie is the founder and organ- 
izer of Alie Fenn Post, No. .371, (i. A. R.. and w.a.s 
its first, .as he is its present. Commander. 

He is a stanch Republican, and has frequently 
been called to positions of trust by Ins parly. He 
at present holds the olllce of .Iiistice of the Peace, 
is one of the School Board, and one of the c-ounty 
members of the Sold iei-s' Relief Commission, lie 
is a liberal contributor to the ditTeient religions 
denominations of his township, and the worthy 
poor do not go liungry. especially the oM efmi- 
rades or the widows and orphans of those deceased. 



.\HI,()\V lll(;iM!(»IIl AM. On a rising 
knoll, overlooking the Kalamazoo River, 
stands one f)f the most beautiful residences 
of .VUegaii. Il.s location is pieturescpie, 
alike when the warm sun of summer brings now 
beauty to the clustered trees, :iiid when the snows 
of winter wrap the hills in a lleeey robe. This at- 
tractive residt-nce w.as f<ir liiaiiv vears the home of 
! ■ ■ 

I the late Harlow IIigiiiliotliam,aiid is now occupied 
bv his widow, one of the pionei'rs of IMichigan and 
a lady of unusual intelligence. 

As early as 18:56, Niriim and Kliza (tireen) Al»- 
lH>t, natives of Connecticut, emigr.aled from Cen- 
tral New York to this Stjitc, settling in Allegan. 
Mr. .Vbbott was a blacksmith by trade, but in New- 
York engaged in the manufacture of carriages anil 
wagons, .\fler coming to Michigan, he worked as 

' a carpenter, erecting the lii-st fmme house in the 
village of .Vllegan and also built other houses 
in this place. For some time he openited ana land 
speculator and bought ami sold liiiilH'r land in this 
section. He purchased .and cleared :\ lr:iel of land 



960 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



one mile west of Allegan, it being the first farm 
which was cleared in the neighborhood. 

In 1839, Mr. Abbott removed from that |pl:iee 
eight miles further north in the woods and bought 
a farm wliere Monterey now stands. In the spring 
of the following jear, he removed to Ogle County, 
111., where his wife died soon after his arrival. 
His death occurred some j-ears later, near St. Paul, 
Minn. Their family comprised five children, of 
whom two survive: Susan E. (Mrs. Harlow Higin- 
botham) and Harriet (Mrs. Solomon Dwight). The 
educational advantages received by Susan E. Ab- 
bott were limited and consisted of a brief attend- 
ance at the district schools and the Ladies' Semin- 
ary, near her home in New York, and a course of 
study in the schools of Allegan and Kalamazoo. 

At the age of sixteen. Miss Aljbott became the 
wife of John P. Allard, a native of Massachusetts 
and a teacher in his young manhood. Mr. Allard 
came to Michigan in 1886, where he engaged in 
surveying at Allegan and later embarked in busi- 
ness as boot and shoe merchant. He also studied 
law and was quite prominent in the best circles of 
the place. "When lie died, in 1846, he left a widow 
to mourn his loss, and also one child. Eliza, who is 
Mrs. Edward Dwight. In 1852, Mrs. Allard was 
united in marriage to Ilarlow Higinbotham. a 
native of Decatur, Otsego County, N. Y., and an 
artist by profession. For a time he engaged in 
teaching school, also gave lessons in penmanship, 
and after his marriage located permanentlj- in Al- 
legan, engaging in buying and selling land. He 
purchased a tract of land on the north side of Al- 
legan and laid out what is known as the Higin- 
botham Addition to the city of Allegan. 

The political alliliations of Mr. Higinbotham 
Ijrought him into sympathy with the principles of 
the Democratic party, and he w.as prominent in 
local politics. His death occurred at his home 
on the 21st of January, 1890, when he was about 
seventy-si.K 3ears of age, having been born on 
the 6tli of March, 1814. His demise was mourned 
not alone by his immediate relatives, butb^' his fel- 
low citizens, who appreciated his rare manliness of 
character and singular uprightness of life. Though 
passed from earth, his influence still lives in the 
hearts of those who esteemed him in life and to 



whom he set the example of a public-spirited citi- 
zen .and open-hearted neighbor. He and his wife 
were the parents of three children, namely: Cora 
Iv; Ida, now Mrs. Clock and the mother of three 
children: Harlow E., Grace and Frank; and Jennie 
(t., who is now living at home with her mother. 



<^, IfelLLIAM H. SILCOX. Among the prosper- 
\rJ// ous and representative farmers of section 

J^^ 8, Clyde Township, Allegan County, stands 
the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He 
is descended from a long line of worthy ancestors 
and his paternal grandfather was a gallant soldier 
in the Revolutionary War. He was born October 
31), 1850, to William and Mehitabel Silcox. Will- 
iam, Sr., was born April 7, 1809, in New York, and 
was reared to manhood on a farm. In 1835, he 
was married to the daughter of Jlr. and Mrs. Bet- 
raun, who became the mother of our subject. 

A year after their marriage, the parents of our 
subject moved to Ohio, and there located on an 
unimproved farm of forty acres, which the.y im- 
proved and then added eighty acres to the original 
tract. ■ To this worthy couple were born eleven 
children, six of whom are yet living: Allen; Aldred; 
Sophia, wife of George Miller; Harriet, the widow 
of Myron Dennison; William IL, and John E. The 
parents were valued members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Churth. 

The education which our subject commenced in 
the common schools was completed in the acad- 
emy of Republic, Ohio. At the age of twenty-two, 
he took sole charge of the old homestead, and has 
continued to farm, except while traveling a few 
years selling goods. In 1874, he came to his 
present home and two years later was married to 
P^stella Calvin, daughter of Josiah and Nancy 
(C'asit\') Calvin, of AVilliams County, Ohio. They 
have become the parents of six children: J. Calvin. 
Gcraldine, ElHe. Mary, Belle, and Burr, deceased. 

Our subject has held different school offices in 
his township. He was Justice of the Peace one 
term, and for ten years has served acceptably as 
Commifssioncr of Highways. On coming to this 
count}-, he bought one hundred and sixty acres 



PORTRAIT AM) HIOORAl'lIICAL RIXOKN 



063 



of iiiiliidken laiul, to wliidi lie Ikis since iiddi'il, un- 
til now he owns two iiundrcd and forty fertile 
acres, one iiundied and tliirty of which are under 
the Iftjst cultivation. He has good suhstantial 
improvements and buildinjrs, all of which have 
been gained by his own i)crsistent efforts. His resi- 
dence, a view of which is to he found elsewhere in 
tliis volume, is a pleasant and attractive al)ode, 
furnished tastily and surrounded liy the evidences 
of prosperty and llirift. 









1|^^KI,S()N SMKEI), who makes his home in 
![| jl (ianges Township, Allegan County, was 
1 Z. Iiorn in what is uow Wyoming County', 
N. Y.. in 1822. His parents were Asa and Anna 
Smeed, natives of Vermont, the father "s l)irth oc- 
curring in 177!), in Windsor County. Although 
Asa Smeed's early life was spent in the city of 
Windsor, his advantages for obtaining an educa- 
tion were very limited, he being permitted to at- 
tend only the niglit school. When a young man. 
he emigrated to Pennsylvania, where he was mar- 
ried to Anna, daughter of John Steel. 

The father of our subject was a carpenter and 
millwriglit by trade, but after his marri.age gave 
his attention to lumbering, which line of work he 
followed in Pennsylvania for a number of years. 
In 1848, he emigrated with his family to Michigan, 
locating in Allegan County, where his decease oc- 
curred. His life companion, surviving him a few 
years, returned to her old home in Pennsylvania, 
where she departed this life. Asa Smeed w.as a 
soldier in the War of 1812, and socially was a 
mcmlicr of tiie Free and Accepted Masons. In 
politics, lie w.as a Whig. His father, Capt. .Vsa 
Smeed, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, in 
which conllict he lost a leg. 

He of whom we write was one in a famil\- of 
thirteen children, eleven of whom are yel living. 
His education was (|uite limited, as his boyh<H)d 
days were spent in the lumber woods, driving an 
ox-team. He resided with his parents until twenty- 
two years of age, working in the .>^twiiiill and 
woods, and in IMHi came to .Michigan and the fol- 
lowing vear to .MIegaii County. In ix|s. Im' pin- 



cliased forty acres of unimproved land, which is 
his present home and, after clearing a portion of 
this tract, added fifty acres tohis farm. all of which 
was covered with hardwood timber, and on which 
there wjus also a large Indi:in camp. 

In 18111, Nelson Smeed and Miss Sarah F., daugh- 
ter of David and Sailie (IJiiriiell) Ilutchiiis, were 
united in marriage. To them have been born live 
children: .\deliue (Mr.s. Alva Fisk), Sarah F. (de- 
ceased). Jay, .Sophia (Mi-s. Willis Hillings), and Al- 
mira. Mrs. Sarah Smeed dying, her husb.-ind mar- 
ried Mi-s. Catherine .Slayton, daughter of William li. 
and .Sophia (Hut<?liins) Stillson. In |H)litic>, our 
subject votes independently and has tilled the vari- 
ous township ollices, having served for many years 
as Justice of the Peace, Township Treasurer, etc. 
He and his devoted wife arc members of the Meth- 
odist Kpiscopal Church and are people highly 
prized in their community. 



J AVID A. WOODWARD, a resident of 
J W!i\land Township, Allegan County, is 
engaged in mixed farming and stttck-rais- 
" iiig. He is a native of I.*ight<>n Town- 

ship, Allegan County, having been born February 
10, 184.'>, to J(»hii and Priscilhi (Goods|)eed) Wood- 
ward. The parent.s were iKirn and reared in 
Darien Township, (lencsee County, N. Y., where 
the father carricil on the trade of a cjirpenter and 
joiner. He is still surviving and resitics in Al- 
legan County. Ills good wife passed away in 
187.-?. 

David .\. Woodward wil-, rehired and received 
his education in his native county where ho lia.s 
always resided. He attended si-hool until he was 
eighteen years of age, but, l)eing of an ambitious 
and energeli«r disposition, his father could not 
keep him in m-IiooI any longer. .\t the age of 
twenty year>. he renti-d a farm in W,a_\ land Town- 
ship and at the enil of two years he purchased n 
place, it iH'ini; the same on which he now resides. 
He at lii-sl hail only forty ncre-s, which he cleared 
and improved, but now has double that ainniini. 

The siibji'cl of Ihi-, notice was married in .Mid- 
dUvillr. Rany C..unty.llii> State, to .Mi>s Mary .\. 



964 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Henry. The ceremony took place August 6, 186.5. 
This couple are the parents of four children: .John 
E., Dick, Eli, and Jay, all at home except the old- 
est, who is at Kalamazoo. They are receiving 
a splendid educational training. In 1880, Mr. 
Woodward erected a fine barn and other out- 
buildings on his place, and has a ver}- commodious 
and comfortable residence in which his family re- 
sides. He has been making a si)ecialty of horses and 
swine, but as prices are now so low and no pro- 
spects of them increasing, he thinks of dropping 
that line of business. In politics, Mr. Woodw.ard 
votes for the best man irrespective of party but has 
never been an aspirant for office of any kind, pre- 
ferring rather the quiet of his domestic life. He is 
a member of the Lodge No. 296, A. F. & X. M. 
at Bradley and always approves of every- 
thing which pertains to the interest and enhance- 
ment of the township and county. Mr. Wood- 
ward is a self-made man in the strictest sense of 
the word and is a splendid example of what may 
be accomplished by an energetic, determined and 
economical life. 



S^^ ILO BAKER, a representative farmer on 
I l\\ s*^ction 33, Hopkins Township, Allegan 
I Hi County, is the eighth child in a familj- of 
^ ten children, he being born Februarj' 6, 

1844, on the old liomestead in this township. He 
grew to manhood here and helped to clear the old 
farm and attended the district school in this town- 
ship. He began for himself at twenty years, and 
enlisted in the Civil War March 30, 1864, in Com- 
pany G, Sixth Michigan Heavy Artiller}', and en- 
listed nt Kalamazoo when the company was at home 
on veteran furlough. He then went to Port Hudson 
and did garrison duty a few months. From there 
lie went to New Orleans but onl}' remained a few 
weeks and was then at the following places in suc- 
cession: Morgan Bend, Ala.; White River, Vicks- 
burg, New Orleans, Ft. Morgan, and then back to 
Greenville, where he was mustered out and dis- 
charged August 20, 1865. He returned home and 
worked out for two years. He then bought foi-tv 



acres of land on section 28, which was but pai- 
tially improved, afterward purchasing one hundred 
and twenty acres in partnership with William 
Ross, it benig the same on which he now lives. 
He worked this until he was married, in 1870, to 
Miss Lois Calkins, a daughter of Charles and Be- 
linda (McLaughlin) Calkins, natives of New York 
and Ohio, who came to Michigan in 1858. The 
father died in 1882, the mother still surviving at 
the age of seventy-six years. Mrs. Baker was born 
August 2, 1852, in Allen County, Md., and came 
to this 30unty when six years old. 

After the marriage of this couple, they settled on 
their present farm, Mr. Baker bu3'ing out his part- 
ner and they now have in their possession two 
hundred and thirty-five acres. Fifty .acres of this 
are cleared and the remainder is in timber. He 
erected his fine and commodious residence in 1886, 
and it is the only brick house in this township and 
cost 12,500. He has also put up a barn, 32x44 feet 
in dimensions, and a shed, 14x44. He does a gen- 
eral farming business, raising wheat, corn, oats and 
live stock, and also has a splendid orchard. 

The original of this sketch and his estimable 
wife are the parents of two children: Gertie May 
and Nellie B. They are attending the district 
school. In his political views, Mr. Baker is a stal- 
wart Republican and always stands by his party. 
He is a very hard worker and has always been all 
his life and is a gentleman who is well and favor- 
ablv known tliroughout the county. 



--^>^^<l>- 



<il MLLIAM GREEN. The gentleman of 
\/\J// whom we write this life record is a pros- 
^^^ perous farmer residing on section 17, 
Clyde Township, Allegan County, where he is 
carrying on general farming on one hundred and 
twenty .acres. He had cleared and improved 
ninety-four acres of this estate, on which he has 
placed the ver^- best improvements, and has been 
a resident here since December 1, 1869. 

This gentleman had his birth February 14, 
1833, in Franklin Countj', Ohio, and is a son of 
Almon and Ellen (Wickiser) (ireen, both natives 
of Ireland. Tiie former grew to manhood in Dub- 



PORTRAIT AND BltXJRAl'IUCAL RKCORI). 



965 



I 



liii and received .a pretty fair (diiciaioii. At the 
age of twenty-one, he was niarriecl and initnedi- 
ately started for tiie I'nited States. Tliey loc'ated 
near .loiinstown. Licking County, Ohio, on a farm 
of eighty aeres. There they remained six yeai-s, 
and then lived in Krani<lin County f(»r tiie same 
lengtli of time. They tiien moved to Delaware 
County, the same Stale, and after ten years' resi- 
dence lliere located in Deliance Country, where 
they spent their last days. They were both 
niemliers of the United Brethren Church. The 
fallur served in the Mexican War, in Com- 
pany II, under (ien. Taylor, and remained until 
it.s close. To them were liorn six children, four 
yet living: Charles, William, Catherine and \"ic- 
tori.a. Catlierine is the widow of C. McMann, 
who died in the late war; Victoria is the wife of 
William Conner. The father of this family is a 
son of Charles and Klizabeth Green, and was an 
.Vndrcw Jackson Democrat, hut died a Whig. His 
death w.is caused hy cholera, in July, 18.51. 

At the time of his father's deatli, our subject 
started out in this wide world to make iiis own 
living. He worked on a farm in Deliance County, 
Ohio, and after working in different counties for 
some time, he went to Croinvvell, Xolile County, 
Ind., where he worked at the carpenter's trade 
about twelve 3'ears. On August 4, 1862, he en- 
listed in his country's defense in Company H, 
Kighty -eighth Indian:i Infantry and served under 
Sherman. He w.-js in the following battles: IVrry- 
ville. Stone River, Chickamanga, Lookout Moun- 
tain, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, liuzzard's Roost, 
Snake Creek ( iap. Peach Tree Creek, Kene.saw Moun- 
tain, Atlanta, .lonesboro, Savannah, and Henton- 
ville. He w.ts slightly wounded tiin-e times, l)ut 
it never necessitated him going to the hospital. He 
received his honorable disdmrge .June 20, I860, 
at Indiana|iolis. Inil. 

The subject of this sketch was married in I8.')6, 
on October (!. to >L'iria Richmond. Mrs. Crecn is 
a daughter of .lohu :ind Lyda ( Frankelbarker) 
Richmond, and to lifr have l>een born live chil- 
dren, as follows: Lyda K., who is now the wife 
of Charles Wilson; Louisa K. married Kugenc 
Lewis; William, who died when seven years olil: 
Henjamin died in his inf:incy; and Leonai'd 11. 



married fJcorgia Rarager. These worthy parents 
are members of the Chrislian Church, and .Mr. 
Oroen is, politically, a Republican and a sUmcli 
supporter of the party. He is connected with the 
Jacob (;. Fry Post, No. 16. (i. A. R.. of (;angcs. 



PANH-:L L. UAIilJKU. wiuj is the leadii 
I merchant of Saugatuek, is the senior mci 
ber of the linn of 1). L. HarlH'r \- Co., ge 



ng 

r mcm- 

;en- 

eral merchants. In addition to this business, he 
is also largely interested in the growing of fruit, 
having tifly-live .acres devoted to that industry. 
He is also extensively engaged in breeding stand- 
ard-bred horses, of which he now has a stable of 
eight. He is a son of David and .Siihiey (Lewis) 
Barber, natives of New .Icrsey ancl Can:id:i. ic- 
spectivel3'. 

The subject i>f this sketch was born In Norfolk 
County, Canada, .luly 16. IMiJil, where his fatlu'r 
was employed in farming. He was the onlycliild, 
and at the age of nineteen he started in life for 
himself with no capital but liis own (piick wits and 
ready hands. He came to the I'nitejl States, lirst 
stopping at Chicago, entering the employ of O. R. 
Johnson, Stockbridge .V Co.. becoming one of 
their trusted employes, and remaining with them 
until 1872. when, by his economy and industri- 
ous habits, having saved enough money to ent«'r 
into business for himself, he entered into part- 
nership with .\. B. Taylor. This partnership con- 
tinued until 1878, when it was dissolved, and our 
subject engaged in general merchandising, carrj^- 
ing it on l)y himself for six years, when the pres- 
ent firm was established. They carry a large st<x-k 
of general merchandise, ami are succeeding well in 
their business. 

Mr. Barl)er was married, in October. 187(1, to 
Mi.ss Carrie Rus.sell, daughter of Ifcilpli Russell, of 
New York. They have become thi- |»nrents of 
two children: Carrie Russell, born NovemU-r 20, 
1.S72, who was educated at .Ml. Ilolyoke Seminary, 
and is now assisting her father in the store; Au- 
gusta Minnie .M.. JKirn .Vpril K!. 1Hk:J, is a student 
;il the High School at Saugatuek. 

In politics, Mr. Barln'r is a stalwart Republican. 



I 



966 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



He has been President of the Village Board three 
terms, and has always been a member of the School 
Board. He belongs to Lodge No. 328, A. F. & 
A. M., and also to the Cliapter, Royal Arch Ma- 
sons, at Allegan. The family are all members of 
the IMethodist I^piscopal Church, in which they 
hold a prominent position. 



^j^^DWARD PENFOLD. One of the pleasant- 
IW] est homes in Ganges Township, Allegan 
/I' — ^ ' County, is that which is jointly presided 
over by Mr. and Mrs. Penfold and which is located 
on section 27. Our subject was born in Sussex 
County, England, in 1828, and is the son of John 
and Anna (Meads) Penfold, the father also a na- 
tive of the same county as was our subject 

The elder Mr. Penfold was married when quite 
young to Miss Anna Meads and to them were born 
twelve children. Besides our subject, only two are 
living, George and Thomas, who make their home 
in England. Edward Penfold's advantages for an 
education were quite limited, and he remained at 
home assisting his parents until his emigration to 
the United States, which was in 1850. He located 
in Wayne County, N. Y., and after a residence of 
two years there returned to England and married 
Caroline, daughter of James Stone and Rebecca 
Gretwick. Mrs. Penfold was one of a family- of 
seven. 

To our subject and his wife have come a family 
of five children, of whom James A. and Charles E. 
are the only members living. They have an 
adopted daughter named Hattie Stratford. After 
his marriage, Mr. Penfold returned to the Em- 
pire State, where he spent the succeeding three 
years. In 1855, he came with his family to Ganges 
Township, Allegan County, where he located on 
his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres. 
His labors in thus 0()ening up a new farm were 
very arduous, as for four years he had not even a 
team to aid him in breaking the sod. He perse- 
vered, however, .and the beautiful farm which maj' 
now be seen on section 27 is the result of his in- 
dustry. Their first cnbin was built of logs, having 



neither doors nor windows and with loose boards 
laid down for the floor. Corn bread and greens 
were the articles of food which served for many 
meals. 

In 1863, the original of this sketch enlisted in 
Company B, Thirteenth Michigan Infantry, and 
joined Sherman's command in tiie march to the 
sea. At the close of the war, he received his dis- 
charge, but has never seen a well day since, as his 
health was greiitly impaired by a sunstroke which 
he received while in the service. 

Mr. Penfold had just settled down to enjoy life, 
when, in 1871, the prairie fires swept away all his 
buildings, fences,apple trees — indeed, almost every- 
thing except the land and stock. He was not 
disheartened, however, and soon had rei>la(;ed all 
the buildings which had thus been damaged. In 
1877, he returned to England and spent the winter 
visiting friends and relatives. In politics, he is a 
Republican, and in his religion, is a member of the 
I'nited Brethren Church. His wife is connected 
with the Wesleyan Methodist denomination. 

Ilenr}', a brother of our subject, came to the 
United States the year following the arrival of Mr. 
Penfold. He enlisted in the armvand died during 
his service. He was the onlj^ connection of the 
family that ever came to the States. 



^HJH^i 



<f^LTON S. BOTSFORD, a ].rominent mer- 
chant of Dorr Townshii), Allegan County, 
^ started out for himself in the battle of life, 
with a good common-school education, before 
reaching his majority. He learned telegra|>liy and 
also the jeweler's trade, at which Latter he w.as em- 
ployed two years. He had gained some insight 
into the mercantile business from his father, and on 
reaching his twenty-fourth year, he tame to Dorr 
and opened a store for the sale of dry -goods and 
groceries. This was in 1877, and he has never 
made any great change, except to enlarge from 
time to time, as custom demands, his general stock, 
consisting of dry -goods, boots and shoes, drugs 
and groceries, which he is carrying on success- 
fully. 

Mr. l!olsf(;rd was born in Otsego Township, this 



PORTRAIT AND BlOCKAl'IIK AI, HIXORD. 



Ofi: 



C'ounly, .Inly 17, l.S;');>. His fiillici- bore llic iiaino 
of Alvii I), llol.sford, :i native" of ('aiiiifla, jincl a 
fanner l>y occupation. lie was for a nunil)ci- of 
years cnjrasicd in tiic mercantile l)usines.s at Otsego, 
and lield .several important local otHccs. The 
mother bore the maiden name of Clara Sherwood, 
a native of New York .State. Her father, Eber 
Sherwood, came to Michigan and settled in Otsego 
Township, this county, at a very early day, over 
half a century ago, and was one of the oldest set- 
tlers at that place. 

Winnifred O. Kwing, a native of Kent County, 
Mich., became the wife of our subject in Novem- 
ber, 18711, and to this couple h.as been bom two 
children: Calla and Margie, both of whom are yet 
at home and receiving the best educational advan- 
tages within the power of their parents. In poli- 
tics, Mr. Hotsford is a stalwart Republican, and is 
at the pre-sent time serving the tovvnshii) as Post- 
master; he also held the same otHce during President 
(iarlield's administration. He h.as also held the 
ollices of Township Clerk and Treasurer, and takes 
an interest in everything which tends to promote 
the prosperity of the township and county, espe- 
cially anything pertaining to the improvement of 
schools and e<lucation. 



I 



•^^[ 



J~ AMRS LOWK, a resident of Allegan and one 
of the representative farmers of Alleg.aii 
County, has a splendid farm of one hundred 
and thirty acres located on sections 22 and 
27, Allegan Township. He was born in Allegan 
village ill the winter of 1843, to James and Mary 
(Pimley) Lowe, natives of Kngland but who were 
married in New York State. * I'liey came to Mich- 
igan in 1S38, on a prospecting tour, and at that 
time bought a large tract of six hundred acres, 
.lames Lowe, Sr., returned to New York, and, in 
1840, came with his family to Allegan to live, stay- 
ing here one year prior to going on the farm where 
he lived until his death in lHi:i. He was a mem- 
ber of the Odd Fellows' Lodge an<l with his wife 
lielonged to the Methodist Church. Hi.s good 
wife lived until 1877, when she died at the age of 
sixtv-eisrht. The father was a Republican and one 



of the wealthy men of the county. This couple 
reared a family of six children: Martha, Mrs. Hew- 
ctt. who died in 18h:I; Kdward P., (leorge; .Sarah, 
Mr.s. Stegeman; .lames, and Mary (twins), Mrs. Pal- 
rick. 

Our sulijccl was educated \n the Allcgaii High 
School, and reared on the home farm, remaining 
under the parental roof until thirty-six yeai-s old, 
when he was united in marriage to Ida .1. Chit- 
tenden, of Lansing, Mich. Mi's. Lowe's father was 
Claudius M., and her mother Martha (Tracy) Chit- 
tenden, natives of New York and St. .Joseph County, 
Mich., respectively. He came to Michigan when a 
young man and settled in Constantine. He waa a 
stone ma.son by trade and followed the same 
through life. He died when twenty-nine years old. 
He was married in Michigan and Mi-s. Lowe is his 
only child. She was educated in Illinois near 
Rockford, and later atten<led one year in a s<'liool 
at Constantine. She tjiught school for almost live 
years. Mr. Lowe since his marriage has lived on 
the farm, having bought out s<jme of the heirs of 
the old homestead. 

Fine buildings adorn the estate of Mr. Lowe, 
and he carries on mixed farming and line stock- 
raising, keeping some of the best grades of sloc-k. 
This farm is adjoining the village and the resi- 
dence of Mr. Lowe is situated on .section 21, but 
in the vilkage of Allegan on the .Monterey road 
He also has line barns with all modern conveniences. 

Mr. and Mi-s. Lowe are the parents of four 
children: Claude, .\mv, Krnest and an infant 
named Constance, Our subject is a Republican 
and, with his wife, belongs to the Presbyterian 
Cliurcli in which they are valued inemlKMs. This 
familj' is held in the highest esteem by the citizens 
of Allegan. 



SKOROK MANTINiiH. .M. !>. It i> not 
. merely by a knowledge of drugs and nos- 
trums that a i>hysician gains siu-ce-ss. In 
order to gain true eminence, he niust |»os,>'e!W the 
spirit of patii'iit research into the intrimcies of the 
human form iliviiie. and kindly sympathies which 



I 



968 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



will give to those who have called him in for counsel, 
conlidence in his humanity as well as in his skill. 
The career of Dr. Mantingh, of Fillmore Township, 
A'legan County', one of tlie leading practitioners, 
hfls been creditable in the extreme, both profes- 
sionally and personall3-. He commanded an exten- 
sive practice, stood high in social circles and was 
the occupant of a pleasant home in Fillmore Town- 
ship. 

Dr. Mantingh was born in the Province of 
Drenthe. the Netherlands, JUI3' 16, 1813. He was 
reared in Borger, where he spent most of his time 
previous to coming to America. He received a 
good education in the schools of his native coun- 
try and began the study of medicine under the 
tutelage of his father, who was a prominent physi- 
cian and civil engineer. The father of our subject 
was Dr. Albert Mantingh, a native also of the 
Province of Drenthe. The mother of him of whom 
we write was known in her maidenhood as Jennie 
Tromp, a native of the Netherlands, and to them 
were granted a family of four sons. They both 
passed from this life in their native country. 

Our subject decided to see something of the 
New Woild and accordingly set sail in 1847, Mrs. 
Mantingh coming in 1849, and after a voyage of 
over forty days landed on American shores, com- 
ing directly to Allegan County, this State, where 
he located forty acres of land in Fillmore Town- 
ship. 

Dr. Mantingh, was married in Fel)ruaiy, 1852, 
to Miss Martha Westing,a native of Holland, hav- 
ing been born in the Province of Groningen in 
1834. She is the daughter of Otto and Frouke 
Westing, natives of Bieren, but who upon coming 
to the United States, located in Fillmore Township. 
Doctor and Mrs. Mantingh were the happy parents 
of live children, namely: Reka, Albert, Jennie, 
Ida and Meinardus. 

Our subject owned fifty-five acres of beautiful 
land which he cleared and placed in admirable 
condition and upon which he resided ever since 
locating here in 1847. It will thus be seen that 
he was one of the oldest pioneers of the town- 
ship and could relate many an interesting tale of 
early jiioneer experiences. In politics, he was a 
stanch Dcinociat. always casting his vote and 



influence in favor of that bod3\ Dr. Mantingh 
passed from this life December 28, 1891, at the age 
of seventy-eight, honored by all who knew him 
and sincerely mourned by his family. 

Albert Mantingh, the eldest son of our subject, 
is a i)racticing ph3'sician residing in Graafschap; 
he is a graduate from the medical department of 
the Universit3' of Michigan. Meinardus, the 
3'oungest son, makes his home with his mother. He 
is a graduate of the preparatory department of 
Hope College, having taken the Freshman and 
part of the Sophomore course. He is at the pres- 
ent time editor and publisher of the Ottawa 
Count3^ Times. His paper is neat and newsy and 
we predict for the bright and ambitious young 
journalist a successful future. 



•?,^ 



kj'»-^ 



=^|. 



ST A N L E Y C. FOSTER, one of Allegan 
County's representative and respected 
farmers, resides on section 16, Trowbridge 
Township. lie is a son of Daniel and Luc3' 
A. (Stanle3') Foster. Daniel Foster was a native 
of Cape Cod, Mass.. and was a blacksmith by trade 
and later became a grocer in Rochester, N. Y., also 
at Brighton, N. Y'. He afterward engaged in the 
nurseiy business as agent, until he came to Michigan, 
in 1842, and bought his present farm. Two 3ears 
later, he removed his famil3- here, onto the land he 
purchased, which w.as a wilderness. He cleared off 
a piece of the land and set out some fruit trees and 
became the pioneer fruit-grower of this section. 
His house was built in 1844, and is one of the 
oldest in the township. lie carried on the nursery 
business quite extensively and followed the business 
until 1860, when he" retired. He died April 10. 
1888. His good wife p.assed away May 9, 1885. 
She was a native of Connecticut and a daughter 
of Erastus Stanle3', who was an early settler at 
Brighton, N. Y.,and was in in the sawmill business 
there. 

The parents of our subject had two children, our 
subject and his sister, Luc3- M. The3' were members 
of the Presb3'terian Church at Allegan, and active 
in the Sun day-school, and also in district schools, the 
father being an oHicer in the district. In politics, he 



PORTRAIT ANH ItKXJRAlMIK AI. HIX(iI!I). 



969 



was a .lacksoiiiaii Dcinociat. llv liold tlic (illiccs of 
T()\viislii|i Cli'ik anil Siiporvisor, and was vt'iy 
pniniinciit. lie aftoi ward l>ecaniea Rc|>ulilii'ai). 

( )iir suliji'c-l was liorn May 23, 18:V2.at HriLjlitun. 
N. Y., and was twelve years of ajje, when lie eanie 
to Micliigan. lie received a jj;ood eoiiiiiion-sclKiol 
ediieatioii. In l.H.")."), lie went to Iowa and located 
in \iiiton, where lie started the \'iiiton Emjlc and 
ran thai sheet for two years, lie then ri'tnriicil 
to Miehi.uan and lived with his parents on the old 
homestead. He was married, in IK.'iH, to Sarah A. 
llcMinielt.a dauuhter of William Hem melt, who came 
herein lH."i(! and settled in this township. Hotli 
parents are deceased. Mrs. Foster was horn March 
1(1, 1H:38, in England, and she and her hushanri are 
the parents of two children: ('hilliiijisworth S. is 
married to Mary I'".. Stuck and lives here with his 
wife ami three chihlren; Ulossom married .Mice .1. 
Hale and has foiii' children, and resides in this 
township. 

Mr. Foster settled upon this farm when it vv.as 
([uite new, and cleared otT one linndred acres. He has 
.y:ivcn farms to both his sons and now has sixty 
acres. .Socially, he is a niemliei' of the Grange and 
h.islieen .Master, Secretary and Lecturer. Mrs. Foster 
has also held ollii'cs in this lodge. Mr. Foster has 
lieen a memlier of the School Hoard six years and 
takes an active part in politics, alliliatiuij with the 
DenKtcratic party. He held the responsilile ollice 
of Township Clerk eight years and h.as heen fre- 
ipieiitly a delegate to connty conventions. 



I 






r^N HA.NDI.KR F. .MILl.FU. This gentleman 
11 deserves mention as one of the enterprising 

\iJ'^ farmers of Monterey Townshi)), Allegan 
County, where he resides on section 2;?. He owns 
one hundred and twenty acres of line land, well 
imiu-oved, with good liiiildings and every conven- 
ience with which to carry on farmiiii: in lirst-class 
Style. 

The son of Ira and Lydia (^(iravcs) Miller, 
natives of the Slate of .Vew York, the suhject of 
this sketch wa- horn Octoher 13, 1H|(I. His father 
w.as a farmer hy ix'cupatiou and w.is one of the 
pioneers of M.-icoiiih County, this Strife, coming 



here as early as l.s:!n, hut .•ifterwnril returning to 
Ins native State, From there he removed to Illi- 
nois, and in 184.') came again to .Michigan.. settling 
ill .Mlegan County, anil heiiig among its early in- 
li.'iliitaiits. He locateil 011 section I I, and cleared 
up one linndred and sixty acres of land. He was 
a soldier in the War of IH12. 

The suhject of this sketch had very limited ad- 
vantages 111 tlie way of an education, hut liy his 
natural intelligence and powers of ohservatioii he 
hecame a well-informed practic.-il Imsiness man. He 
worked for his father until he was twenty-one 
years of age, and oil Octoher 21, 18(;2, was hap- 
pily married to the estimahle lady who now pre- 
sides over his heautiful home. Her maiden name 
was Olive JI. Muiison, a daughter of Ira and Rach- 
el (Hammond) IMiiiisoii, natives of the Finpirc 
State, where she was born, .laiiuary 23, 181 I. 

-Mrs. Miller is a descendant of Capt. Thoni.as 
Miinson, a relative of Lord Miiiison of F.ngland. 
Cai)t. .Muiison came to America in 1639, and lo- 
cated on the site of the city of New Haven, Conn. 
Mrs. Miller has lieen the mother of two children: 
rAion L, horn Noveml>er 27. 186."j. who died at 
the age of twci months; Claude \ ., iKjrii Septein- 
licr 1. 1867, married Miss Delia IlifT. a daughter 
of William and Litla (F.gliert) I lift, natives of 
Ohio. She w.as lM)rii in Michigan and her mar- 
riage to()k place Novemher 2L 1891. This couple 
reside with Mr. Miller on the liomej<tead where 
the son is aiding liis father in eondueting the 
farm. 

The marriage of Mr. and Mi's. Miller took pl.ace 
in 1862, after which they remained on the farm 
until I8(;.>. .Mr. .Miller then l«iuglit out the store of 
Moore ife Ferguson, at Monterey, which he c<jn- 
ductcd until 1869, when he lioiight the place on 
which he now lives. In 1882, lie built his hand- 
some dwelling. The residence cont.nins all the 
modern improvements, is elegantly furnislii'd 
throughout, line pictures adorning the walls and 
beautiful plants and articles of bric-a-brac lietok- 
ening a Uiste which only culture can give. 

On his estate Mr. Miller carries on mixed farm- 
ing, and is also largely intere^stcd in fruit grow- 
ing, having sixteen hundred peach trees anil 
about four hundred apple trees. He is a Repiilt- 



970 



POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lican in politics, and .scicially, belongs to the Orlrl 
Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees. lie anil 
his estimable wife are among the most highly re- 
spected and honored members of the community 
and have gathered about them a large circle of 
warm friends. 



•mi^mC^ I < I* ■ < » 



^1 OHN II. .IEFFP:KS. One of the prominent 
and well-to-do agriculturists and bvisiness 
men of Dorr Township, Allegan County, who 
is quite as conspicuous for his modest and re- 
tiring nature as for his intelligence and ability, is 
he whose name is at the head of this sketch. He 
is a native of Logan County, Ohio, and was born 
there May 15, 18.52. He is a son of John .loffers, 
a native of the Keystone State. He followed car- 
pentering and farming as his life work. Our sub- 
ject's mother was in her maiden days Miss Catherine 
Zahller, a native of Pennsylvania, who now lives 
in Ohio. 

Our subject is the eleventh of the family, in 
order of birth, and was reared in his native 
county and State, receiving but a common-school 
education. Between the ages of eighteen and 
lwent_y-one years he taught vocal music. He be- 
came independent in life at the age of twenty-one 
j'ears, when he began farming. He afterward en- 
gaged in buying and selling cattle. This latter 
business he pursued but two years. Subsequently 
leaving Ohio, he bought a place of one hundred 
and twenty acres on section 13, this township and 
county, and commenced to improve the place. For 
a few 3'ears succeeding, his time was divided alter- 
nately between this place and his old home in 
Ohio. 

Mr. .Jeffers' marriage to Ida Jones, of Dorr 
Township, took place at the home of the bride's 
parents, July 8, 1878. Mrs. Jeffers is a native of 
this place, and her father, Robert Jones, was a far- 
mer in this township. Their marriage has resulted 
in the birth of four children: Daisy V., Cleopatra, 
John C. and Nellie. The last-named child is de- 
ceased. Mr. Jeffers is counted among the most 
thrifty and industrious men of his township. He 
cleared and improved the place he first purchased, 



and later bought one hundred and sixty acres in 
Leighton Township, which he has also cleared. He 
now owns two hundred and thirty acres in two 
tracts, and four acres where his plant is estab- 
lished. 

In 1886, Mr. Jeffers began the business of 
making brick at Moline, this township, and has 
been thus engaged ever since. He also has a 
large sawmill at Moline, which he has but latelj'' 
erected and expects to do a large business in that 
line. Ills brick yard has a capacity of three mill- 
ions per _year and his orders are so numerous and 
large that he has to call on others in this line for 
help. He also makes a specialty of tile, of which 
he has a large and ready sale. He has hereto- 
fore carried on his farm through hired help but 
now has his place rented and will continue to 
carry on his present business. In polities, he is a 
stanch Rei)ublican, .and does not now, nor ever 
did, seek an otlice of an}- kind. He and his family 
are held in high repute in the community. 



♦^^•5 



_x 



^ 



♦^•S-^* 




DAM NEWELL is the proprietor of the 
well-equipped drug store at Burnip's Cor- 
1 11 ners, Allegan Count}'. He is the son of 
(1^1 John and ISIary (Pettingall) Newell, na- 

tives of Putnam County, Ohio. They came to 
Michig.an at an early da}' and were pioneers of 
Ottawa County, where our subject was born, Janu- 
ary 11, 1862. The father w.as a farmer and Adam 
remained at home until reaching his majority, re- 
ceiving the training that would make of him a 
good citizen. 

Adam Newell had only the advantages of a 
district-school education, but he made the most of 
his studies and is to-day an intelligent and success- 
ful business man. In 1881, he was happily married 
to Miss Emma, daughter of Charles and Eva Hoop. 
Her parents were natives of Germany but, on emi- 
grating to the United States, came to Michigan 
where they reside at the present time. To our sub- 
ject and his estimable wife have been born a fam- 
ily of four children: George Robert, Lula M., Ida 
May and Bessie. They are .all at home with their 





if^/^y'^^^^Ci:^^ 




II 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGUArillCAL RECORD. 



975 




LI5ERT STKGKMAN. Tlie successful l)usi- 
nc'SS man and lionored rosidonl of Allegan, 
wliose name introduces lliis brief bio- 
g:rai)liical notice, affords, in his life, an- 
other example of what a farmer boy can .accomplish, 
with no other help tlian all farmers' sons canenjo}', 
but who has the incentive to better his condition 
and the determination to win a place among men. 

On another portion of this volume will bo no- 
ticed a view of tlie exterior and interior of the 
eleg.ant store owned and managed h}- Mr. Stege- 
man. This structure, which is the finest in the 
city and one of the best in this section of Michi- 
gan, was erected in 1889 at a cost of !5!l;),()00. It 
is a brick and stone building, two stories in height, 
beside a basement, and llOx.lO feet in dimensions, 
with an addition in the rear, 2<)x2(i feel. The 
building fronts on Trowbridge .Street, and on the 
other sides are twenty-fivc-foot vacant lots, afford- 
ing all necessar}' light and allowing teams to drive 
around the store, so that the immense business can 
bo carried on without confusion. 

The interior of the building contains a complete 
stock of dry-goods, groceries, crockery; glassware, 
trunks, boots and shoes, and, in fact, everything 
which is needed in a general mercantile establish- 
ment. Eight clerks arc kept in constant employ', be- 
sides himself and wife, and so enviable and wide is 
the reputation the propi-ietor lijis cstjiblished, that 

45 A 



parents and are being given good educations. Tn 
1M.S2, .\dani Newell started in the grocery business 
in .bimestown. Ifi' continued thus for a twelve- 
month when he went to Osceola County and en- 
gaged in a like business for three years. In 1887, 
he came to Kurnip's Corners and oi)ened a drug 
store which he is conducting successfully. 

In politics, Adam Newell is a true-blue Repul)li- 
can and is greatly respected by all who know him. 
He h.as recently disposed of his stock of boots and 
shoes and carries, in addition to a full line of drugs 
and medicines, a variety of notions. He also owns 
two fruit evaporators — one at lUirnip's Corners 
and one at Jamestown. In 1890, he dried about 
thirt)' thousand jwunds of fruit. 



peo[)leeome from long distances in onler to takead- 
vantagc of obtaining good goo<ls in retail (juanti- 
ties at wholesale prices at the Four I'er Cent. 
fJrange Store. Xotwithstantling the fact that Mr. 
Stegeman has been unfortunate in having his store 
burned out in l.SMl, losing his stock, he knows no 
such word as fail, but pui-sues his ))usinrss with 
e(»mniendalile enterprise and untlagging persever- 
ance. 

A brief notice of the life of this successful mer- 
cOiant will not lie amiss. He is a native of Hollan<1, 
whence he accompanied his [larcnts, John mikI IIcm- 
drika (Dunnewind) Stegeman. to the I'liited States, 
and with them settled in Holland, .Mich., in 1K17. 
The father engaged in farming pursuits there un- 
til called hence by death. His family comprised 
the following children: tierret, who still resides in 
Holland, his native land; Jenigsen (Mi-s. J. Dcfrel), 
of Holland, Mich.; Wilhelmina, who is married and 
resides in Holland, this .Slate, where al.<o Hen- 
drikje (Mrs. W. Diekema) makes her home; our 
subject, who is the next in order of birth; John, 
(larret and Martin, who are farming in .MIegnii 
Count}'. 

Albert Stegeman was educated in his native 
land and in Michigan, and embarked in business 
at Grand Haven, this SUite, in 1853, remaining 
there for twelve years. He then went to Alle- 
gan and continued engaged in mercantile pursuits 
until 1871, when he became agent for the Allegan 
County Co-Operative As-socialion of the Patrons 
of Husbandry, an organization which was incor- 
porated in 1.S7(!, and is probably the only one of 
the kind that has made a ]ierfeel succe.>*s. He has 
always interested himself in landed property, and 
owns a farm just beyond the citv limits. He was 
elected Supervisor in (!rand Haven, but h;»s alw.nys 
refused to .accept ollice. He is deeply interested 
in matters that will twnefit the people and never 
refuses to aid any moitsure that is for the public 
welfare. 

The marriage of Mr. Stegeman united him to Miss 
Lainila Fulsom, of Chelsea. Orange County, \'l. Her 
(larents, Joshuary and Lucy (.\ii(bews) Fulsom. 
were natives of Vermont, and her father operated 
as a farmer until his death in Oningo County, in 
18;')2. .Mrs. Fulstun came to Miclii!.'an lweiit\-thnf 



976 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPfflCAL RECORD. 



years ago and makes her home with her daughter, 
where she is a cherished inmate. Besides Mrs. 
Stegeman, there are three dauiiliters, namely: 
S_ylva, who is the wife of Frank Dearliorn, of Chel- 
sea, Orange County, Vt.; Zeriiah, who married 1). 
Cox, of Wahlron, Cale(h)nia Countj', Xt.; and 
Luc3', the wife of .lames S[)ears, of Allegan. Mrs. 
Stegeman is cashier in the store and is universally 
conceded to be one of the best business women in 
Michigan, her large executive ability and keen 
judgment having contributed largely to the suc- 
cess enjo^'ed by her husltaiid. 

Better than the material success which has 
crowned his efforts, Albert Stegeman has become 
known to and loved by a vast number of people, 
who have delighted to do him honor, because he 
has deserved it. His emjiloyes are the3' who 
speak the best words of praise for him, Ijecausc 
they have felt that their eraplo.yer is not only 
such, liut is a friend besides. It will be readily 
understood that Mr. Stegeman has been a busy 
man, as well as one who meets obstacles bravely, 
his heroic courage enabling hiin to jjcrsevere 
where a man of more timid nature would fail. 

In this connection, we direct the attention of 
the reader to the lithographic portraits of Mr. and 
Mrs. Stesfeman. 



y ALTER E. DWlGHT,the proprietor of the 
Plainwell Rolling Mills, was born in New 
Haven, Coun., June 14, 18G0. He is a son 
of C. G. and Sarah (Northrope) Dwight, natives, 
respectively, of Massachusetts and Connecticut. 
The father was a molder b3' trade, and, emigrating 
to Michigan in 1865, purchased a farm in Martin 
Township, Allegan County, upon which he re- 
mained for three _years, when he removed to Plain- 
well and lived retired for some time. He is still 
the possessor of a fine estate in Wayland Town- 
ship, where he makes his i)resent home. The 
mother died in 1875, leaving a family of nine 
children. 

C)ur subject received his education in the Plain- 
well I'nion Schools and when seventeen years of 



age taught two terms of school. He then entered 
the State Normal at Ypsilanti, where he was a stu- 
dent for two terms, after whicli he was employed 
as clerk in a groceiy store in Plainwell for a twelve- 
month. Next, going to Grand Rapids, he occupied 
a like position in a diy-goods house, and on com- 
ing to Chicago was engaged as salesman in the 
large establishment of Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. 
Mr. Dv/ight on going West to Colorado accepted a 
situation in the National Bank at Leadville, which 
he held for three years, and a year later was with a 
wholesale grocery house. He then became partner 
in the firm of C. P. Bayse it Co., at Redcliff, that 
State, the connection lasting until 1886, when our 
subject returned to Plainwell and puichased the 
roller mills. 

The mills above mentioned are equipped with a 
full roller process and all the modern appliances 
and conveniences, and have a capacity of seventy- 
live barrels per day. Mr. Dwight is doing a fine 
business, and, besides having a nice local trade, 
ships a (juantity of fiour lo other cities. He is 
known to be a man of undoubted integrity and 
siibstantial business ability' and combines strictness 
of moral principles with energy and decision of 
character. He has secured a competence as a re- 
sult of personal industry, and in him we find an 
excellent example for young men just embarking 
in the field of active life to follow, showing what 
may be accomplished !)y a man beginning poor but 
honest, prudent and industrious. 

Walter E. Dwight was united in marriage to 
Miss Clara Stiff. October 3, 1883. The lady was 
born in Oakland County, this State, and was a 
daughter of Erastus Stiff, a native of New Jerse}'. 
Her father came to Michig.nn in an earlj- daj- and 
at the present time is the proprietor of a mill in 
Dailey, Cass County, this State. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Dwight have been born one cliild, a daughter, 
Inez C. 

In his i>olitical relations, our subject is a straight- 
forward Republican. He has served in many po- 
sitions of trust in the county, and in 1889 was 
elected Township Treasurer. He has represented 
his party several times to County Conventions, and 
in social matters is an Odd Fellow, a Knight of 
I'ythias and Kniuht of the Maccabees. He is in 



P(^RTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



H77 



tlic niiilli m'licralion in the Dwii-lil family, tlic 
l'n>t .•inccstor of tli.-il iiniiu' in tiiis coimtiv liciiij; 
.Idliii Dwighl, who ciimc from Dodliniii, KnglaiKl. 
and scttlc<l in llie Uiwn of Dcdhani. Mass., wliero 
tliey well' |)roniii\onl and intluiMiliai ritizciis. 



i^^K- 



IS_ 



_6| 

"5' 



yll. AXDRKWS, M. I)., is one of tlie le.id- 
iiig physicians of Clyde Township, Alle<;an 
Count}'. He is a native of Cayuga County, 
N. Y., having been born September 23, 1839, to 
John antl Angeline .\ndrows, and is one of four 
children born to his parents, namely: Almyra, who 
married A. M. Dyer, but is now deceased; Isaac B., 
who met his death at Ft. Darling in the late war; 
our subject, and Nancy, the widow ofCapt. .John 
H. Andrews, who was killed in the late war. 

John Andrews was born in Vermont, but when 
very young went to New York State. He was 
orphaned when ten yeare yeai-s old and was com- 
pelled to make his own living. He served an ap- 
preutiecship toa shoemaker and worked at his trade 
for a number of years in Cayuga Coilnty, N. Y. 
In a few veal*, he was enabled to enter into busi- 
ness on his own account, and was the owner of a 
large shoe shop and a tannery in Throopsville, in 
thai State. In IS 12, lie withdrew from his business 
and ciinie to Michigan, settling in Van Buren 
County,where he located on u new farm. He also 
carried on lumbering a number of years before his 
death, which occurred May 31, 1885. at (Jrand 
Haven. When quite a young man, Mr. Andrews 
was married to -Vngeline Barn u in. a daughter of 
Isaac and Huhnnna Barnum. 

Dr. Andrews began an active life at the age of 
twenty-one. He took a position as clerk in a gen- 
eral merchandising store at Hartford, \'an IJiircn 
County. This position, he held live years, then 
embarked in the drug business for himself, and 
in the year 1871 began the study of medicine. 
He took a course at the old Chicjigo Medical Col- 
lege, and in 1H7I began his practice at Grand 
Junction, Van Buren County, and five years later 
came to this township. Ho waj* the only physician 
here for yeai-s, and his practice exlende<l over 
ipiite n large terrilory He has been very succcs.s- 



ful in his profession and is liked and resiiected by 
all who know him. He has U'cn very iiitluenti.-il 
in enhancing the prosperity of the village of Fenii- 
ville. All his liuiblings were destroyed by (ire 
in 1891, anil but a very small portion of the loss 
was covered by insurance. He is not a man to be 
discouraged easily, and he at once began the erec- 
tion of the present block where his olliee now is. 
This is a commodious and attractive-looking block, 
it being 22x(!(l feet in dimensions, with a story 
al)ove for ollices. 

Dr. Andrews is a iiiembei of the West Allegan 
Medical Association, and also belongs to the Free 
and Accepted Masons at .South Haven, having 
reached a very high degree in that order. (lis ca- 
reer as a pioneer physician li.as been one eminently 
worthy and useful to the eommnnitv in which ho 
has resided, and his neightoi-s and (»ld friends 
unitedly bear testim<»ny to his sterling worth, in- 
tegrity and valuable services ius a frontier citizen. 



♦^^1 



B' 



mi 



^ir^T'RANK SOMMKR is one of the prosperous 
frr^ citizens of Dorr Township, Allegan County, 
lk\ "' and was lx)rn far across the sea, in Austria. 
Ai)ril 1, 1814. He is a son of Anton and Frances 
(Breibish) Somnier, natives of Bohemia. Austria. 
The father was by occu|iatit)n a carpenter and w.is 
one in a family of twelve children, who all irrew 
to years of maturity. 

The parents of our subject erosscil the watei> to 
America in IS53, when ho w.os only nine vears old. 
They Iwaled in Detroit. Mich., and afterward went 
t<j Grand Rapids, at which place the father ilied in 
1885, but the mother is still surviving, making her 
home at (irand Rapids. Frank Somnier has three 
brothers and one sister, he being the second-boni. 
Ho did not have, by any moans, the school a<lvaii- 
tages of to-day, and at an early ago started out on 
his own account, lie learned the trade of a black- 
smith .it Grand Rapi<]s and there followed it seven 
vears. lie came to F)orr in ISfi.'i. and in Novem- 
ber opened a shop here. He soon closed his shop 
and commenced farming, and wa-n engaged in it 
it until 18H|.at which time he received the ap- 
liiiiiilnu'iit of l'o<tma>tor of Dorr, wliii-h olliee he 



978 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Iield until Harrison's aclniiiiistration. In 1888, he 
started in the mercantile business and has since 
conducted it in connection with his farm of eighty 
acres on section 16, Dorr Township. 

Mr. Sommer w.is married, in May, 1872, to Miss 
Rosina Ruple, of Dorr Township. Four children 
have come to bless their union: Clara F., Nellie, 
Annie and John. Mrs. Sommer died in 1888, and 
Mr. Sommer was again united In marriage, tkis time 
to Miss Lizzie Grandy. This marriage took place 
Novemlier 1, 1890. One girl, Leonora, has blessed 
this union. This gentleman is, and always has been, 
a Democrat and is holding the oltlcc of Supervisor 
of his township. lie held the oltice of Justice of 
the Peace twelve years and was Treasurer one year, 
l)csides holding the school oflices for a number of 
j^ears. He had charge of the Patrons of Industry's 
store here for a while. He is a member of the 
Catliolic Church. In July, 18G4, Mr. Sommer was 
sworn into the Governraeut service as blacksmith 
at Nashville, Tenn., and served about six mouths. 
He was at Nashville when Hood was there. He 
also did guard dut^- at the village of Johnsonville, 
Tenn. 



/p^ EORGE VAN RIIEE. This veteran pioneer, 
f|| ,=-- residing on section 3, Overisel Township 
^^jj Allegan County, constitutes one of the old 
landmarks in the growth and development of the 
county with which he has been closely identified 
for almost half a century. He owns and occupies 
one of the finest improved and best managed farms 
in this section and has here a well-appointed 
home. 

Our subject is a native of Holland, where he was 
born June 11, 1821. He is a son of John and Her- 
niienia (Bunker) Van Rhee, natives also of Holland, 
of whom the reader ma j^ find a fuller sketch in the 
biography of John Van Rhee, elsewhere in this 
volume. Mr. Van Rhee remained at home until 
reaching the age of twenty-six years, when he 
came to the United States. He fiist located in Ot- 
tawa County, this State, when he was twenty-six 
}^ears old, and after remaining there a short time 
came to Overisel Township, Allegan County, mak- 



ing the journey hither in 1848, and with his brother 
.John was the first settler in this township. At 
that time there were few settlements and no 
markets for produce nearer than Grand Ra|>ids, 
and as there were no mills, the pioneers were home 
livers, maintaining life from the products of the 
soil and from the wild game, which was plenty. 

The gentleman whose name heads this sketch 
was married, in Overisel Township, to Miss Henri- 
etta Schipper, a native of Holland, being born 
March 4, 1831. Mrs. Van Rhee was the daughter 
of Herm and Helle Schipper, natives of Holland, 
who are now deceased. To our subject and 
his wife have been born a famil}- of eleven child- 
ren, five sons and six daughters, who bore the 
respective names of Minnie, Ellen, Jane, Hannah, 
Jane (second), Jake, John, Hiram, Henrietta, 
George and Johannes. 

Mr. Van Rhee is the possessor of one hundred 
and twent}' acres of productive land, and with 
hard pioneer labor he cleared and developed it. 
That tract is now one of the finest in the township. 
Mr. Van Rhee has been a life-long Democrat. He 
and his family are highlj' respected members of the 
Reformed Church. As a gentleman of fine char- 
acter, and a solid, substantial citizen, no man stands 
higher in this county than George Van Rhee. He 
takes warm interest in all that concerns the welfare 
of his section and is liberal in his support of 
schemes to forward its improvement. 



RASTUS N. BATES, a prominent merchant 
of Moline, Dorr Township, Allegan County, 
was born in Chester Townshii), Geauga 
County, Ohio, March 1, 1845. His parents were 
Abner C. and Laura W. (Baker) Bates, natives of 
Massachusetts and New York, respectivelj-, his 
father being a farmer by oc'nipation. 

Our subject's parents moved to Cleveland, Ohio, 
when he was but four weeks old, and thence to Ful- 
ton County, where they resided until 1853, when 
thej- came to Michigan and took up laud in Dorr 
Township, this county. His educational advantages 
were confined to the common schools, which were 
not verj- good. Company C, Twenty-first Michi- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RKCORD. 



979 



gun Infantry, was the oni" in wliieli i\Ir. Hates en- 
listed, Feltruary 8, 18(il, in tiie defense of tlic old 
Hag. lie was in the Army of tiie t'uinherland, with 
Sherman at Athmta. and liieii on liii' march to tiie 
sea, where lie was tiiiien sick and eseaped one of the 
worst engaifements, viz., the liattle of Benton ville, 
IMarch 1',), ISti.j. His l)rotlier, M. W.. was at that 
time Lieutenant of his eonipauy. lie was lionorably 
diseiiarged July 18, 186.'), at Louisville, Ky., after 
a faithful and gallant service. 

The brothers and sisters of our bul)jecl are eight 
in number, and all are living except the oldest sis- 
ter. After the war, Jlr. Bates was engaged in 
leaching school wintt-rs, and working on the farm 
in the summer months for ten years, in Allegan 
and Kent Counties. 

December 28, 1870, is the date on whicii our sub- 
ject was married to Flora I. Gilbert, a daughter of 
B. (Jilbert, a farmer of Dorr Township. This ^young 
couple settled on a farm, remaining there until 18'.l(), 
when the}' came to Jloline,and Mr. Bates eng:iged 
in the mercantile business. He still owns his place 
on sections 1 and 2. a line farm of two hundred and 
sixty-five acres, and one of the best places in the 
township. He is the father of six children, one of 
whom is deceased: Arthur De Forest. Those liv- 
ing are Ella, Clara, Krastus N., Forest Gilbert, and 
Flora. 

ISIr. Bates is the proprietor of the Moline and 
Cold Spring Cheese Factories. In i)olitics, he is a 
Republican and was Township Superintendent of 
Public Schools. He was Supervisor of the town- 
shli> four veal's, and represented his district two 
terms in the Legislature. When there, in 1887, he 
introduced what is known as the Bates High Li- 
cense Bill, whieli was pas.sed and is to-day the law 
under whicli Michigan is governed in the sale of her 
licjuois. He was at this time Cliairinan of the 
Cinninittee on Municipal Corporation, which was 
a very important and prominent committee. In 
188!t, Mr. Bates served as Financial and Reading 
Clerk of the House of Rei)resenlatives, and two 
years previous to this served as Speaker, pm tern, 
of the House of Re] )resenta fives. He also served 
two years .ns a membor of the State Central Com- 
mittee of the Republican party. He has always 
been identiliiil with the (JraiiLre movement, and 



has been M.-uster of the Moline and County Grange; 
he was also elected a member of the Kxecuti ve Com- 
mittee of the State (Jraiige in 1H!)(). In lK81».(;ov. 
l.uce appointed him as a number of the IJoaid 
of Trustees of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane, 
to serve six years. The Board meets monthly and 
the work is gratuitous. He ami liis wife are niem- 
l)eis of the Conurcgational {'lunch of Dorr. 







BEL ANGEL, a pronuiient and prosperous 
farmer of Wayland Township, Allegan 
ii County, was born in Bennington County, 
Vt., on September 12, IJS21. His parents 
were Joseph and Ele.aiior (Dunning) Angel. The 
father was born in Rhode Island, and the mother 
in the same county and State as her son, our sub- 
ject. Mr. Angel was a carpenter and joiner liy 
trade in his younger days, but later in life became 
a farmer. He was the father of a family of ten 
children, our subject being the ninth in order of 
birth. 

The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm, 
receiving a good common-school education. Com- 
ing to Michigan when a bo\' of seventeen years, 
in 1838, he located in Livingston County, where he 
lived three years. He then came to Allegan 
County, in April, 1812. At the time of his coming 
here, there were not more than twenty -six white 
people ill this township and at the fii-st election 
that he attended there were but twelve voters. He 
purchased land on section 36. one and one-half 
miles from his nearest neighbor. He at once com- 
menced the imiirovement of this land and did all 
the clearing and l>reaking himself. Of his present 
fine estate of two hundred and ninety-four acres, 
about one hundred and ninety are under the best 
state of cultivation. He is considered one of the 
most .sagacious farmers in the township and is 
often called on for his counsel. 

Abel Angel was married, on .Inly 20, 1852, to 
Mary (Pease) fiardner, of Barry County, Mich., 
and the daughter of Leonard and Catharine 
(Dennis) IVsuse. They have become the paient.s 
of the following named children: Elanor, who 
maiiied .lames F, Robbins; Mary, the wife of Fn e- 



980 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



man D. Harding; Clara, who married John E. Mc- 
Donald; Lucy is single and is a teacher. William 
lived to maturity and died aged twenty-one 
years. Mrs. Angel had four children by her 
first liusband, Louis Gardner, one of whom is still 
living: Sarah, wife of Henry E. Buxton. 

Mr. Angel i.s among the foremost early settlers 
of this county, and has been a hard-working and 
industrious man. He t^pent eight years in opening 
and clearing up land on contract. He was a mem- 
ber of the Democratic party until he took up the 
cause of Prohil)ition. He held the office of Super- 
visor of his township, for twenty-ftve or thirty 
years; the otlice of Treasurer and Highway Com- 
missioner, and, in fact, almost every office in the 
gift of the people. The order of the Patrons of 
Industry claims this gentleman as one of its lead- 
ing and influential meml)ers. Stock of a good 
grade, of which he raises]a great deal, is the delight 
of Mr. Angel. He carries on general farming'on 
his splendid estate. His parents passed the remain- 
der of their lives in Livingston County, Mich. 



ICHAEL CONNELL. Among the thor- 
ough-going farmers of Clyde Township. 
Allegan County, may be mentioned the 
name of Michael Connell, who was born 
in County Limerick, Ireland, yi 1832. His present 
property consists of fifty acres of excellent land 
on which he has placed all the improvements 
which make it a first-class estate, and by a proper 
rotation of crops, it is made to j'ield a handsome 
income. Our subject is the son of John and Maria 
Connell. The father also was born in County 
Limerick, wheie he was reared to farm pursuits, 
which occupation he followed through life. John 
Connell received a good common-school education 
in his native country, and in religions matters was 
a Catholic. He was greatly interested in political 
affairs in Ireland, and was a prominent man in his 
community. When aljout thirty years of age he 
married jNIiss Maria, daughter of Timothy Collins, 
and to them were granted a large family of thir- 
teen children, six of whom are yet living: Patrick, 
2vellie and James are residing in the Emerald Isle; 




Timothy and Julia are residing in Toledo, Ohio. 
The latter is the wife of Patrick Crane. 

Michael Connell began life for himself at the 
age of ten years, at which time he went to work on 
a farm by the month. He was thus engaged until 
coming to the United States, in 185L He first 
located in Beaver County, Pa., where he worked 
on a railroad for two years, and, in 1854, came 
West to Allegan County, this State. Here he pur- 
chased one hundred and sixty acres of land in 
Manlius Township, where he lived two years. At 
that time there was only one dwelling between his 
place and Allegan, a distance of sixteen miles. 
Afterward, he purchased forty acres of land from 
Harrison Ilutchins, and ten acres from William 
Barnheart, making in all fifty acres, the amount 
owned by him at the present time. Our subject 
had a portion of his land cleared when the war 
broke out, but the spirit of patriotism being aroused, 
he enlisted in Compan}- L, Eleventh Michigan 
Cavalry. With his regiment he participated in 
many of the hard-fought battles of that period, 
and during his term of enlistment was never 
wounded or taken prisoner, which is a most re- 
markable record. He received his honorable dis- 
charge at Lexington, Ky., and on returning home 
again engaged in cultivating the soil. 

The original of this sketch and Miss Catharine 
McGennity were married at Kalamazoo, Mich., by 
Father Label, in 1856. Mrs. Connell was the 
daughter of Artiiur and Margaret McGennity 
(maiden name Margaret Sharkey), of County Ar- 
magh, Ireland. They have become the parents of 
four children: William, who resides in Grand 
Rapids; Amelia and Katie, who are at home, and 
James, who is at present in Bangc>r, Van Buren 
County. Mr. Connell is a very popular man in his 
township, and socially, is a meral>er of the Grand 
Army of the Republic. 



i>^^<-^ 



-J— 



|j^^,ICHOLAS ASHLEY. The name of this 

I /!// gentleman is well known among the peo- 

t\,Zsi' pie of Allegan County, where he has 

passed most of his active life. His farm comprises one 

hundred and tweut3'-two .acres, pleasantly located 



PORTRAIT AND BJ«3GRAPHICAL RECORD. 



981 



on section 30, Allejjan Township, an<t lias het>n 
ciiilu'llislicd with a sulistaiitial sot of liuildin^js. 
IMi-. Asliloy comes of iMiirlisii cxtiaction ; his <iian(l- 
fatlicr, Nicholas Ashley, was a native of (iieat 
I'.iilain, and when a small child started for the 
I iiitcd Slates in coinpany with his |iaieiits. While 
on the ocean, both his father and mother were 
taken ill and died, their liodies lieinu thrown 
overlioard. 

A native of New York, Mi-. Ashley was horn 
.Inly 27, 1H;?1. His parents, .loseph and Mary A. 
(Allen) Ashley, who were likewise lioiii in the 
Kmpire St-ate, came West to Micliijjan in l.sl 1 and 
settled on section ;?(!, Allegan Townshiii. The 
trad of land which they purchased was not at 
that time cleared of its primeval forests, but through 
the unremitting industry of the father, who w.-us a 
practical farmer, thirty-six of the eighty .acres 
were cleared and a frame house was erected. Some 
years after settling here, Mr. Ashley, Sr., exelianged 
the place f^)r a farm in Trowbridge Township, 
where he resided imlil his death. He and his 
wife were the parents of thirteen children, namely: 
.lohn, who is deceased; Julia A. (Mrs. Cook), 
Ilenr}', Nicholas, Orville. .Mniira (.Mis. West), 
Harriet (Mrs. Uailev), I.ucina (Mrs. Kellogg), 
Matilda, Kannie (Mrs. Cackler), .Joseph, Charles, 
now deceased; and Wesley. 

The subject of this notice wasetlucated in Trow- 
bridge Townslii|>, and at an early age gained a 
pr.actic;il knowledge of farming pui'suits. Prior to 
leaving home, he puichased his present farm, then 
heavily timliered, .and for many years thereafter 
was actively engaged in clearing it. Gradually 
he brought the place to a high state of cultivatif)n, 
adding to its Imildings by erecting a commodious 
residence and a subst;intial barn, and in connec- 
tion with general farming operated as stock-raiser, 
keeping a gt)od grade f)f cattle and horses. He 
shared in the trials of pioneer life and is now reap- 
ing the reward of years of frugality and industry. 
He aided in building many of the churthes and 
schools of the ctninty and has a.ssisted in every 
measure calculated to elevate the moral status of 
his community. In his political atliliations, he is 
independent. 

In IXC.;!. .Mr. .Vshlev was married to .Mi^s IJi'beeea 



.1., daughter of (iardner and I'olly .\nn (Harlier) 
Hunt, natives respectively of New York and \er- 
mont. Mr. Hunt, who was a farmer by occupation, 
emigrated to Michigan and Incatcd in Augusta, 
Kalamazoo County, removing thence to Comslock 
Township, Kalamazoo Comity. He and his good 
wife had a familN of eigiit children, of whom live 
still survive, !is follows: Helsey, Kebecca . I., Helen, 
Ira .1. and Mary, .all married. Mr. and Mrs. .Vshley 
are the parents of two chihireii. .losephine and 
Carlotta, both of whom are line musicians. The 
younger daughter is at present teaching school. 
The members of the familj^ occupy a high place in 
the regard of their neighbors and are respected by 
all who know them. 



/ 



♦^^•^^* 



ARTLKTT A. NK\INs. We lind no one 
who is more deservedly popular, both on 
account of character and long acquaint- 
ance, than the Postmaster at Otsego, who.se 
name we have just given. He is a native of Rich- 
land Townshiji. Kalamazoo County, and having 
been reared here and shown himself a man worthy 
of esteem and regard, has taken his pl.acc among 
the best citizens of this thriving village. 

Born June I, 18.t1, our sul)ject is the son of 
.lacoli and Augusta (). (Hrown) Nevins, natives 
respectively of X'ermonl and Michigan. The fa- 
ther acct>inpanicd his parent.s to .Michigan in IHI3, 
when a lad of liftecn ye:irs, and eondneted farm- 
ing operations in Richland Township for many 
years, removing thence to Pine Lake. Harry 
County, where he died in 1^77. In Im-al affairs he 
was prominent and served acccjitably as .Instice of 
the Peace for a long time. In his religious rela- 
tions, he was an active memlicr of the Presbyterian 
Church. His wife still survives and makes her 
home on the old farm at Pine Lake. 

The parental family inclinU'd thirteen chihlrcn, 
eleven of whom are now living, .\fler receiving 
a common-school education, our subject, at the age 
of fourteen, st.arted out for himself and work<'d on 
a farm .at ¥12 per month. He wjis very iiidiislri- 
oiis and economical, and in l''ebniarv. IH72, en- 



982 



PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tered the State Agricultural College at Lansing. 
By teacliing school during the winters, he worked 
his way through college and received his diploma 
in November, 1875. 

After graduating, Mr. Nevins accepted the prin- 
cipalship of the Otsego Union Schools, which posi- 
tion he filled for four years. Upon the death of 
his father, he was made administrator of the estate 
and while at liome settling affairs he taught the 
Prairieville scliool during the winter. In Mai'ch, 
IISJSO, he purciiased a half interest in a planing 
mill at Otsego, the lirni being Prentiss & Nevins. 
At the time Mr. Nevins became interested in the 
firm, it was embarrassed financially and employed 
only .about a luilf-dozen workmen. He at once .as- 
sumed management of the business and with char- 
.acteristic energy built up a profitable trade. 

In December, 1881, the manufacturing plant was 
destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt and put in oper- 
ation the following May. Had the creditors pushed 
their claims at the time of the fire, Prentiss & 
Nevins could not have met their oljligations, but 
having faith in tiie integrity of the firm, they were 
lenient and in a reasonable time the firm paid one 
hundred cents on every dollar of their indebted- 
ness. A partner was then added and the firm name 
changed to Prentiss, Nerins & Co. In 1885, how- 
ever, it was changed to Nevins & Lindsej', and in 
October, 1890, the plant w.as sold to the Otsego 
Chair Company. 

Under the man.agenient of Nevins & Lindsey, 
the firm added agricultural works and step-ladders 
to their products, and during their five years' ca- 
reer, built up a trade extending from Georgia to 
Minnesota and from New York to Texas, two 
thousand live hundred to three thousand five hun- 
dred fanning mills and eight to twelve thousand 
ladders lieing tlie annual jiroduct, and employment 
being furnished to twenty-five men in the factory. 
Contracting .and building was a branch of their 
trade, and some of the finest structures in Otsego 
attest their skill and workmanship. 

In 1880, Mr. Nevins was married to Miss Helen 
Long, a native of Otsego and the daughter of M. 
D. and Sarah Long, natives of the Keystone State, 
•■vho now reside in Nebraska. Mrs. Nevins is a 
cultured and well-educated lady, having received 



her primary education in the union schools of 
Otsego and later at the State Normal in Ypsilanti. 
For many years she was an efficient and successful 
te.acher. They have one daughter, .Josephine, who 
is being trained by her careful mother in a manner 
that will make her a lady of culture. 

In his political affiliations, Mr. Nevins is a Repub- 
lican. He h.as been prominent in local politics, is a 
member of the County Committee and has repre- 
sented his party as a delegate to district, county 
and State conventions. He has also been a mem- 
ber of the Congressional Committee of the Fifth 
District, has served on the Scliool Board and as a 
member of the Village Council for several terms. 
In addition to these positions, he has acted as 
Deputy Sheriff of the county and Treasurer of the 
village for two years. He was appointed to his 
present position as Postmaster at Otsego in .lanu- 
ary, 1890, and since dis])osing of his manufactur- 
ing interests devotes his time largely to the duties 
of his office. 

Socially, Mr. Nevins is a prominent Knight of 
the M.accabees and a Knight of Pythias. He and 
his estimable wife are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, in which he has served as Chair- 
man of the Board of Trustees for several years and 
is an earnest Sunday-school worker, as is also his 
wife. He is a stockholder in the Otsego Chair Com- 
pany. He ownsconsiderat)le real estate in tlie North 
Peninsula, Dakota and Nebraska, is an active busi- 
ness man, full of energy and push, and is now one 
of the prosperous citizens of the county. 







"oJ- 



j| Russell .I. KNOX Ls industriously en- 
gaged in cultivatintf the soil on section 
8, Ganges Township, Allegan County. He 
\ft^ was boi'n in Oneida County, N. Y., No- 
vember 28, 1810, .and is the son of Elijali and 
Huldah Knox. The father was born in 1773, in 
Blanford, Mass., and remained upon his father's 
farm until reaching the age of sixteen. He then 
served an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's and 
tanner's trades, both of which occupations he fol- 
lowed until after the War of 1812. Tiien, aband- 
oniniT the tanner's trade, he gave his whole atten- 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGltAnUCAL RECORD. 



983 



tion to slioeiiiakinjif. lie was strictly a self-made 
man, for his etlucalioiial ailvaulages were very 
limited. 

While in iM:i.ssaehiisetts, the father of our sub- 
ject met and married Iluldah Coon, whose father 
died in the Revolutionary War. A few 3-ears 
after their marrias^e, Mr. and Mrs. Knox moved to 
C)neida County, N. Y., and later went to Onon- 
daga County, where they remained throe ^-ears. 
Their next removal was to Oneida County, and 
thence to Niagara County, where they made their 
home for twenty yeai-s. The last few years of the 
father's life were spent in Illinois with his children. 
Me was the son of John and Anna (Russell) Knox, 
the father a farmer, who served several years in 
tlie Revolutionary AVar. John Knox was in his 
early life an Episcoi)alian, l)ut later joined the 
Presl)yterian denomination. 

Nine of tiie twelve children l)orn to Mr. and 
Mrs. Elijah Knox grew to manhood and woman- 
liood and two are yet living — our subject and 
Henry II. When alx)ut eiglitcen 3'cars old, Rus- 
sell J. went to work on a farm by the month in 
Niagara County, N. Y., and after laboring thus for 
four years, he was enabled to purchase a farm in the 
adjoining county of Cattaraugus, which he partlj' 
cleared. In 1839, however, he came to Calhoun 
County, this State, wlierc he made his home until 
coming to Allegan County in 1860. His jjurchase 
in this county was in its primitive condition when 
It came into iiis iwssession, Init with his character- 
istic euerg}' and enterprise, he lias brought it to a 
high degree of cultivation. The tract includes 
forty acres and is one of the Ijest improved in the 
township. .\ few montlis after moving on his farm, 
a heavy wind blew down all his timber, so that 
he w.is enabled to realize very little from his for- 
est. 

Russell .1. Knox was married when twenty-two 
years of age to Miss A. S. Turrell, and to them 
were born two children: .Sarah R., now the wife of 
A. Grover. and A. S., now Mr.s. William R. Hurton. 
Mrs. Knox died May Ifi, IH.'SH, and Mr. Knox was a 
second time married, the lady of that occasion be- 
ing Miss Electa Ilulchinson and the date thereof, 
December 31, 1810. Mrs. Knox was the daughter 
of Abel and Rel)ecca Hutchinson and by her mar- 



ri.age with our subject became the mother of a son, 
All)ert R., who married .Vlfretta Royce. Mr. Knox 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Our subject is a Republican in politics and in his 
younger days w.-us a Whig. Mrs. Knox passed from 
this life March 20, 18'J2. 



E()1»(!H KENT. Having met with success 



^^=^E0K(:E KENT. Havi 
11 <^w) '" '''"* cho.sen calling o 
■^j^ is now the owner of 



of a farmer, Mr. Kent 
a splendid farm of 
one hundred and thirty acres, located on section 
15, Watson Township, .Mlegan County. The 
home in which his eyes fii'St opened to the light 
w.os situated thirty miles east of Toronto, Canada, 
and the date of his birth was January 10, 1826. His 
father, William, was born in Vermont, August 7, 
1796, and when onl}' three weeks old w.as orphaned 
by the death of his mother. .Some time after that 
sad event, he wast.aken to Canada, where his child- 
hood days were passed. When about fifteen years 
of age, he went to New York and shortly afterward 
enlisted in the W^ar of 1812, serving until its 
close. 

The mother of our subject, who was known in 
maidenhood as Harriet Henderson, w.ns born near 
Onond.iga, N. Y., whence, at the age of eleven 
years, she removed to Canada, and in the town of 
Wliitb}', became the wife of William Kent. The 
young couple located at first near Whitby, where 
he followed the trade of a brickmaker, and also 
operated as a farmer, until he came to Michigan in 
1839. For eight ^-ears after settling in this State, 
he resided upon a rented farm in Franklin Town- 
ship, Lenawee County, whence he removed to 
Watson Towiishii) and bought the farm upon which 
our subject now resides. Here he passed his declin- 
ing years, jws.sing away at the age of eighty- 
eight years. In his politics, he was fii'St a Whig 
and later a Republican, and served as Justice of 
the Peace for four years, l)esides filling other local 
otiices. His wife died in IHMl, when abtnit .-eventy- 
four. 

William Kent. Sr., the grandf.'ither of our sub- 
ject, was a native of England, whence, at the age 



984 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of twenty-one, he emigrated to America, locating 
in Vermont. His death occurred when he had 
about rounded the century. Our .subject w.as one 
of twelve children, of wlioni all )>ut one attained 
to maturity, namely: (Jeorge, William W., John, 
Harriet M.; Sarah, who died in infancy; Nancy, 
Margaret M., .Tames, .Julia, Charles, Alonzo G. and 
Hannah. When thirteen years old, our subject 
came with his parents to Michigan, and the school- 
ing which was commenced in Canada was com- 
pleted in Lenawee County. He early began to as- 
sist his father on the homestead, and upon starting 
out for himself was emploj'cd in a mill on the 
Kalamazoo River, at Saugatuck, for eight years. 
He then returned home and has since resided on 
the farm which his father purchased on coming to 
the county. 

Beside the general farming interests which en- 
gage Mr. Kent's attention, he also operates as a 
stock-raisei', and keeps a good grade of sheep and 
liorses. In his political affiliations, he is a Repub- 
lican, and has served in various official capacities. 
For two years, he was Township Treasurer, and 
also served as Pathmaster. Socially, he is a mem- 
ber of the Grange, at Watson, and also of the 
Loyal League. 




'ARON SCOTT, residing on section 32, 
Ganges Township, Allegan County, was 
born in Wayne County, N. Y., in 1843. 
He is a son of Joseph E. and Clarissa Scott, 
the father a native of Massachusetts, where he was 
reared on a farm. Jose])h Scott received his edu- 
cation in the common schools, and his father, 
William, who was of Scottish descent, dying when 
he was young, he was bound out to a farmer in 
Massachusetts. He bought his time of that gentle- 
man before reaching his majority, and industri- 
ously applied himself to learning the cooper's 
trade. 

Joseph Scott wife, our subject's mother, bore 
the maiden name of Clarissa Jones, and was a 
ilaughter of William .Tones, who was a native of 
\'eiinont. After this marriage, he went to Nevv 



York, and there remained on a farm till coming 
to Ivalamazoo County, this State, in 1845. He 
later removed to Van Buren County, and. [lur- 
chasing a farm, resided there until his death, in 
1856. 

To Joseph E. and Clarissa St'otl were born live 
children: Clarissa; Noble, deceased; Lucy, Char- 
ity and Aaron. In politics, the elder Mr. Scott 
was a Whig. Our subject, like many another lad, 
began to make his own way in the world at the 
age of fifteen years. During the Civil War, he en- 
listed in Company A, Third IMichigan Cavalry, 
being mustered into service in 1861. His com- 
pany was assigned to the Western Army, and par- 
ticipated in the battles at Corinth, Oxford, Miss., 
Coffeeville and .Tackson, Tenn., and numerous 
minor engagements and skirmishes. Mr. Scott 
served until the close of the war, and was honor- 
ably discharged at San Antonio, Tex., in February, 
1866. During his entire term of service, he was 
never wounded or taken prisoner, which, consider- 
ing his long term of enlistment, is quite remarka- 
ble.. 

Miss Cordelia J. Tubbs became the wife of our 
subject in 1872. She was the daughter of John 
S. and Anna (Warner) Tubbs, and was one of 
three children born to her parents. Her father 
was a native of New York, Init grew to manhood 
in Ohio, and came to Allegan Count}' in 1852, 
where he lived for many years. Our subject came 
to his present home in 1866, wheie he jiurchased 
eighty acres of unimproved land, the greater por- 
tion of which he has placed under excellent culti- 
vation. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Scott, of this sketch, have been 
born three children, two of whom died in infancy. 
Arthur is living at home. Our subject and his 
wife are members of the United Brethren Church, 
and in politics, Mr. Scott is a Democrat. 



^ 



RENSSELAER G. SMITH, of Martin Town- 
ship, is a fine type of the pioneer farmers of 
Allegan County, who have done so much 
for its upbuilding and have taken great 
l)ride in its growth, and we .are pleased to repre- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGKAPinCAL RECORD. 



985 



sent liiiii ill tliis liioi.itAriiK \i. Kiccoicn, wliicli 
sliKuld prcsiMve llie annals of sucli lives, ft>r in 
llieni wo liavc much of tlip liistoi y of the county, 
especially in the earlier period of its settlement. 
Our subject not only helped to develop the re- 
sources of this rcirion, luit used liis inlluence to 
c.stal)lisli schools in his township at an early day, 
and has been particularly active in advancinjf its 
mond and religious sUitus. 

Mr. Smith was born in the city of Troy, Rens- 
selaer County, N. Y., December 24, 1820. Tlis 
father, Jesse C. Smith, was a native of New York, 
and supposed to have been born in Otsego county, 
lie was a tanner and currier by trade, and plied 
his callinii; in Canada. \'ermont and other places, 
liiiallN dying in Otsego, X. Y., at the ago of fifty- 
two, lie was the son of Gideon Smith, who is 
supposed to have been a native of AV:des. He was 
an early settler f)f Otsego County, N. Y. The 
mother of our subject, who bore the name of Zady 
Hrovvn, was born in the vicinity of the beautiful 
Hudson River, in New York. Of her nine chil- 
dren, seven grew to mature years and live are still 
living, namely: Cleopatra, widow of Amos Rouse, 
and a resident of Dowagiac; Cortlandt B., a resident 
of Leroy, Mich.; f)ur subject; Emily, wife of L. H. 
Johnson, of Minnesota; and Elizabeth, a resident 
of Dowagiac. Ranavalina, now deceased, was the 
wife of Roswell Tucker. 

Our subject was the sixth child and second son of 
his parents. His early life was passed in Otsego 
County, and at the age of nine years, he left home 
to live with an uncle with whom he remained three 
years. At the \'outhful age of twelve j'ears the inde- 
pendent, self-reliant little lad started out in life for 
him,self,bv workingon a farm l>y the month, and he 
managed to go to school in the winter .season. He 
worked for three years in a blacksmith shop, and 
until he was seventeen all his earnings were given 
to the support of the family, as his father had un- 
fortunately contracted the habit of drinking strong 
liquor, and w.as unable to provide both fur his apjie- 
tite and his wife and children. In 183H, atthe age 
just mentioned, our subject came to Michigan, 
thinking that he would have a better t)pp<>rtunity 
to make money in .'i newly settled eountry where 
there Wiis a great demand fur labnicrs. Me came 



directly to .Vllegan County, and on his arrival had 
a capital of twenty-five cents with which to begin 
his new life here. Nothing daunteil by this lack 
of funds, he went to work to secure more, obtain- 
ing a situational (iiin Plains, where he was em- 
ployed liy the month at dairying and ch<i|)piiig 
wood, and also in farm work. 

The first len dollars that this devoted son earned 
in Michigan, he sent back to his mother and she, 
too, worked hard to earn the means to join him. 
By untiring industry and close economy, he was 
enabled to buy eighty acres of land on section 10, 
Martin Township, and to provide a home for his 
mother and the three yfningcr children of the fam- 
ily. He builta lilock house, and his mother presided 
over the household and looked carefully after his 
comfort while he busied himself in clearing away 
the timber that stood on his land, and in a short- 
time he had twenty acres ready for cultivation. In 
1847, he sold that i)lace and removed to the farm 
on section 21, where he has lived for the past 
forty-five years. He sold three acres for a burying- 
groiind, and his' farm now contains one hundred 
and fifty-seven acres of choice land. He first 
erected a log house, 16x24 feet in dimensions, and 
as the family moved into it before it was provided 
with door or windows, the first morning after their 
arrival they found the snow a foot and a half deep 
on the lloor. In this typical ])ionecr home, the 
furnituie was of the most primitive kind and con- 
sisted of a half-dozen chairs, one table and a very 
small co(»king stove that could be carried around. 
Their only conveyance to church, five miles away, 
was a rude sled drawn by oxen, and this vehicle 
had to do duty even in summer, as they had no 
wagons or horses. In those times there were no 
regularly constructed roads, but the way w.as 
marked by blazed trees. 

Mr. Smith cut away the woods to build his hou.se, 
and in time cleared a farm, which is considered 
one of the finest in the township. He has erected 
substantial buildings, including a commodious 
dwelling and good barns. His son Charles has 
been managing the farm for some eight years, and 
our subject and his wife have been living in Wiiy- 
land, where he and his son IJradh'v had a general 
store. On liradley's death, he sold the business. 



986 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



He is now contemplating returning to the old 
homestead to resume farming. He has always 
taken a marked interest in all that concerns the 
well-being of his adoi'ted township, and has been 
potent in advancing its interests. The children 
of his fellow-pioneers had great cause to be grate- 
ful to him for his efforts to secure them the privi- 
leges of an education, as for three years the first 
school established in this district was held in his 
house and he paid the teacher nearly all her salary 
for her services out of his own pocket, and 
boarded her. He has been prominent in public 
life as an incumbent of various offices. He was a 
Justice of the Peace twenty-four years, has been 
Highway Commissioner, School Director and 
School Inspector, and has held other civic positions. 

In politics, our subject has been identified with 
three parties: the Whigs first, gained his support, 
then the Republicans, and lastly the Prohibitionists 
claim his allegiance. He and his good wife have 
done as much as anybody to advance the growth 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which 
they have been connected for a long period of time. 
He has been Steward and Class-leader for many 
years, and also Trustee. He has been foremost in 
perfecting the Sunday-school, of which he has 
been Superintendent for over thirty years. He 
helped to organize the first Sunday-school in Mar- 
tin Township, and was an attendant of the first 
one in Wayland, of which his father-in-law was 
Superintendent. 

Our subject was married in Wayland Township, 
February 25, 1846, to Miss Mary E., the eldest 
daughter of Dr. David and Eliza A. (Gregg) 
Bradley. Her father was a native of New York, 
and was the only child of his parents. His father 
was a ship carpenter and w.as killed while at work 
on a ship. The Doctor came to Michigan in 1842, 
and was prominent as a pioneer physician and as a 
public-spirited citizen of Allegan County. He 
located on the Plank Road, in Wayland Township, 
and was the first Postmaster there. When the rail- 
road came through, the postofflce was moved to 
the station on that road and the town and post- 
office were named Bradley in his honor. His wife 
was also a native of New York, her birthplace in 
Orange County. They were the parents of six 



children. Their daughter, Mrs. Smith, was Viorn 
in Orange County, N. Y., November 25, 1829. 
For forty-six 3'ears she has shared the joys and 
sorrows of life with our subject, and in that time 
two daughters and two sons have been born unto 
them, of whom but one survives, Charles N., who 
was born December 20, 1850. Their eldest child, 
Eliza, died in infancy; their son Bradley I)., who 
was born in May, 1848, died in 1886; and their 
daughter liliza A., who was born .January 19, 1854, 
died February 28, 1861. Charles N. is married to 
Ruth Conrad, of Gun Plains, and they have two 
children living, Ada and Harry, and one deceased, 
R.\y. Charles N. lives on a farm of his own ad- 
joining his father's. 



j-5»'5'*'5*i 



■•J"J"J-*<^^''i"5"5"5-F 



^•5"{"f'M- 



S7 F. AVALL15RECHT, pro|)rietor of the Star 

li (^ Mills at W.iyland, Allegan County, was 
'1^ — ^ Iiorn in London, Canada, .Tune 8, 1857. lie 
is of German parentage, his parents, Henry and 
Emma AVallbreeht, having been born and reared 
in the Fatherland, where they were united in mar- 
riage. The father was a miller b}' occupation and 
was thus engaged in Rockpoit, N. Y., and in Can- 
ada. In 1862, he once more sought a home in 
the United States, locating in Clinton County, this 
State, where he was busily- engaged at his trade 
for some years. 

Our subject was a child of five years when he 
accompanied the other members of the family to 
the United States. He gained a good common- 
school education in the neighboring schools, and 
in 1880 attended the Bryant & Stratton Business 
College at Indianapolis, Ind., where he was gradu- 
ated. Thus thoroughly equipped for an active 
business career, he commenced to work for his 
father in the milling business, and remained with 
him for five years, afterward beginning for him- 
self at Wayland. 

When Mr. Wallbrecht purch.ased the Star Mills, 
at Wayland, he immediately commenced to re- 
model the building and machinery, and has since 
conducted the same with marked success. The 
mill has a ca()acity of fift}' barrels of flour and 
twenty-five tons of feed daily, and the reputation 
of the Star Mills is not merely a local one, but 
throughout the State the general public has the 
utmost confidence in that brand of flour. 

In September, 1881, Mr. Wallbrecht was united 
in marriage to Miss Ilattie A., daughter of .John 
Graves, a practicing physician of AVayland, and a 
lady whose lovely character has won for her a 
host of warm personal friends. Mr. Wallbrecht 
is identified with the Democratic party, and is 
interested in all the important issues of the age. 



BIOGFJfl^r^KgplJ. 



Ackloy, Levi 032 

Adams, Jolin 23 

Aclam-s.Jolin Q S9 

Adams, N. H «13 

Adkin, Koboit 492 

Albertson, S. 1' 'OT 

Alger, Russell A 173 

Allen, K.S 501 

Amlei-sim, A 522 

Aiulersuii, George H 480 

AiHlenwdi, Jame-s 510 

Andrews, William B IM 

Andrews, \V. 11., M. D 977 

An^'el,Abol 97!l 

Arllmr, Chester A 99 

Arlliurs,S. K 461 

Ashley, Nieholas 9«0 

Ashley, U ''■Ol 



Austin, I. 
Austin, J. 



..719 
JSI 



B 



Babbitt, C.C 

Barley. John J... 
Ilalley, lliram. ... 
Bailey,!,. II 



...559 
...157 
....532 
...199 



Bainl. John A 702 

Baker, .laekson 494 

l!!iki-r, John 502 

Baker, Milo 964 

Baker, I'ri fi88 

Baldwin, Henry P 15.1 

Baldwin, C. A 8:17 

Baldwin, Hon. 11. M 707 

Bale, James 674 

Ballou, Hon. James M 478 

Ballou, 1,. D 48a. 

Barbc-r, t". W 84fi >JJrown, H 

BarlK-r. 1). L !«> 

Banlen.H.C 497 

Barden , James K 510 



Barker, G. H .4,11! 

Barnes, Thomas A M6 

Barnes, William 491 

Barnes, William M Oil 

Barrett, (Miarles L .171 

Barriutjer, Ebenezer 857 

Barry, John S 113 

Bartlott, A. E *<29 

Barton , Henry 448 

Barton, J. S 079 

Bates, E.N 978 

Beebe.J. F 525 

Begole, Josiah W 109 

Bender, Alexander 4.10 

Bennett, J. C 791 

Bentley, S. A 195 

Berry, S. M 874 

Beverly, H. C 7.15 

Bigelow, Edward 851 

Bigelow, Samuel 20!) 

Bilsborrow, Charles 323 

Bingham, Kinsley S 137 

Bird, Henry, Jr 369 

Bishop, Henry 7l-:0 

Bishop,!!. W 617 

Blaekman, James 470 

Blair, .\ustin 145 

Bliss, William A 509 

Blowers, Moses "51 

Bond,t). O 891 

Born.E. B 745 

Botsfonl, E. S 900 

Bowen,H.F 873 

Bowles, tJeorgo 488 

Brainar.!, T. W 467 

Brason , John 4n) ■ 

Breed, J. B 911 

BriRgs, E.S 770 

Brigham, J. W ,'W1 

Brigham,Mr9. A. L 7W 

Brinkman, H 510 

Brittain , Capt . R. C 747 

Bristol, E.S 014 

Broekway,S. R 814 

Brott, Charles ><:K 

Brown, A. M '"li 

Brown, Charles B "ul 

F 779 

Bn)wn, I. A 8!« 

Brown, James 475 

Brtiwn, James L 466 



Brown, John 479 

Brown, R. M 307 

Brown, Philo M 055 

Brownell, E 503 

Brownell, John 508 

Brownell, W. W 624 

Bryant, Noah 419 

Buchanan, James 75 

Budrow, J. W 854 

Bugden, JIarehall 309 

Burnham, A. C 713 

Buskirk, Willi.am 831 

Button, Alonzo 759 

Bvers, Tobias 445 



Cameron, Hon. Alexander. ..927 

Campbell. James 455 

Campbell, J. A 917 

Campbell, O. F 610 

Campbell, Rol>crt 4W 

Cannon. Loandcr IKIO 

Carpenter, J. T !M8 

Carter, William 476 

Ca.sc, Stephen 493 

Chaddook, A. P 213 

Chaniberlin, Joseph 4*»9 

Chapin.L.C.M. D 821 

Chapman, Alvin 379 

Chapman, tScorge 8l.t 

Chase, A . B 587 

Chase, Milton, M. D I.V* 

Cheney, William A I'H' 

Claek, Froleriek 532 

Clapp, Ashley 923 

Clark, F. J 430 

aark,J. 903 

Clark, L.F 450 

Cleveland, S. Orovcr 103 

Cobb, Hon. J. B... 801 

Cobb, J. T 871 

Cobb,w. H 820 

Colburn, B. W 596 

Coleman, O. F 81« 

C-ongdon, A. P. 900 

ConKdon, R. M 095 



Conncll, Michael 980 

Conrad, Henry 716 

Convei-se, W. H . . .793 

Cooley , Timothy 88S 

Cooper, William 005 

Copley, Hon. A. B 399 

Corhyn , Hon . S. H 457 

Cornell, J. B 293 

Cory, W. H 214 

Cox, Hiram J 471 

Coy.C.P 885 

Coykend.all, Horace 891 

Crapo, Henry H 149 

Crawford, A. N 957 

CriU, James 5."I6 

Crispe, John 433 

Crispe, William 4I>2 

Cronin.M.C.M. D 073 

Crosc, Wilber J 405 

Croswell, (.'harlcs M 161 

Crow, Joseph 417 

Cruse, Edwin T 898 

(^'ummings,L. B 079 

Cuntmings, S. S 618 

Cunningham, Capl. E 088 

Curry, David 778 

Curtenius, C. C 916 

Curtis, John S 446 



D 



IJarling,H, L UK 

Davis, J. .M 791 

Davis. William L 020 

Deal, F.I 445 

Dcan.Kov. K.S 243 

Delano, W.S 6(0 

Do Long, Silas IW! 

Denison,Capt. R. C 826 

Dennislon, E. H 822 

Deuel, I,.f 519 

IK-Yoe, E. W 875 

Dibble, R.T 475 

DUtey, V. H 418 

DInglcy, E. N 946 

DIx.J.H »9 

Donahue, ISipt. J. 8 386 

Dornan, William. . 7t7 



INDEX. 



Doublcila.v, Capl. A. D sfiH 

Douglass, Eli 8.(7 

Doughty, Jacob 8IS 

Downey, W. S SO;! 

Dozeinau, John 7-10 

Drake, Q.N H44 

Dressel, A. W 47! 

Dumont, John B 728 

Dutcher, C'apt. tieorge N 202 

Dutcher, Thomas B 42»; 

Dwight, W. E »76 



E 



Eames, Lovett 370 

Earl, A. VV SS5 

Echtinaw, Jacob 545 

Edgcll, H.J ■ 8li4 

Edsell, Hon. W. C 303 

Eesley, J. F 400 

Eggleston.S. M 73» 

Engle, W. A., M. D mO 

English, William 440 

Ely, Joseph W 50) 

Emeterio, Ma:iuel 437 

Evans, Leonard S SSS 

Everest, D. 212 



Falconer, Daniel 437 

Fanckboner, G. C •i71 

Felch, Alplieus 117 

Follows, Hon. O. H nS8 

Fenner, H. B 007 

Ferris, Hon. R :»!' 

Fillmore, Millard K7 

Finch, William T om 

Finley, Edward 0C7 

Fisk, Col. Joseph 'J34 

Fisk, San)uel 718 

Fitch, E.S fl.W 

Fitch, J. P 415 

Fletcher, Calvin H 231! 

Fletcher, Rev. John 4:l!i 

Forbes, Mrs. M. V 428 

Ford, Henry 103 

Ford, William 250 

Foster, A. H il40 

Foster, 1. B 722 

Foster, Miles 410 

Foster, S.C 008 

Fowler, H. A XIn 

Fowler, Rev. S. M 427 

Fox, Benjamin 728 

Fo.x, .John C. :ii;8 

Fo.x, R. W 335 

Fox, Samuel 524 

Fox, Samson 390 

Fox , Solomon S 8.30 

Fox, V. H., M. D 033 

Free, J . W 70s 



Freed, Jonathan 701 

Freeman , Fran k 270 

French, Thomas E 424 

French, W. F 5SC 

Frew, James &47 

Fritz, David 1 765 

Frohm, John 525 

Fuller, George 925 



G 



(iardner, Humphrey 701 

Gardner, James 429 

Garfield, .Tames A 95 

Garvelink, Hon. John W.. ..757 

Gates, L. M 8)2 

Gay, Francis 700 

Gibson, Charles (102 

Gibson, Charles 489 

Gibson, S. A 862 

Giddings, T. F 867 

Gilbert, B 538 

Gilbert, Henry 2l!S 

Gilbert, L. C 730 

Gilkey, W. E 406 

Goble, J. E 870 

Goldsmith, O. E 412 

Goodale, J. C 894 

Goodman, Hon. Francis 556 

Goodrich, A. C, M. D 417 

Goodspeed, Orrin 520 

Gorden, Elijah 537 

Gorton, G. W 690 

Graham, J. D 414 

Granger, Riley 452 

Grant, Ulysses S 87 

Gray, J. M 339 

Green, M'illiam 96t 

Greenly, William L 121 

Gritlin, G. W 401 

Grillin, W. B 438 

Grigsby, G. W 742 

Gunn, C. C ,838 

Gunsanl, Jacob 393 

Guyol,S. B 750 



H 



Hadaway , Samuel :!ii4 

Haight, P.S 316 

Hale.C. P 446 

Hale, J. F 407 

Hall, W. D 434 

Hamilton, Alex 735 

Hamilton, J D., M. D 815 

Hamlin, S. H 423 

Hammond, J. H 807 

Harden, Hon. W. F 950 

Harding, J . E 515 

Hare, D. W 4^5 

Harmon, R, C 943 



Harnden, Simon i2(; 

Harper, Whitney 543 

Harris,'!). D 301 

Harrison, Benjamin F 107 

Harrison. William Henry 51 

Hart, Hannibal 3f4 

Haskin, A. S.,M. D 861 

Hathaway, Charles .596 

Hawes, Hon. J. L ,. 020 

Hawkins, Samuel 821 

Hawley, 3Ioses S 619 

Hayes, Rutherford B 91 

Healy, Azro 863 

Heath, John M 401 

Heckert , B. F 678 

Henderson, D. C 499 

Hendrick, A. W., M. D 227 

Henika, G. H 721 

Hersey, E. P 626 

Hess.S.M 613 

Hewitt, Lott 318 

Hicks, I. V 836 

Hicks, J. W 334 

Hicks, Moses 566 

Higiubotham, Harlow 959 

Hill, Giles H 229 

Hilton, Robert 234 

Hoag.O.S 326 

Hoag, Peter G 315 

Hodges, W. S 691 

Hock, Jacob 347 

Hoffman, L Ui 

Hollister, F. L 3«! 

Holmes, A. J 799 

Holmes, A. P 884 

Holmes, John C 751 

Hoover, J. W 902 

Hopkins, G. P W5 

House, W. A 191 

Howard, J. M 382 

Howard, G.S 655 

Howard,!.. H 933 

Howe, A. F 898 

Hower, Thomas 520 

Rowland, Hon. S 044 

Hoyt, Isaac N 936 

Hoyt, J. C 607 

Hoyt,L.R >m 

Hubbard, Luther 776 

Hubbard, Silas 850 

Hudson, J. S 113 

Humphrey , J. W 38.5 

Hunt, John 502 

Hutcliins, Alviii .537 

Hutchms, Harrison 583 



Ihling, Reinhold. 



.805 



Jackson, Andrew. 
Jelfors, .Tohn H. . . . 



. 43 
.970 



.Jellcrson, Tiiomas 27 

Jerome, David H 105 

Jewett, George E .507 

Jewett, Nathaniel 299 

Jickling, Robert 787 

Johnson, Andrew 83 

Johnson, Jani&s 564 

Johnson, J. H 327 

Johnson , R 540 

Johnson, W. E 924 

Johnston. William \V :!17 

Joyce, Mrs. Elizabeth 572 

Judson, Pixley 604 



K 



Kauffer, H. P 867 

Kellogg, H.J 574 

Kellogg, John 625 

Kellogg, N. P 318 

Kendall, S. W 799 

Kenfleld, William S 513 

Kenney, J. W 350 

Kenney, \V. M mi 

Kent, A. J .548 

Kent, C.S .579 

Kent, George 983 

Kinnane, J. H 880 

Kirby, Hon. VV. J 872 

Kirkland, Helen M., M. D . . .811 

Klomparens. H. J 727 

Knapp, William A 541 

Knowles, Selh 9.58 

Knox, R. J 982 

Kolvoord, A 545 

Kolvoord, Hon . Joh n 308 

Konkle, Robert 937 

Krause, Levi 325 



Laminon, Gilbert 619 

Lane, E.J 345 

Lay, John M 268 

Leightoii, N .535 

Lemon, Jacob 597 

Lewis, C. H 411 

Lincoln, Abraham 79 

Lincoln, S. A 905 

Lindscy. Joseph 280 

Lindsley, C. H 897 

Linsley, John P 758 

Linsley, John W 752 

Lilly, Alanson 327 

Lilly, L. A 9.54 

Little, Frank 31! 

Little, Henry 197 

Little, T. H 715 

Loehr, E. A 624 

Loehr,Josiah 654 

Lonsbury, J. E 505 

Looniis, Levi 270 



INDEX. 



Loveriilge, S. W.. 

lowc, Ooorge 

IjOwo, James 

Luce, Cyrus Griiy. 
Lyon, Hon. T. T... 
Lystei-, A. B 



....;i35 
...7*) 
....afi7 

....177 

. . . .27:1 



u 



Mabbs, KolxTt 725 

MniUlcn.J. H 285 

MnUison, James 31 

Mallow, John 809 

Manlinj,-li, Uoorye. Jl. D <Jii7 

Marble, Darius 27H 

MarK<>son, Eilwanl 1!« 

5larsli,H. V 284 

Mai-sliall, H. M 772 

Martin, A. C 814 

Martin, E<l\vin 'J17 

Martin, U. \) 914 

Marvin, H. M., M D 298 

Mason, Cornelius 918 

M.'uson, G.N ''1:1 

Mason, Slephen T 105 

Malliews, ArcliibaU iai8 

Maynaril.C. S.,M. 1) <:77 

McAlpine, James M 275 

Me Alpine, M. V. B 280 

McHriJe, John 2/>8 

MeClellanil, Kobert 129 

MetMintoek, W. G 487 

MeCorinick, W. H 732 

McKowell, Mortimer 277 

MeKee, Darwin 6tB 

MeKeny.ie, Capl. J. H 405 

MeKenzie, George 297 

MeKeyes, Juan 087 

MeLin, Jaeob '^7 

Me Venn, D. C 517 

Meaehen, Lafayette 1!M 

Meail, Marion !«1 

Merchant, Lulher 749 

Meritlith, Walter 30(! 

Merrill, U.B 7<.« 

Merritl, Kev. A. C 290 

.Mielimershnizen. Allwrt 741 

Milham, Ainbi-ose iM 

Milhain.K. H 288 

Milham. SVilliain IM 

Miller. A. \V e!l9 

Miller.C. F !l«9 

Miller. H.L.,M.D 320 

Miller, John 9*5 

Miller. Josiah J 832 

Miller, J. li 244 

Miller. Matlison atCI 

Mills, Charles S ;B7 

Mills. E.T 900 

Miner, Charlta* 75<1 

Mix. Gen. Klisha 211 

Mt>nro*'. James 35 

Monroe, J.H-I D 219 

.Monixie. J. K «2 

Monleiih, Thomas .551 

Moiiteith. Walt.'r CS'i 



Morse, Levi 'v*'!! 

Morse, Benlelt 740 

Moscs.J. J IW 

M<xsher, George A ,52;t 

Motlralii, William, M. D 2i;7 

Munia. Alfreil 721 

Munger, A. J :«4 

Myers, (!. A Bfi8 

Myei-s. V. C, M. D 875 



N 



Nash, ED .IfiS 

Neunian, John C ffiX; 

Neweomb, L. A 251 

Newell, Adam 970 

Newnham, K. B ,53»; 

Nevins, B. A 981 

Nieholas, I'liilip 2:10 

Niehols, G . B. . M . U :«:! 

Nies, John 383 

Noyes, K. W 800 

Nutting, Bansom 781! 

Nykerk. G. H 7!2 

Nykerk.G. J 93li 

Nyssoii, A. \V 949 



o 



OBrien, William 1 ?JSt 

Odell. Stephen 373 

Olin, Arvin 772 

Olney.B. A 881 

Onontiyoh, Dr 4115 

Opperinan. John 914 

Orr, Kobert 240 

Urr, William 3.'>0 

Osborne, H. B.. M. U 915 

Overhiscr, Henry 278 



Packanl, A. S 279 

Page, K. H 714 

Page. Traylon 95:1 

Palmer, A. II 8.')5 

Palmer. E. A.. M. I) 571 

Palmer. Theo A IW 

Parker, G . W 928 

Parker, H.S !«:) 

Parker. Orriii 228 

Parmeliv. William H 821 

Parsons, Andrew — i 1:13 

I'atterson, Andrew IW 

Patterson, Thomas .501 

Peabody, BrewsU-r I'M 

Peck.li. M 907 

Pect, William 245 

Pelrce. William W IH9 

Peufold. E<lward IW) 

Phillips, William 589 

Pieree. Kraiiklin 71 



Pierce, H.H 782 

Pike,S. N 578 

Pil>er, G. A.. D. U. 8 380 

Plopijor. .M. 11 199 

PInmiiier. Andrew (129 

Pluinmer, W.(i «23 

Pluinmer, William H 712 

Polk, James K .59 

Potts, James M 207 

Powell,M. A :!9I 

Pratl. Daniel 390 

Pratt, Hon. Foster 775 

Pratt, William 358 

Prentiss, C. H S46 

Preston, E. M (553 

Pugsley, W. H 585 

Putnam, D. C 371 

Putney. C. A 2(51 

Pvl, Andrew XH 



R 



Kankin, J. E., M. D 89f. 

Itinney, A L no9 

l^nsotn, Epaphroilitils 125 

Uansoin, Ira A 89:1 

Bansoni, Maj. W. C .797 

Kansoni, W. C, M. D 802 

Kathbnn, N. S 578 

Bead, Hon. O. E (130 

Keilpath, George 514 

Kedpatli, George P G08 

Reed, J. W 297 

Re«l, W.F tKM 

Reese, (George 877 

Uee.se, J. H 201 

Rem in -ton, G. H 7(7 

Renihan. D. Joseph 945 

Retallick, J. T 8»8 

ReynoKIs, C. C 050 

Iteynolds, William A 492 

Rinc, John 771 

Ripley, S.L 598 

Rockwell, H. S .577 

Rockwell, James K 289 

Rockwell, S. D 374 

Rogers. C. C 954 

Rogers, W. M 284 

Root.E.K iWJ 

Kossmau. Alby .555 

Rouse, R*jbert •'^> 

Kowe, W.O 319 

Rowe, William E., M. D 5(3 

Rowlanil.i). W •9n 

Kuniery,J.L 710 

Rvan. M.T "55 



S«'horno, (J. S 

Schuh, P. H 

Schuyler. O. R. . . . 

Scott, Aaron 

Scott. Henry 

Seam, Harvey A. 
Sclirlng, John. 



S4'lkirk, ,Iames E 9(** 

Seiiion, John H <«7 

Severens, Hon. F 513 

Shaki'speare, Hon. A. J 910 

Kheirer, S. G »*1 

Shepard, E. S 214 

Shephanl, Hon. Thomas 7:10 

Shered, John B 573 

Sliernian, William P 720 

Sheri-od, J. A 214 

SherwiKMl, M. C 825 

Sias.D. W- 223 

Sileox, W. H flflO 

Sill, .loseph, M. D 255 

Simmons, I.,eAnder 878 

Simpson, Hon. E. H 785 

Simpson, John 757 

Sithes,T. W 531 

Skinner, H. V (M2 

Slawson, Nathan 1i08 

Slotman.G. H 718 

Slotman, John H lam 

Slotm.ln, L 073 

Siiiecd, Nelson 9(i3 

Smith, G. W 778 

Smith.lI.S.. M D 671 

Smith. Joseph 520 

Smith. R.G 981 

Smith. W.D 423 

Snow. Orrin 8(iC 

Sonimer. Frank 977 

Soulhwiek, W illiam H 7,18 

Spayde, W. H («t 

Spear, Charles C 317 

Spicer, Daniel 791 

Sprau,J. W 7i;l 

Staring, Simeon "iW 

Stogeman. .Mbeit 975 

Stegeman. John 468 

Stevenson. Duncan 500 

Stewart , Thomas ,300 

Stim.son, H. H., M. D 32!t 

Stoi-kbridge. Hon. F. B 249 

Stone. Mrs. L. H. .. .-. Ii(>« 

Stone. Rev. J. A. B Ofi 

Storms, F. M 328 

Slratt^m, tliarles 810 

St rattoii , Ichabod 477 

Streeter, J.B., D. D. S 715 

Stuart, G.D 243 

Stuart. Hon.C. E 205 

Stuck, CM., M.U 352 

SiitUin, Luther 'HI 

Svki-s, R. A Wfi 



.813 
.577 
..664 
..9M 
..508 
..702 



Tallxit.R. W 

Tanner, A 

Tanner, James E 

Tttiiner, Seth K 

Taytor, A. B 

Tay lor, Zaehary 

Thayer, Cyrus. 

Thomas. A. P 

Thomas. N. D, M. U. . 



..7(Ji 
..208 
..514 
.Mi 

..xa 

.. 63 
,..6S2 
..218 



INDEX. 



Thorn, Joseph fi!)2 

Tiefenthal, C. A 830 

Touikins, John B 268 

Tomlinson, Ogden 30i 

Tourtellotte, D. D 472 

Towsley.A.D 52n 

Tracy, A. H 530 

Tiask, L. H 23n 

Ti-autman, William V !M6 

Truax, John 709 

Truax, P. S 901 

Tuckey , Thomas T 559 

Turner, John A 958 

Tyler, John 55 



U 



Upham,E. S 221 

Upjohn, H. U. , M. D 839 

Upjohn, Uriah, M. D 261 

Upjohn, W. E., M. D 853 



Vahue, O. G 311 

Van Anrooy, Peter 748 

Van Auken, J. M 777 

Van Buren, A. D. P 645 

Van Buren, Martin 47 

Vantierkolk, Wiecher 760 

Van Dusen, S. M 206 

Van Hise, W. K 224 

Van Keuren, Oliver 708 

Van Khee, George 978 

Van Rhee, John 508 

Van Zwaluwenburg, C, RI. D.812 

Voorhorst, Benjamin 686 

Vosburgh, Edwin 672 

Vrelink, J 735 

Vroman, Seth 580 

w 

Wade, Fred 697 

Wade, John P 362 



Wadsworth, V. E 307 

Walker, H. A ,371 

Wallbrecht , L. F 986 

Walter, Conrad 700 

Walter, Jeremiah 717 

Ward, F. T 326 

Warner, Elijah 633 

Washington, George 19 

Webster, William 222 

Weldin.G. H C51 

Wells, E.B 726 

Welsh, W. L 804 

West, Nathan B 557 

Wetherall, William 244 

Wetmore, A. D 294 

Wetmore, Joseph H 553 

Wheaton, Joseph F 515 

Wheeler, J. C 340 

Wheeler, John L 310 

White, Daniel Mil 

W'hite, D. E 330 

White, Joseph H 819 

White, William 336 

Whitney, Calvin 348 

Wigsins, Hon. M 641 



Wilcox, W.H 287 

Wilder, Ebenezer 32-1 

Williams, Hon. William B. ..217 

Willison. C. W 808 

Willison, E. B 618 

Wilson, John 769 

Wilson, J. M 635 

Wilson, S. P 352 

Winans, Edwin B 181 

Winn, R. G 309 

Wisner, Moses 141 

Womlard, O. J a50 

Woodbeck, J. D 295 

Woodbridge, William 109 

Woodbury, J. P 233 

Woodhams, W. W 711 

Woodruff, N. P 631 

Woodward, D. A 963 

Woodworth, W. A .305 



Young, P. M 241 



:poi^ti?.jlits. 



Adams, John 22 

Adams, John Q 38 

Alger, Russell A 172 

Arthur, Chester A 98 

Bagley , John J 156 

Baldwin, G. M 704 

Baldwin, Mrs. G. M 705 

Baldwin, Henry P 152 

Barrett, Charles L .570 

Barry, John S 112 

Bartlett, A. E 828 

Begole, Josiah W 168 

Bilsborrow, Charles 322 

Bingham, Kinsley S 136 

Bishop, H. W 616 

Blair, Austm 144 

Brigham, John W .360 

Buchanan , James 74 

Byers, Tobias 442 

Byers, Mrs. Janett M 143 

Campbell, James 454 

Chapman, Alvin 376 

Chapman, Mrs. A 377 

Cleveland , S. G rover 102 

Cobb, J. T 870 

Coiburn, B. W 592 

Colburn, Mrs. B. W .593 

Copley, Hon. A. B 398 

Cornell, J. B 292 

Crapo, Henrj' H 148 



Croswell, Charles M 160 

Davis, J. M 790 

Deuel, Lee 518 

Donahue, Capt. J. S ;i54 

Edsell.Hon. W. C 302 

Engle, W. A mS 

Felch, Alpheiis 116 

Fenner, R. B 606 

Ferris, Hon. Richard 388 

Filltiiore, Millard 66 

Finch, W.T ero 

Fox.U. R.,M. D 9:iO 

Fox, Mrs. Rosanna W 931 

Garfield, J. A 9) 

Gilbert, Henry 282 

Grant, U.S 86 

Gray, J. M .338 

Greenly, William L 120 

Hammond, J. H 806 

Harrison, Benjamm 100 

Harrison, W. H 30 

Haskin, A. S. , M. D 860 

Hayes, R.B 90 

Hendrick, A. W.,M. D 226 

House, W. A 190 

Hutchins, Harrison 582 

Jackson, Andrew 42 

Jefferson, Thomas 26 

Jerome, David H 164 

Jewett, G. E 506 



Johnson, Andrew 82 

Kirkland, Helen M., M. D. .. .WO 

Knapp. William A .540 

Lane,E. J iU 

Lewis, C. H 410 

Lincoln, Abraham 78 

Little, Frank 312 

Luce, Cyrus Gray 176 

Lyon.' Hon. T. T 272 

Madison, James 30 

Mason, Stephen T 104 

Maynard, C. S., M. D 670 

McClelland, Robert 128 

McClintock, W. G 484 

McClintock, Mrs. W. G 185 

Milham, William 432 

Mix, Gen. Elisha 210 

Monroe, James 31 

Monteith, Walter 683 

Monteith, Mrs. W 682 

Mottram, William, M. D 266 

Nichols, G.B., M. D 332 

Olney, B. A 880 

Page, Isaac 9.52 

Parsons, Andrew 132 

Pierce, Franklin 70 

Plummer, W. G 622 

Polk, J. K 58 

Pratt , Foster, M . D ... 774 

Ransom, Epaphroditus 121 



Ransom, Maj. W. C 796 

Schuh, Paul H 576 

Sill, Joseph, K. D 2.54 

Simpson, E. H 784 

Smith, W. D 421 

Smith, Mrs. W. D 420 

Stegeman, A 972 

Stegeman, Mrs. A 973 

Stockbridge, Hon. F. B 248 

Stone, J. A. B., M. D 6.58 

Stone, Mrs. L. H 659 

Stuart, Hon. C. E 204 

Talbot, R. W 764 

Taylor, Zachary 62 

Trask, L. H 2.38 

Upjohn, Uriah, M. D 260 

Upjohn, H. U., M. D 638 

Tyler, John 54 

Van Buren, Martin 46 

Washington, George 18 

Wet more, Joseph H 550 

Wetmore, Mrs. C. F 551 

White, Joseph H 818 

Williams, Hon. W. B 216 

Winans, Edwin B 180 

Wisner, Moses 140 

Woodbridge, William 108 

Woodbury, J. P 2:i2 



^lE-^ATS. 



Bailey, Hiram 533 

Baker, Jackson 495 

Barden, H. C 495 

B.arden, J. K 511 

Bond,(;.G 8S9 

Breed, J. B 909 

Brott. Charles 833 

Bigelow, Edw<ard 849 

Cheney, William A 627 

Cooley , Timothy 889 



Coykendall, Horace 889 

Cruse,E.T 899 

Foster, Bros 941 

Foster, I. B 723 

Grigsbv,G. W 743 

Harmon, R. C !I4I 

Hersey,E. P 627 

Howe, A. F S99 

Kenfield, W. S 511 

Mabbs, Robert 723 



Mason, Cornelius 919 

McCormick, W.H 733 

Mead, Marion 919 

Miller, J. J 833 

Myers, G. A 669 

Plummer, Andrew 627 

Plummer, William H 743 

Retallick, J. T M9 

Schorno, O. S 811 



Selkirk, James E 909 

Silcox, W. H 961 

Stegeman, A 463 

Stratton, Charles .811 

Thorn. Joseph 693 

Tourtellotte, D. D 173 

Towsley, A. D 173 

Truax, P.S 899 

White, Daniel 811 



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